Matteo Cancellieri Shows Flashing Moments of Brilliance in Positive Aspect for Haywire Lazio
The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him admitted that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
