Matteo Cancellieri Demonstrates Brief Sparks of Brilliance in Positive Aspect for Struggling Lazio
The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
