The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, 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 tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
