Matteo Cancellieri Shows Brief Sparks of Exceptional Talent in Bright Spot for Unstable Lazio
The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
