Matteo Cancellieri Shows Glimpses of Exceptional Talent in Positive Aspect for Haywire Lazio
The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
