Cancellieri Shows Brief Sparks of Genius in Silver Lining for Unstable Lazio
The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
