Cancellieri Demonstrates Flashing Moments of Exceptional Talent in Bright Spot for Haywire Lazio
The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
