Cancellieri Shows Brief Sparks of Exceptional Talent in Bright Spot for Struggling Lazio
The mood at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
