Cancellieri Displays Flashing Moments of Brilliance in Bright Spot for Struggling Lazio
The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the nature of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
