The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
