 Chivu in a charity match in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cristian Eugen Chivu[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-10-26)26 October 1980 (age 45) | ||
| Place of birth | Reșița, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back,centre-back[2] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Inter Milan (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–1997 | CSM Reșița | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–1998 | CSM Reșița | 24 | (2) |
| 1998–1999 | Universitatea Craiova | 32 | (3) |
| 1999–2003 | Ajax | 107 | (13) |
| 2003–2007 | Roma | 85 | (6) |
| 2007–2014 | Inter Milan | 115 | (3) |
| Total | 363 | (27) | |
| International career | |||
| 1997–1998 | Romania U18 | 12 | (1) |
| 1998–2000 | Romania U21 | 13 | (0) |
| 1999–2011[3] | Romania | 75 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2018–2019 | Inter Milan U14 | ||
| 2019–2020 | Inter Milan U17 | ||
| 2020–2021 | Inter Milan U18 | ||
| 2021–2024 | Inter Milan U19 | ||
| 2025 | Parma | ||
| 2025– | Inter Milan | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Cristian Eugen Chivu (Romanian pronunciation:[kristiˈane.uˈdʒenˈkivu]; born 26 October 1980) is a Romanian professionalfootball coach and former player who is the current head coach ofSerie A clubInter Milan.
Adefender, he began his career with hometown clubCSM Reșița before moving toUniversitatea Craiova in 1998, leaving Romania to join Dutch clubAjax a season later. His performances as thecaptain of Ajax inspired an€18 million transfer toRoma in 2003. Chivu won theCoppa Italia in his last of four seasons in Rome before a transfer toInter Milan, where he spent the rest of his career before retiring in 2014. After recovering from a fractured skull, Chivu wore a distinctive protective headgear from 2010 onwards.[4][5] His honours at Inter included a treble of theItalian league, domestic cup, and theUEFA Champions League in 2010.
Chivu earned 75 internationalcaps forRomania between 1999 and 2010 and was part of the squads forUEFA European Championships in2000 and2008. After retiring, he became a footballpundit for Italian television stationsSky Sport andFox Sports. He was also a technical observer forUEFA.[6]
He started his coaching career at Inter Milan's youth teams before being appointed as manager ofParma in February 2025.
Chivu's first professional club wasCSM Reșița. After moving toUniversitatea Craiova, his reputation began to rise and his performances sparked interest from some larger clubs outside of Romania.Dutch clubAjax was particularly impressed with Chivu and signed him in 1999.[citation needed]
At Ajax, Chivu developed a reputation as a reliable fullback and a free-kick specialist. Then-managerRonald Koeman appointed him as captain of the club. With Chivu as captain, Ajax dominated the DutchEredivisie with an exciting young squad. Playing alongside Chivu were future stars such asRafael van der Vaart,Wesley Sneijder,Johnny Heitinga,Zlatan Ibrahimović,Steven Pienaar, andMaxwell. Chivu played a pivotal role for Ajax in theirUEFA Champions League run in the2002–03 season, when they came to within a minute of the semi-finals. That season, Chivu was in a quintet of Ajax players – himself, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Maxwell, Wesley Sneijder andAndy van der Meyde – who all went on to later joinInter Milan.[citation needed]
In 2003,Roma expressed their interest in signing Chivu. At the time, Roma had an enormous debt and there were questions raised over Roma's ability to pay any proposed fees. Seeking to silence the increasing doubt over their financial situation, Roma sought a bank guarantee, which was subsequently denied. After much speculation, however, Roma finally completed the purchase of Chivu in September, ending the long and protracted saga. The fee was€18 million.[7] Though he became a regular in defence, he made limited appearances due to injuries. He won the2006–07 Coppa Italia in his last season with Roma. During the summer transfer window, he was once again a subject of transfer speculation, with newly crownedLa Liga championsReal Madrid reportedly making a formal bid, whileBarcelona and Inter Milan were also interested in signing the defender.[8][9][10]
Chivu was reported to be in the middle of a tug-of-war between Barcelona and Real Madrid during the 2007 summer transfer window. After a four-year spell, which yielded aCoppa Italia, Chivu left Roma and signed a five-year contract withSerie A rivals Inter on 27 July 2007. The transfer fee was €16 million,[11] which €3 million of the transfer fee paid via defenderMarco Andreolli moved to Roma in aco-ownership deal.[12] His first season with the defending Serie A champions was a successful one, as he won the Serie A title that had eluded him during his time at Roma.[citation needed]
During the Champions League match at home toManchester United in the2008–09 season, Chivu had a terrific game, denyingWayne Rooney andCristiano Ronaldo many times, and won Man of the Match ahead of Inter goalkeeperJulio César.[citation needed]
Chivu was a regular at left back during the2009–10 season, asWalter Samuel andLúcio became the preferred centre back pairing. On 6 January, againstChievo, Chivu was stretchered off early in the second half after colliding heads with Chievo strikerSergio Pellissier.[13] He was in two hours of surgery for a skull fracture[14] and later cleared of any danger. Although it was initially thought he might be out for the rest of the season,[15] he returned to Serie A on 24 March. After this, he needed to wear aheadguard in matches.[16] A month later, Chivu scored his first goal for Inter in a game againstAtalanta, a terrific 30-yard strike. On 22 May 2010, he was in Inter's starting line-up in theUEFA Champions League final againstBayern Munich, which Inter won 2–0.[17]
He scored his second goal for Inter in the2010–11 season againstCesena, which turned out to be the game winner in a 3–2 win for Inter. He also scored the winning penalty for Inter in their2010–11 Coppa Italia win overNapoli on 26 January 2011.[18]
