Matteo Cancellieri Displays Brief Sparks of Brilliance in Silver Lining for Struggling Lazio
The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to stay there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
