The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
