The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
