Cancellieri Shows Brief Sparks of Exceptional Talent in Silver Lining for Haywire Lazio
The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
