Matteo Cancellieri Shows Glimpses of Brilliance in Bright Spot for Struggling Lazio
The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
