Francesco Acerbi was born on 10 February in 1988 in Vizzolo Predabissi, in the Metropolitan City of Milan. He developed as a player at Pavia, where he made his Serie C1 debut in 2006. After spending time at Reggina in Serie B, he joined Chievo Verona in 2011 and played for the first time in Serie A in a 2-1 win over Catania on 20 November that year.

After a brief spell at AC Milan, with whom he played Champions League football, he signed for Sassuolo for the 2013/14 season. He stayed with the Neroverdi until 2018, making 173 appearances, scoring eleven goals and playing Europa League football with the Emilians in 2016/17, Sassuolo’s first experience of a European competition. He has been on Lazio’s books since 2018 and has so far played 121 games (six goals) and won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana with the Biancocelesti.

His time with the National Team began under Cesare Prandelli, who called him up in August 2012 for a friendly match with England. His first official match for the Azzurri, however, came two years later, when, on 18 November 2014, Antonio Conte subbed him on for the final few minutes of a friendly match against Albania, which the Azzurri won 1-0 in Genoa.

He has cemented his place in the National Team since the arrival of Roberto Mancini, carving out a leading role throughout 2020. Up until now, he’s made eleven appearances and scored one goal, with this coming in Italy’s EURO 2020 qualifying match against Bosnia & Herzegovina in Zenica on 15 November 2019.