"If I hadn't had cancer, my career would be over by now"

Adversity can serve as an incentive to grow as a person and as a professional. That is what hapened to Francesco Acerbi, the Lazio defender, after being diagnosed with cancer in 2013. 

The footballer spoke this Wednesday to 'L'Ultimo omo' and revealed how overcoming it helped him in his career. "Before I wasn't respecting myself nor my job nor those who were paying my salary. I was usually drunk in training after going out at night," he admitted. 

"Getting cancer was my great fortune. When I found out, I could only think about all the opportunities I wasted in football due to what I was doing before. I decided that I wanted to make up for everything I had missed. If it had not been for that, I would probably be playing in Segunda or I would have already ended my career," he said solemnly. 

"I discovered that I was ill in July 2013, just after arriving at Sassuolo. I was operated on and after three weeks, I was on the pitch. Nothing had changed. I continued behaving unprofessionally off the field. I continued doing what I was doing before. Afternoons of drinking and nights out until 7am," the visibly affected Acerbi explained. 

"A year after my illness, I went to sleep and I woke up with a panic attack. I was afraid of my shadow. I started thinking about the opportunities I had missed and the afternoons of excess drinking. I had to go to a specialist to overcome my fear," the player said, who said it was "someone from up above" who loved him who sent him the illness. 

At 32, Acerbi is going through his best moment as a professional. Now he is an indispensable player for Lazio who won the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup after beating Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus. This season, he is second in Serie A, one point away from the 'Bianconeri'.