The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place 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, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
