Matteo Cancellieri Shows Brief Sparks of Brilliance in Silver Lining for Unstable Lazio
The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
