"Acerbi is one of the greatest mysteries of contemporary football"

The Italian newspaper dedicates an article to the Inter Milan defender, who despite being hindered by pubalgia, is proving to be indispensable for Inzaghi.

"Francesco Acerbi is one of the greatest mysteries of contemporary football." The Italian newspaper Libero via FcInter1908.it today talks about the Inter Milan defender, who at 36 years old, despite an injury hindering him in the first part of the season, is proving to be indispensable for Inzaghi. "He could have ended up at a smaller club, fighting for survival, or something like that. Instead, he went to Inter Milan to play in Champions League finals and win a Serie A title. You can call it, if you like, fate. He would have defined it as such after a career that seems like a novel. 

He arrived at Milan at the wrong time (2012, the beginning of the decline of both Milan clubs), was signed by Inter Milan too late, as he was already 34, and in between, he faced testicular cancer (discovered by Sassuolo during routine medicals), with surgery (summer 2013) and a cycle of chemotherapy (which kept him out for half of 2014), as well as a doping positive result that actually wasn’t (caused by the cancer reoccurrence). A call like that, you interpret it as a credit to collect from fate," the newspaper tells about the defender’s past and his arrival in Milan.

Acerbi joined Inter Milan in 2022, on the last day of the transfer window when Lukaku returned from Chelsea, Bellanova and Asllani were loaned, and Mkhitaryan and Onana were signed. Acerbi had been sidelined at Lazio by Sarri and was training alone. Inzaghi guaranteed him a spot at Inter Milan. 

The deal was a loan with an option to buy for 4 million euros, and a salary of one and a half million euros. He immediately became a starter. 

"He reached performance peaks that hadn’t been seen at Inter Milan since the era of Samuel," recalls the newspaper. 

Against Atalanta, he stopped Retegui, but he had already taken care of Haaland, Lukaku, Giroud, and Osimhen. At the Gewiss Stadium, he was sensational, considering he faced Retegui, the Serie A top scorer, and had played four days earlier in the Champions League after de Vrij’s injury during warm-up." Against Atalanta, he even helped out by pushing forward. 

In January, the Nerazzurri player was still out due to injury after undergoing surgery for pubalgia. He wasn’t replaced, and replacing him, the newspaper explains, will be one of the most complicated things for Inter Milan to do in the market. "There’s a growing thought that Acerbi will stay in the squad for another year to help his successor (Bologna’s Beukema is the most fitting profile) settle in. Not as a defensive coach, but as a professor" the Italian newspaper concludes.