Cancellieri Shows Flashing Moments of Genius in Bright Spot for Struggling Lazio
The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a thread holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
