Matteo Cancellieri Displays Brief Sparks of Brilliance in Bright Spot for Struggling Lazio
The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated 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 falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
