Matteo Cancellieri Demonstrates Glimpses of Exceptional Talent in Bright Spot for Struggling Lazio
The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
