The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
