Why Chivu has such a strong bond with Inter as player and coach

Originally posted on Football Italia | By Susy Campanale | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 1:15 PM ET

Cristian Chivu is all set to become the new Inter coach, but while he has only 13 senior management games under his belt, his career is steeped in Nerazzurri lore.

The first choice to replace Simone Inzaghi had been Cesc Fabregas, until Como refused to let him even speak to them, while Patrick Vieira was another candidate at Genoa.

Multiple sources now point towards an agreement with Chivu, who in turn has rejected the offer of a new deal at Parma.

He only took over in February 2025 and oversaw three Serie A victories, seven draws and three defeats.

That was Chivu’s first and so far only job as a senior coach at the age of 44.

Most of Chivu’s experience has been at Inter

However, the Romanian is chosen because of his very strong bond with Inter that goes back to his playing days.

He was a rock in their defence from 2007 to his retirement in 2014, part of the squad that won the legendary Treble under Jose Mourinho in 2010.

There were 169 matches played in the Inter jersey, in which he won the Champions League, Club World Cup, three Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia editions and two Italian Super Cups.

After that, he became a UEFA match analyst before embarking on his coaching career at Inter in the youth academy from 2018.

He went up through various levels of the academy, culminating in the Primavera youth team from 2021 to 2024.

It was under Chivu that Inter won the Primavera Scudetto in the 2021-22 campaign, the highlight of his 133 games in charge.

This article first appeared on Football Italia and was syndicated with permission.

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