The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
