Cancellieri Shows Glimpses of Brilliance in Silver Lining for Haywire Lazio
The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the exact type of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
