Chivu apologized in the match that brought the title to Inter! » How to get back at the frustrated player
Article by Daniel Scorpie – Published Saturday, May 16, 2026, 3:23 p.m. / Updated Saturday, May 16, 2026, 3:33 p.m.
Francesco Acerbi entered the last month and a half of his contract and will depart from Inter at the end of the season. The 38-year-old central defender will be part of the farewell match against the Nerazzurri fans tomorrow against Hellas Verona.
Acerbi hasn't played on “Giuseppe Meazza” for almost a month, since the match with Como (3-2), from the second leg of the semi-finals of the Italian Cup.
Cristi Chivu, on the bench in Turin – Inter 2-2, in the 34th round of Serie A/ photo Getty Images
Cristi Chivu intended to introduce the Italian stopper in the closing minutes of the game against Parma two weeks ago, but he changed his mind at the last moment and the fifth change at Inter was different.
The Romanian coach took Nicolo Barella off in the 89th minute, replacing him with a midfielder, Davide Frattesi. Thus Acerbi missed the chance to catch the final whistle on the pitch, after which the Nerazzurra celebration of the 21st scudetto began.
Il Giorno: “For changing Barella, Chivu apologized to Acerbi”
“He should also have entered the title game against Parma. But Chivu, seeing Barella increasingly nervous in duels with Troilo, the visitors' Argentinian stopper, decided otherwise, apologizing to the defender which returned to the reserve bank”, revealed the daily newspaper Il Giorno.
The same source writes that the coach will take revenge on the Nerazzurri “veteran” tomorrow and start the match with Hellas Verona with him (4 p.m., live on GSP.ro, live on Digi Sport 1 and Prima Sport 1), from the 37th stage in Serie A.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Francesco Acerbi and Yann Sommer, three of Inter's “veterans”, in the second leg with Bayern in the “quarters” of the Champions League in Milan / Photo: Imago
Since the appointment of Chivu in place of Simone Inzaghi, Francesco Acerbi caught 27 matches at Inter (total 2,114 minutes, he was absent only in the Italian Supercup), in which he had no contribution to the goal.
The former international, with 34 matches and one goal in the Italian national team, with which he won the title at EURO 2020, was five times starter in the Champions League, twice in the Club World Championship, 14 times in Serie A and 3 times in the Coppa Italia.
