He was one of the heroes of Inter Milan's Champions League semi-final triumph over Barcelona and has made over 600 appearances in Italian football - but Francesco Acerbi has had a troubled road to the top.
The veteran defender has had mental battles, illness and the passing of his father, but it didn't stop him from firing Inter into the Champions League final on Saturday evening.
It was a stoppage time equaliser earlier this month against Barcelona at the San Siro, where Acerbi put his name back on the map of European football.
The 37-year-old's crucial goal came after he told teammate Matteo Darmian "Io vado" - "I'm off" - before marauding forward into the opposition box and smashing the ball into the net.
Francesco Acerbi scored a 93rd-minute equaliser during Inter Milan's 4-3 win over Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final
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A centre-back by trade, but a poacher's finish at the near post sent the game to extra time, with teammate Davide Frattesi scoring the winner.
But Acerbi’s heroics go far beyond one moment of brilliance on the pitch.
Born just 15 miles away from the San Siro, Acerbi played for a host of lower-league Italian clubs for the opening six years of his career.
Until, in 2012, his form caught they eye of his beloved AC Milan - but the move did not turn out as expected.
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Francesco Acerbi played just 10 games for his boyhood club AC Milan
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The centre-back had always suffered with a difficult relationship with his father: "He [father] wanted to do me good, but without meaning to, he would go so far as to hurt me," Acerbi recently said.
A psychotherapist who helped Acerbi said his father was “always pointing out the mistakes he made”.
Unfortunately, just after his move to the Rossoneri, Acerbi’s father passed away, and the centre-back spiralled into depression, and self-medicated his mental distress with alcohol.
"Already at the beginning of my career I didn't really have the right attitude for a professional player," he later said.
"I would often arrive tipsy at trainings, without having fully recovered from the night before. I was physically strong, and that was enough for me.
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"As my father died, however, I hit rock bottom. I no longer had any drive and could no longer play. I was sick and would drink anything."
During this period, just six months after joining his boyhood club, Milan let the defender leave on loan to Chievo, and then permanently to Sassuolo.
Acerbi’s struggles with mental illness, along with his addiction and the battle of being let go by his boyhood club were compounded when, in 2013, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Acerbi recalled the moment he was diagnosed: "From one day to the next, you find yourself powerless and surprised, and you discover that your life could change forever.”
While the tumour was removed immediately, allowing the Italian to resume his playing career, the diagnosis struck again just six months later.
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Francesco Acerbi was diagnosed with testicular cancer twice during his spell at Sassuolo
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Acerbi endured several rounds of chemotherapy to eventually overcome the illness, with his professional career hanging in the balance.
Overcoming the disease, however, left the defender embarking on another journey of personal development, along with his resurrection in professional football.
“The tumour gave me a second chance, making me realise who I was and what I really wanted," he said.
The defender would then go on to make over 150 appearances for Sassuolo, before moving to Serie A giants Lazio.
The move was a resounding success. He met current Inter boss Simone Inzaghi, who convinced him to move back to the San Siro - this time in the colours of the Nerazzurri.
His psychologist revealed: "I also advised him to move to Inter. His father was a Nerazzurri fan and that would definitively reconcile him with him.”
The rest is history.
Inter reached the Champions League final in 2023, where Acerbi played the full 90 minutes, but they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of treble-winners Manchester City.
The Italian has now made over 80 appearances for the Nerazzuri and has also achieved an international recall, despite his age of 37.
Acerbi and co will be looking to right the wrongs of 2023 and win Inter their first Champions League since their famous treble in 2010 under Jose Mourinho.
If they do so, Acerbi will add a Champions League winners’ medal onto his mantelpiece, along with the Euros, Serie A, and five domestic trophies.
But, importantly, it will indicate just how far the defender has come. From the depths of depression, alcohol abuse and his diagnosis, to the pinnacle of European club football.
Perhaps his story can have a fairytale ending.
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