Cancellieri Displays Brief Sparks of Brilliance in Silver Lining for Haywire Lazio
The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
