The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
