Matteo Cancellieri Demonstrates Brief Sparks of Genius in Positive Aspect for Haywire Lazio
The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a binding element holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
