Inter defender Francesco Acerbi hit back at those Lazio ultras who pushed him out of the club this summer. ‘I am more of a man than any of those who pointed the finger at me.’
The veteran had been with the Biancocelesti for many years, but his final two seasons were extraordinarily tense due to a group of ultras who repeatedly demanded his exit.
That situation reached a head when Milan scored a last-gasp winner at the Stadio Olimpico and Acerbi was caught on camera reacting with a bitter laugh, which some read to be almost enjoying his own team’s defeat.
“In the last seven or eight years, I have earned the respect of all my peers because I behave like a professional, on and off the field,” Acerbi told Sky Sport Italia.
“I was the one who wanted to leave Lazio. It was my decision. That incident against Milan really hurt me as a person, what happened was shameful. I stayed quiet, I have always stayed quiet, as I am far more of a man than those who pointed the finger at me saying I had done it on purpose.
“Insults via social media are par for the course now. The important thing is to keep going, nobody can stop because of that. It’s not a problem.”
It was not about doing it ”on purpose”. It was always about laughing at a defeat of a team. Anyways, good ridance, Lazio has the best defence in Serie A since you left.
Actually inter is too good for him and lazio are happy without him.
He is good as a the left defender in a 3-man defence. And otherwise he is not very good. I still think last season it was a mistake to use him as a central defender, instead of doing the same as with Radu, and keep him on the left. Acerbi has very good crosses, and he is willing to take long runs even if he is a big guy. Sarri made a giant mistake by considering him a central defender in a 4-man defence.
I believe is a good back-up for Inter on the left of defence, but they definitely need to have a better starter. Essentially the point is that Acerbi is good enough to be in Inzaghi’s Inter, but if he is nowhere near starting regularly, then that says something about the low quality of others in defence. If Inter want to win the Scudetto, then Acerbi should be 6th choice out of 6th in defence, and if they want to have a fighting chance, then he is no more than 5th choice.