Matteo Cancellieri Shows Glimpses of Brilliance in Bright Spot for Struggling Lazio
The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he admitted that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to remain there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
