Cancellieri Displays Flashing Moments of Exceptional Talent in Silver Lining for Struggling Lazio
The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
