The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team 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 accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
