Inter Milan’s new coach Cristian Chivu is facing his first city derby as coach. With a win against AC he could further increase his hero status among the Nerazzurri fans.
When Inter Milan presented Cristian Chivu as their new coach last June, there was great astonishment in Italy. At the time, the Romanian had coached on the sidelines in just 13 Serie A games. In February he took over AC Parma and saved them from relegation. But that was about it in terms of first league experience.
And yet he was supposed to replace Simone Inzaghi at the traditional Italian club, who had led the “Nerazzurri” to the championship in 2024 and to the final of the Champions League a year later.
Won the treble with Inter as a player in 2010
But Chivu and Inter – they both have a history. And even if some people may have been a little surprised, the Inter fans were happy because Chivu is one of their big heroes. And he could increase this hero status if he leads Inter to victory against city rivals AC Milan in the Milan derby on Sunday (from 8:45 p.m. in the live ticker on sportschau.de).
The 45-year-old Chivu played for Inter between 2007 and 2014 and ended his active career there. He was part of the great Inter team that celebrated the triple of the Italian championship, the Italian Cup and victory in the Champions League in 2010 under coach José Mourinho. In the final at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, he was in the starting line-up in the 2-0 win against FC Bayern Munich.
Champions League final 2010: Cristian Chivu in a duel with Bayern’s Arjen Robben
Special helmet after skull fracture
His trademark back then was his special helmet. In January 2010, Chivu collided with his opponent during a header duel in the game against Chievo Verona and had to be carried off the pitch. Chivu suffered a skull fracture and underwent emergency surgery. Just two months later (hero status!) he was back on the pitch – with that special helmet.
Youth coach at Inter
He started his coaching career – you guessed it – at Inter Milan. In July 2018 he became coach of the U14, the following year he took over the U17, then the U18 and finally the Primavera – the highest youth team. His good work there then brought Parma onto the scene.
Cristian Chivu on the sidelines for Parma Calcio
First derby as a coach
Now Chivu is facing his first “Derby della Madonnina” as a coach. And this is a real top game. Inter leads the table with 24 points before matchday 12, AC is second with 22 points and could dethrone their rivals with a win at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium.
In the exciting race for the championship, AS Roma are also involved in second place and SSC Napoli in fourth place. Even FC Bologna and Juventus Turin are still within striking distance of the top.
Mixed feelings about the city duel
As a player, Chivu has mixed feelings about the famous city derby. He likes to think back to the successful 2009/10 season, when Inter outclassed the Rossoneri 4-0 and 2-0 on the way to the Scudetto.
Cristian Chivu in a duel with Ronaldinho at the 2009 Milan derby
The following season things didn’t go so well for Chivu. After 0-1 in the first leg, Inter lost the second duel 0-3 and the Romanian was shown a red card after a rude foul on Alexandre Pato. At the end of the season, Inter had to give up the championship to AC.
AC can pull away from Inter for the time being
Inter have now won three games in a row. A win in the derby would of course not decide the championship, but the gap to AC would increase to five points. This would certainly increase Chivu’s hero status – even without a helmet.