Cancellieri Shows Flashing Moments of Brilliance in Silver Lining for Haywire Lazio
The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist a thread holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
