Matteo Cancellieri Displays Brief Sparks of Exceptional Talent in Bright Spot for Unstable Lazio
The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
