Matteo Cancellieri Shows Brief Sparks of Brilliance in Silver Lining for Struggling Lazio

The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.

This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?

Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.

The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.

Matteo's Unforeseen Return

A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.

He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."

Discovering His Best Role

It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn