The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he admitted that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
