Cancellieri Demonstrates Brief Sparks of Brilliance in Bright Spot for Unstable Lazio

The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.

The Campaign Unraveling?

Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.

The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or imploding.

Cancellieri's Surprising Presence

One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.

Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."

Finding His True Position

It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn