The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league 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 left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
