Cancellieri Demonstrates Flashing Moments of Exceptional Talent in Positive Aspect for Haywire Lazio
The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
One individual 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, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
