Inter Milan defender Francesco Acerbi, who scored a winning goal for the club in their second leg UCL clash on Tuesday 6, has endured a lot in his personal and career life as he rouse from battling cancer and depression to helping Inter Milan book final spot in UCL.

Not known to many, but has entered to the history of Inter Milan and EUEFA Champions league history, is the efforts made by 37 year old Francesco Acerbi to ensure Inter secured their spot.

Acerbi was the game changer in the UCL semi final clash on Tuesday 6, as inter Milan and Barca met. playing as a defender might seem uneasy to score a goal, but to Acerbi this was just but a historic moment in his life.

Moving forward and past Barca’s defender Ronald Araujo held him high as he scored his first ever UCL goal that changed the story from almost ending in penalty shootouts.

Starting off his career in 2006, Acerbi signed for Pavia the star didn’t know what awaited him. At that early stage, Acerbi was led to series of loan moves but later signed permanently and played for Reggina, Genoa and Chievo, where he made his name and in 2012 Inter decided to have him in their plan and team.

Here he didn’t last long as he failed to get play time and was sold to Genoa, they then sent him to ,Chievo on loan, and in 2013. Acerbi finally found his balance signing for Sassulo.

The 2022/23 season saw him back to inter on loan but later his move was advanced to permanent terms.

His life has had big stumbles in life that have affected him so much, starting with the death of his father that affected his mental stability leading to depression and alcoholism as he tried to calm the pain he endured in his heart.

In 2013/2014 season, in Milan Shirt, Acerbi was diagnosed with Testicular cancer thereafter he underwent surgery to remove tumor, but failed doping tests when he was ready for action again.in 2023/24 despite pleading he had not been intoxicated.
During this time Italian said that his sickness was like a night mate and that
the illness improved him as a person, cancelling out remorse and regret

“Chemotherapy was like stepping into a parallel world, the entrance to which is closer than you could possibly think, so you never leave it again. It’s a world of pain and of courage,” he said in an interview.

The defender triumph through all these and mastered his moves on the field and after so many years he finally braced a UCL goal a milestone in his career.