Cristian Chivu facts for kids
Chivu in a charity match in 2018
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cristian Eugen Chivu | ||
| Date of birth | 26 October 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Reșița, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back, centre-back | ||
| 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 | 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 (born 26 October 1980) is a famous Romanian football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Serie A club Inter Milan.
Chivu was a strong defender who played as a Left-back or centre-back. He started his career in his hometown of Reșița, Romania. He then moved to Universitatea Craiova before joining the Dutch club Ajax. His great performances led to a big transfer to Roma in 2003. He won the Coppa Italia with Roma. Later, he moved to Inter Milan, where he played until he retired in 2014.
At Inter Milan, Chivu achieved amazing success. He won the Italian league, the domestic cup, and the UEFA Champions League all in 2010. After a serious head injury in 2010, he bravely continued playing while wearing special protective headgear. He played 75 international matches for the Romanian national team and took part in the UEFA European Championships in 2000 and 2008. After retiring as a player, he became a football expert for TV and a technical observer for UEFA. He began his coaching career with Inter Milan's youth teams and became the head coach of Inter Milan in June 2025.
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Playing Career Highlights
Starting in Romania
Cristian Chivu began his professional football journey at CSM Reșița, his local club. After that, he moved to Universitatea Craiova. His skills quickly became noticed, and bigger clubs outside Romania started to show interest in him. The Dutch club Ajax was very impressed and signed him in 1999.
Becoming a Star at Ajax
At Ajax, Chivu became known as a very reliable defender and a great free-kick taker. His coach, Ronald Koeman, even made him the team captain. With Chivu leading the team, Ajax had a very exciting young squad that dominated the Dutch league, the Eredivisie. He played alongside future football stars like Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Zlatan Ibrahimović, and Maxwell. Chivu played a key role when Ajax almost reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League in the 2002–03 season.
Moving to Roma
In 2003, the Italian club Roma wanted to sign Chivu. There was a lot of talk about whether Roma could afford him because of their financial situation. However, Roma eventually bought Chivu for a large fee of €18 million in September. He became a regular player in their defense, but he sometimes missed games because of injuries. In his last season with Roma, he helped them win the 2006–07 Coppa Italia, which is Italy's main cup competition.
Success with Inter Milan
In July 2007, Chivu joined Inter Milan, another big club in Italy. He signed a five-year contract. His first season with Inter was very successful, as he won the Serie A title, which is the top Italian league. This was a title he had not won during his time at Roma.
During a UEFA Champions League match against Manchester United in the 2008–09 season, Chivu played an amazing game. He stopped famous players like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo many times and was named the best player of the match.
In the 2009–10 season, Chivu often played as a left-back. On January 6, 2010, he had a serious head injury after colliding with another player. He needed surgery for a skull fracture. Even though it was thought he might miss the rest of the season, he returned to play in March. After this, he had to wear a special headguard during matches to protect his head. A month later, he scored his first goal for Inter with a fantastic shot from far away. On May 22, 2010, he played in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich, which Inter won 2–0. This was a huge achievement!
He scored his second goal for Inter in the 2010–11 season, which was the winning goal in a 3–2 victory. He also scored the winning penalty kick for Inter in their 2010–11 Coppa Italia win against Napoli in January 2011.
Chivu left Inter Milan in March 2014 and announced his retirement from football on the same day.
International Matches
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In 1999, Chivu was chosen to play for the Romanian national under-21 team. He quickly moved up to play for the main national team. He represented his country in the UEFA Euro 2000 and Euro 2008 tournaments. Even though he had only played four times for the national team before Euro 2000, he started all four matches and scored his first international goal.
At Euro 2008, he received praise for his strong performances. He helped keep strong teams like Italy and France from scoring, even though he was playing in a different position than usual, as a holding midfielder. He was the captain for Romania during the World Cup qualification matches. On May 21, 2011, Chivu announced that he was retiring from playing for the national team.
Coaching Career
In August 2019, Chivu started taking coaching courses to get his UEFA Pro Licence. In July 2021, he was named the new head coach of Inter Milan's Under-19 team.
Coaching Parma
On February 18, 2025, Chivu was appointed as the new head coach of the Serie A club Parma. He signed a contract until June 2026. On the very last day of the 2024–25 season, Parma managed to stay in the top division after winning an away game 3–2 against Atalanta.
Coaching Inter Milan
On June 6, 2025, news came out that Chivu had signed a two-year deal to become the head coach of his former club, Inter Milan. The club officially announced his appointment three days later. His first game in charge was a 1-1 draw against Monterrey in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Three days later, Chivu got his first win as Inter's coach, with his team coming back from being down a goal to beat the Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds 2-1.
About Cristian Chivu
Chivu is a talented linguist and speaks Italian, Dutch, Spanish, and English, in addition to his native Romanian.
His father, Mircea Chivu, was also a footballer and a coach. The Mircea Chivu Stadium in Reșița is named in his father's honor. Mircea played as a right-back and won a league title with Universitatea Craiova. He was coaching at CSM Reșița when Cristian started his career. Cristian has also been involved in opening football schools in Romania, hoping to inspire young players. He once said, "I hope that he is proud when he looks down on me," referring to his father who passed away in 1998.
Cristian Chivu is married to Adelina Elisei. They welcomed their first child, a daughter named Natalia, on February 12, 2009.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | National cup | 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 | 0 | – | 28 | 1 | |
| 2000–01 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 30 | 5 | |||
| 2001–02 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | 42 | 1 | |||
| 2002–03 | 26 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 6 | ||
| Total | 107 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 142 | 13 | ||
| Roma | 2003–04 | Serie A | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 28 | 2 | |
| 2004–05 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 15 | 2 | |||
| 2005–06 | 27 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 38 | 2 | |||
| 2006–07 | 26 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 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 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| 2008–09 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 1 | ||
| 2010–11 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 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 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
| 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 | |
- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Chivu goal.
| 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 |
Managerial Statistics
| 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 | 23.08 |
| Inter Milan | |
9 June 2025 | present | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 50.00 |
| Total | 17 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 29.41 | |||
Trophies and Awards
As a Player
CSM Reșița
- Divizia B: 1996–97 (Second Division League)
Ajax
- Eredivisie: 2001–02 (Dutch Top League)
- KNVB Cup: 2001–02 (Dutch Cup)
- Johan Cruyff Shield: 2002 (Dutch Super Cup)
Roma
- Coppa Italia: 2006–07 (Italian Cup)
Inter Milan
- Serie A: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 (Italian Top League)
- Coppa Italia: 2009–10, 2010–11 (Italian Cup)
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2008, 2010 (Italian Super Cup)
- UEFA Champions League: 2009–10 (Europe's Top Club Competition)
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2010 (World Club Championship)
Individual Awards
- Ajax Talent of the Year (Marco van Basten Award): 1999–2000
- Dutch Golden Shoe: 2002
- Ajax Player of the Year (Rinus Michels Award): 2000–01, 2002–03
- Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year: 2002, 2009, 2010
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2002
- Giacinto Facchetti Awards: 2021
As a Coach
Inter Milan U19
- Campionato Primavera 1: 2021–22 (Italian Youth League)
See also
In Spanish: Cristian Chivu para niños
