Matteo Cancellieri Demonstrates Brief Sparks of Brilliance in Silver Lining for Struggling Lazio
The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 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.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated 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 ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
