Inter’s prospective move for Lazio defender Francesco Acerbi has not been well-received by Nerazzurri fans, and this would not be the first time that supporters have made their opinions known about not wanting a signing.
This was noted in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, drawing similarities between the Nerazzurri fans’ response to the club’s reported interest in Acerbi, and their revolt against a proposed swap with Juventus between midfielder Freddy Guarin and striker Mirko Vucinic back in 2014.
The Fredy Guarin-Mirko Vucinic deal fell apart after then President Erick Thohir pulled the plug on it, something SempreInter.com were first to report exclusively at the time.
Inter have reportedly been edging closer to signing Acerbi on loan from Lazio before the transfer window closes, but the response to the possible arrival of the 34-year-old by Nerazzurri supporters hasn’t been positive.
A hashtag of “#AcerbiNonLoVogliamo” has been trending on social media as many fans have made clear that the former Sassuolo defender is not a player they want at the club.
Inter fans have shown this kind of opposition to a deal in the past, as the Gazzetta notes, with the response having been anything but positive when it was reported in January of 2014 that the Nerazzurri were close to agreeing a swap deal with Juventus between Guarin and Vucinic.
Guarin had joined Inter from Porto two years earlier in the January 2012 transfer window, and the Colombian’s performances made him a target for the Bianconeri who were ready to offer a swap deal involving Vucinic.
When the deal was reported, Inter fans made very clear that they did not want to lose Guarin in exchange for the Montenegrin international and former Lecce and Rome striker.
Inter fan groups expressed themselves with banners and press releases chastising the Nerazzurri ownership for considering the deal in an attempt to stop it from going through.
Then-Juventus CEO and current Inter executive Beppe Marotta admitted that he’d “never seen anything like” the fan protests that erupted when Inter fans learned of the prospective exchange between Guarin and Vucinic.
In the end, Nerazzurri fans got their wish as the swap deal with Juventus collapsed and Guarin remained at Inter for several more seasons, whilst Vucinic stayed in Turin until the end of the campaign, news broken first by SempreInter.com at the time.
Now, it will remain to be seen whether Inter fans similarly get their way when it comes to the Acerbi pursuit, but the parallel between the fan responses to the Guarin-Vucinic situation nearly eight years ago is an interesting one regardless.