Chivu left Inter after his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 31 March 2014.[19] The very same day, he announced his retirement from football on hisFacebook page.[20]
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In 1999, Chivu was chosen to represent theRomania national under-21 team and quickly made the step up to play for thefull side. In 2001, he wonCyprus International Football Tournament 2001.[21]He represented his country at bothUEFA Euro 2000 andEuro 2008. Despite being capped only four times prior to the Euro 2000, he started all four matches and scored his first international goal.[citation needed]
At Euro 2008, he earned plaudits for his performance, keeping previousFIFA World Cup championsItaly and runners-upFrance at bay, despite being played in a less familiar role as a holding midfielder. He captained Romania throughWorld Cup qualification, but they failed to make the play-offs, finishing fifth in their group. On 21 May 2011, Chivu announced his retirement from the national team.[22]
In August 2019, Chivu enrolled in theUEFA Pro Licence courses atCoverciano.[23] In July 2021, he was announced as the new head coach ofInter MilanPrimavera.[24]
On 18 February 2025, Chivu was appointed as the new head coach ofSerie A clubParma, signing a contract until June 2026.[25] On the final matchday of the2024–25 season, Parma secured their survival in top division following a 3–2 away win overAtalanta.[26]
On 6 June 2025, reports indicated that Chivu had signed a two-year deal to become the head coach of his former club Inter Milan, with the official announcement pending the completion of his paperwork with Parma.[27] Three days later, the club officially announced his appointment.[28] His first game in charge ended as a 1-1 draw againstMonterrey in the2025 FIFA Club World Cup. 3 days later, Chivu achieved his first win in charge of the club with Inter coming back from a goal down to beat Japanese sideUrawa Red Diamonds 2-1. His first game with Inter in theSerie A was a 5-0 win againstTorino.
Chivu speaks Italian, Dutch, Spanish, and English, as well as his native Romanian.
His father Mircea was also a footballer and a coach, and theMircea Chivu Stadium fromReșița is named in his honor. He played as aright back forCSM Reșița andUniversitatea Craiova, winning the1973–74 Divizia A with the latter. Mircea was coach at CSM Reșița when Cristian started his career. According toCalcio Italia magazine, Chivu has been involved in opening football schools around Romania for the past few years, and he said "I hope that he is proud when he looks down on me" in reference to his father who died in 1998.[29][30][31]
He is married to Adelina Elisei, a former Romanian television personality and model, who gave birth to their first daughter Natalia on 12 February 2009 and their second daughter Anastasia on 4 November 2010.[32][33] Both were baptized in theRomanian Orthodox Church in Milan.[34]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| CSM Reșița | 1996–97 | Divizia B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98 | Divizia A | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 24 | 2 | |||
| Total | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 2 | ||||
| Universitatea Craiova | 1998–99 | Divizia A | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 28 | 3 | ||
| 1999–00 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 3 | ||||
| Ajax | 1999–00 | Eredivisie | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | – | 28 | 1 | |
| 2000–01 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | – | 30 | 5 | |||
| 2001–02 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | – | 42 | 1 | |||
| 2002–03 | 26 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 42 | 6 | ||
| Total | 107 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 142 | 13 | ||
| Roma | 2003–04 | Serie A | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | – | 28 | 2 | |
| 2004–05 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | – | 15 | 2 | |||
| 2005–06 | 27 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | – | 38 | 2 | |||
| 2006–07 | 26 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8[d] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 42 | 0 | ||
| Total | 85 | 6 | 20 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 123 | 6 | ||
| Inter Milan | 2007–08 | Serie A | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| 2008–09 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9[d] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 33 | 1 | ||
| 2010–11 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | 4[g] | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3[h] | 0 | – | 15 | 1 | |||
| Total | 115 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 168 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 358 | 27 | 44 | 0 | 74 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 486 | 27 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 1999 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 75 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 June 2000 | Stade du Pays de Charleroi,Charleroi, Belgium |  England | 1–0 | 3–2 | UEFA EURO 2000 Group A |
| 2 | 7 September 2002 | Koševo Stadium,Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2004 Qual. |
| 3 | 31 March 2004 | Hampden Park,Glasgow, Scotland |  Scotland | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| Team | Nat. | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Parma |  | 18 February 2025 | 9 June 2025 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 023.08 |
| Inter Milan | | 9 June 2025 | present | 21 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 45 | 21 | +24 | 066.67 |
| Total | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 59 | 34 | +25 | 050.00 | |||
CSM Reșița
Ajax[36]
Roma[36]
Inter Milan[36]
Individual
Inter Milan U19[36]
Romania squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
