Matteo Cancellieri Displays Brief Sparks of Brilliance in Positive Aspect for Haywire Lazio
The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a thread holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
