There is no more heartwarming subplot in Saturday's showdown in Istanbul than the 35-year-old centre-back's long and difficult journey to the top
Italian street artist Mr. Savethewall posted his latest piece to Instagram earlier this week. It depicts Inter duo Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku trying to take down Manchester City striker Erling Haaland with a pair of slingshots, an amusing and apt reference to the David versus Goliath-like nature of Saturday's Champions League final.
It's not entirely accurate of course. Neither Lautaro nor Lukaku will actually be tasked with tackling Haaland – that unenviable challenge will instead be assigned to Francesco Acerbi.
It, too, looks like a mismatch of biblical proportions. Haaland is 22 years of age and a physical phenomenon enjoying an unchecked rise to superstardom. Acerbi turned 35 in February and his body has gone through more than most on a career path that has been anything but straightforward.
He should be terrified of facing the most feared forward in world football. But Acerbi "stopped being scared" of anything a decade ago.
Getty'I felt empty and football was meaningless'
"Cancer saved me." It's a jarring sentiment, "a terrible paradox" as Acerbi has put it, but one he has repeated time and time again over the past few years, because he truly means it.
To understand why, one has to go all the way back to his time at Chievo. Acerbi was in his early-20s and considered a centre-back of real promise, good enough to play for the team he supported as a child, AC Milan. However, just before moving to San Siro in the summer of 2012, his father passed away. And with him went Acerbi's raison d'etre. “After his death, I felt empty and football was meaningless," he told the . "From there, it all went downhill."
AdvertisementGetty'I often arrived at camp tipsy'
Acerbi had always enjoyed a night out, and Milan knew that too. When he joined, the club found him a home in Gallarate rather than Milan in a bid to keep him away from the bright lights of the city centre. Acerbi went out anyway. Why? Two reasons, essentially.
Firstly, he felt he could get away with staying out drinking until all hours. "I often arrived at camp tipsy, not having recovered from the night before," he told . "I was fine with it because physically I've always been strong. It was enough for me to sleep for a few hours because, on the pitch, I was still performing well."
Secondly, and far more significantly, Acerbi no longer cared – about anything. Not even himself. By the midway point of the 2012-13 season, Milan had had enough. And so too had Acerbi. He wanted to quit, at just 25 years of age.
Even the shock of being sent back to Chievo on loan failed to change his mindset. He told team-mate Alberto Paloschi that he couldn't take anymore. "Come on, Ace, what the f*ck are you saying?" the striker replied. "Hold on!" And Acerbi did, agreeing to join Sassuolo in the summer of 2013.
Mentally, nothing had changed, though. As far as he was concerned, the life of professional footballer didn't extend beyond the pitch. His free time was own, and he could do whatever he wanted with it. Then, everything changed.
Getty'A world of pain and of courage'
Acerbi underwent a routine medical after signing for Sassuolo, but the blood test produced unusual readings. He was promptly diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent immediate surgery to remove the tumour. It was all relatively "painless", the way he tells it.
Just a few months later, though, he failed an anti-doping test. Again, it was due to irregular hormone levels caused by cancer. It had returned and, this time, the treatment would be far less straightforward.
“I had chemotherapy from January 7, 2014 to March 14," Acerbi told . "It 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." And full of surprising and humbling sources of inspiration.
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Elia
After overcoming cancer for a second time, Acerbi returned to the field in September 2014. After a subsequent game at Udinese, he was approached by the parent of one of the patients at the paediatric oncology department of the local hospital.
"I accepted and beautiful friendships were born from there." Including one with a little boy named Elia, who had terminal cancer. "He taught me a lot," Acerbi said. "I would ask his father if he really knew he had a few months left to live and he answered 'yes'. It seemed impossible to me that he could play and laugh as he did."
One of the things that most surprised Acerbi most about his battle with cancer was that it didn't appear to change him, at least not initially. He continued to act in the same unprofessional manner for a long time after going into remission for a second time. However, the gradual realisation of just how lucky he had been eventually led to an almost crippling sense of guilt.
"A year after the illness," he revealed, "I went to sleep one night like nothing had happened. But, in the morning, I woke up in terror. I was afraid of my shadow. I was thinking about all of the worries I had caused my parents, about the opportunities I had thrown away, about the years wasted, about the evenings of excess. All together, all of a sudden."