🔗 Share this article Matteo Cancellieri Demonstrates Brief Sparks of Genius in Silver Lining for Struggling Lazio The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito. The Campaign Falling Apart? Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he admitted that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him. The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or self-destructing. Cancellieri's Unexpected Comeback At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options. He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him." Uncovering His Best Role It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn