The 37-year-old Nerazzurri defender who has played a key role in his team's run to the final of Europe's most prestigious competition has lived out an inspirational journey so far.
Acerbi started out at Pavia and has gone through several Italian clubs during his career. He has played for Reggina, Chievo, Genoa and AC Milan. It was during his time at the Rossoneri that his first major personal problems emerged.
In 2012, he lost his father, who had long-term heart problems. Acerbi took the loss hard and fell into depression. He tried to solve everything by drinking. His beloved sport, from which he had lost touch and was even thinking of ending his career, was not helping either.
"It was as if I had forgotten how to play football and why I played it in the first place. I started drinking, and believe me, I would have drunk everything at that time," the Italian international recalled of the hard times in an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica.
Battles with cancer
Only another difficult moment in his life changed the situation. In 2013, after his transfer to Sassuolo, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
A blood test during the pre-season revealed the serious illness. Immediate surgery followed, after which the defender returned to training and matches. But in December of that year, he failed a doping control that showed elevated hormone levels - the insidious disease was unfortunately back.
Acerbi was forced to undergo intensive chemotherapy. But even that did not stop him from continuing his career. He reportedly attended most of his training sessions with the team during his treatment.
In hindsight, the defender sees his battle with the disease as something that gave him a new meaning to life and helped him overcome personal obstacles.
"Cancer saved me. I had something to fight against, a limit that I could overcome," admitted the current Inter mainstay.
After a full recovery, he has become a mainstay and fan favourite at Sassuolo. After five years at the club, he moved to Lazio in 2018.
He won the Italian Cup and the Super Cup with the Roman side. His biggest success so far came at EURO 2020, however, where he contributed to the Italy's victory with his quality defensive performances.
After his transfer to Inter, he has a total of four trophies to his name, including the Serie A title from the 2023/24 season.
He is now just a short distance away from adding a Champions League crown to his collection. He's already come close once - Inter fell narrowly to Manchester City in the final two years ago.
But just as in his battles with health, Acerbi has been handed a second chance to walk away from the Champions League final as a winner.