Matteo Cancellieri Demonstrates Brief Sparks of Brilliance in Silver Lining for Unstable Lazio
The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
