Matteo Cancellieri Displays Flashing Moments of Exceptional Talent in Bright Spot for Unstable Lazio

The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.

This Year's Efforts Unraveling?

Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.

Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or imploding.

Matteo's Unforeseen Presence

At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.

He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."

Uncovering His Natural Fit

It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn