Matteo Cancellieri Displays Flashing Moments of Genius in Positive Aspect for Struggling Lazio

The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.

A Season Falling Apart?

Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him admitted that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.

Lazio became as messy in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.

Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return

A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.

He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."

Uncovering His Best Role

It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn