🔗 Share this article Cancellieri Displays Flashing Moments of Genius in Silver Lining for Unstable Lazio The mood at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito. This Year's Efforts Unraveling? Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him. The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing. Cancellieri's Unexpected Return A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements. He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him." Uncovering His Natural Fit It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season 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