Cristian Chivu

Cristian Chivu slugs Marco Rossi in the face

Cristian Eugen Chivu (Romanian pronunciation) (born 26 October 1980 in Reşiţa) is a Romanian footballer. He currently plays for Internazionale of the Italian Serie A. He usually plays as a left back but can play as a center back as well as in defensive midfield when needed.Chivu's first professional club was FCM Reşiţa. After moving to Universitatea Craiova, his reputation began to rise and his performances sparked interest from some larger clubs outside of Romania. Dutch club Ajax was particularly impressed with Chivu and signed him in 1999.At Ajax he developed a reputation as a reliable fullback and a free-kick specialist. Then-manager Ronald Koeman appointed him as captain of the club. With Chivu as captain, Ajax dominated the Dutch Eredivisie with an exciting young squad. Playing alongside Chivu were future stars such as Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Johnny Heitinga, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Maxwell. Chivu played a pivotal role for Ajax in their Champions League run in the 2002–03 season, when they came to within a minute of the semi-finals. That season Chivu was in a group of Ajax players who all went on to join Internazionale, comprising himself, Maxwell, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Andy Van der Meyde and Wesley Sneijder.
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. However, after much speculation Roma finally completed the purchase of Chivu in September, ending the long and protracted saga. The fee was €18 million.Though he became a regular in defence, he made limited appearances due to injuries. He won the 2007 Coppa Italia in his last season with Roma. During the summer transfer window, he was once again a subject of transfer speculation, with newly-crowned La Liga champions Real Madrid reportedly making a formal bid FC Barcelona and Internazionale were also interested in signing the defender.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 a Coppa Italia, Chivu left Roma and signed a 5-year contract with Internazionale on 27 July 2007. The transfer fee was €16 million. which €3M of the transfer fee paid via defender Marco Andreolli moved to Roma in a co-ownership deal. 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.During the Champions League match at home to Manchester United in the 2008–09 season, Chivu had a terrific game, denying Rooney and Ronaldo many times, and won Man of the Match ahead of Julio César.Chivu was a regular at left back during the 2009–10 season as Walter Samuel and Lúcio became the preferred centre back pairing. On 6 January against Chievo Verona, he was stretchered off early in the second half after colliding heads with Chievo striker Sergio Pellissier. He was in two hours of surgery for a skull fracture and later cleared of any danger. Although it was initially thought he might be out for the rest of the season, he returned to Serie A on 24 March.A month later Chivu scored his first goal for Inter in a game against Atalanta, a terrific 30 yard strike. On 22 May 2010, he was in Inter's starting line-up in the UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich, which Inter won 2–0. He scored his second goal for Inter in the 2010–11 season against Cesena which turned out to be the game winner in a 3–2 win for Inter. He also scored the winning penalty for Inter in their Coppa Italia win over Napoli on 26 January 2011.

In 1999, Chivu was chosen to represent the Romanian under-21 team and quickly made the step up to play for the full side. He played for Romania in Euro 2000 and Euro 2008. Despite being capped only four times prior to the Euro 2000, he started all four matches and scored his first international goal. During the Euro 2008, he earned plaudits for his performance, keeping previous World Cup champions Italy and runners-up France at bay, despite being played in a less familiar role as a holding midfielder. He captained Romania through World 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.
Chivu can speak Italian, Dutch, Spanish and English as well as his native Romanian.

He is currently married to Adelina Elisei. According to Calcio 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 late father who was a youth coach.

On 12 February 2009, his wife Adelina gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Natalia.
Individual

* Dutch Golden Shoe: 2002
* Romanian Footballer of the Year: 2000, 2002, 2009, 2010
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2002
* Marco van Basten Trophy: 2000

# ^ "Accordo trasferimento calciatore Cristian CHIVU’" (in Italian). AS Roma. 8 July 2003. http://109.75.174.100/~asroma/downloads/corporate_investor/1287723401.pdf. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
# ^ "Inter still keen on Roma's Chivu". FIFA.com. 25 July 2007. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=558991.html.
# ^ "Barcelona in the lead to buy Roma's Chivu". ESPN. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=441921&campaign=rss&source=soccernet&cc=5739. Retrieved 27 June 2007.
# ^ "Barca in pole position for Chivu". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11833_2493269,00.html. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
# ^ CESSIONE DEL DIRITTO ALLE PRESTAZIONI SPORTIVE DEL CALCIATORE CRISTIAN EUGEN CHIVU AS Roma, 27 July 2007
# ^ "Cristian Chivu signs for Inter". http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=26924&L=en. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
# ^ "Serie A: Chievo 0–1 Inter". inter.it. 6 January 2010. http://inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=32989&L=en.
# ^ "Inter Milan's Cristian Chivu in hospital with skull fracture". ESPN Soccernet. 6 January 2010. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=721578&sec=europe&cc=4716.
# ^ "Paura per Chivu: frattura cranica; Operato subito, è fuori pericolo" (in Italian). Quotidiano.net. 6 January 2010. http://quotidianonet.ilsole24ore.com/sport/calcio/2010/01/06/277616-inter_grande_paura_chivu.shtml.
# ^ "Chivu: "Magical to be back"". Inter.it. 24 March 2010. http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=33532&L=en.
# ^ "Coppa Italia: Inter edge through on penalties". ESPN Soccernet. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=312201&cc=5739. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
# ^ "Chivu: "Why I'm quitting the national team"". Inter.it. http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=36529&L=en. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
# ^ Roberto Rosetti appointed for Milan derby inter.it, 13 February 2009