Cancellieri Shows Brief Sparks of Genius in Positive Aspect for Haywire Lazio
The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
