Acerbi on the Munich final: "There was too much pressure on Inter, we were mentally exhausted."

MILAN – Presenting his autobiographical book, "The Warrior," Francesco Acerbi recounted, from his perspective, how things went in the Champions League final in Munich, which Inter lost 5-0 to Paris Saint-Germain: "We arrived mentally exhausted. We were the favorites after beating Barcelona and Bayern, which in my opinion is the strongest of all. We were under the pressure of having to win at all costs after losing the league. We were under a lot of pressure, the injuries. We arrived completely exhausted. Even after the match, I wasn't even angry, nothing."

The book and his life

In the book, published by Rizzoli, the thirty-seven-year-old Inter defender retraces his entire life: from his troubled adolescence to the death of his father, from the years when he played football during the day and got drunk at night, to that prayer he utters before every match, pointing to the sky: "I invented it, I put everything into it, starting with the people I love." Of course, Acerbi also talks about the cancer that struck him when he was already a professional player: "I've never been afraid of dying, perhaps due to superficiality or recklessness, and it's better this way. I thank Sassuolo, where everyone understood me and was there for me," he said at the presentation.

Lazio, Milan and Inter

Acerbi recalled the days when Simone Inzaghi called him to Lazio: "I was at Lorenzo Pellegrini's wedding, he called me, and I immediately said yes, even though Sassuolo had vetoed Lazio." Going even further back, he also reconstructed when he signed for AC Milan, "with manager Ariedo Braida who told me: 'I know you drink and that you're always hanging out with women and clubs, but we'll take you anyway.'" Finally, his arrival at Inter, which beat off competition from Napoli, met with skepticism from the fans and culminated in the magical night of the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, ​​with his added-time goal: "We were losing 3-2 and I said to myself: if we lose 4-2, what difference does it make? I might as well move up."

The relationship with Chivu

Finally, Acerbi, a staunch Inzaghi supporter, spoke about his relationship with Cristian Chivu. “He's different from Inzaghi, but he's very well-prepared. He's very good, he makes us feel good. I thought... no, I didn't think anything of it. But it was his first year in Serie A. Instead, you can see he's played and knows what a winning dressing room looks like. He's already ready for this and he understands football, we're very happy to have him."