Lazio-Inter, Acerbi does not ‘imitate’ de Vrij

There will be no remake of what happened in May 2018

The protagonist of a negotiation, certainly not the first between the two clubs in recent years, which is expected to lead to his signing for Inter early next week, Francesco Acerbi will not take the field at the Stadio Olimpico in the match between Lazio and Inter in the evening’s Serie A TIM Week 3 matchday advance.

Thus is averted the danger of suspicions and inferences, the same ones that wrapped the performance of Stefan de Vrij, then in the biancoceleste jersey, that could have been moved against the former Sassuolo defender. The precedent, involving precisely the Dutch player currently at Inter, is well known.

It was May 20, 2018, when the two sides faced each other on the final day of the championship for a Champions League spot. For Lazio, which fielded de Vrij himself in the center of the defense – who had already agreed with Inter for a zero-parameter transfer at the end of the season – a draw would have been enough to gain access to the continent’s top club competition. The Nerazzurri, obliged to win, prevailed with a goal by Vecino right in the 90th minute, but on the match weighed like a boulder, on the score of 2-1 in favor of the capitolini, a naive as deleterious, for the interests biancocelesti, foul by de Vrij on Mauro Icardi with his back to the goal: the referee awarded the penalty that started the Nerazzurri comeback.

There was no shortage of controversy over the Dutchman’s ‘strange’ mistake, in tears at the end of the match, which handed Inter a chance to get back into the game. This time, partly due to technical choice – Acerbi is not among the first choices of coach Sarri – partly due to expediency, suspicions will not be raised: in fact, Acerbi is destined for the stands.