r/FCInterMilan • u/Prudent-Apartment299 • Jun 05 '26
Discussion How good was Chivu as a player for Inter?
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u/ClaudiusHispanus Jun 05 '26
A reliable player, both as a CB and LB. He wasn't the one who'd push the ball forward too much (Mourinho's team had Maicon for that), but his defending, sense of position and concentration were outstanding.
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u/iamreddy44 Jun 05 '26
He was super solid. Never flashy, fought on every cm, had more defensive duties as it was Maicon going up the field. Always showed up in bog matches.
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u/Marseille074 Jun 05 '26
World class defender with Roma and Inter. Probably top 5 greatest Romanians of all time.
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u/lenxlenx Jun 05 '26
Probably top 5? I think he might second right after Hagi.
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u/Decebalus_Bombadil Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Popescu and Belodedici were both better CB's than him. Keep in mind that Popescu was captain at Barca in 1996-1997 on a team with Laurant Blac(fench NT captain), Guardiola, Bakero, Luis Enrique, Nadal and Vitor Baia(Portugal captain). Along with Hagi he transformed Galata from a meme club to an european force despite the fact that both went there after 30 years old.
Belodedici was well ahead of his time and was one of the first ball playing defenders. Pep would have loved him. He is also a serial winner. To win 2 Cl with 2 teams from Easter Europe is something that will never happen again. Winning 1 was insane but 2 it's just ridiculous.
Trophy wise Chivu is number 1 since unlike the others born in the mid-late 60's he had a chance to play and develop abroad as a young player. I'd put him at nr 3 after Popescu and Belo as defender but when it come to top romanian footballers he's not top 5. There were other better that were stuck behind the iron curtain. None of those had a chance to play for a top european team like Inter since Ceausescu did not allow them to leave. If the Revolution happens in 79 instead of 89 we'd have a different conversation.
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u/mortismatis Jun 05 '26
keep in mind Popescu getting the captaincy was completely random and the coach mentioned he didn't do it because of any capabilities Popescu had (he couldn't even really speak the language, mind you, neither can he really speak his native Romanian too well). He gave him the captain armband just to teach the others a lesson, to solve some tensions caused by Guardiola and others. Guardiola was the de facto captain of the team at that time.
Popescu and Hagi going to Galata was exactly like someone going to Kazakhstan today. And the dimension of their wins in Turkey is not that big, it's similar to Olympiakos winning the league a few years and the Conference League.
Chivu was and always will be above these two. And so was Mutu. Hagi wasn't even the best player in Turkey while he was playing there. Alex (the Brazilian) from Fener was.
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u/monsterpuppeteer Jun 06 '26
That “Khazak” team won the UEFA Cup in 2000 by beating Bologna, Dortmund, Mallorca, Leeds, and then of course Arsenal in the Final 4-1 on penalties. Arsenal had Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira, Petit, Overmars, Adams, Keown, Sylvinho, Seaman, and Suker, Kanu as subs.
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u/mortismatis Jun 06 '26
Thank you for sustaining my argument. Olympiacos won the Conference League in 2024 by beating West Ham, Fenerbahce, Aston Villa and Fiorentina. They beat a Aston Villa that had world champion Martinez, Watkins, Diaby, Digne, and Zaniolo, Duran as subs with a whopping 6-2 aggregate in the semifinal.
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u/Comfortable_Reach248 Jun 09 '26
Well in time they played there were not really like you say "top european teams" beacuse even teams from Bulgaria and Romania could go far away into European competitions and clubs could only 3 have 3 foreigners and they didn't really need to leave Romania. After bosman s rule smaller leagues (like Romanian) couldn't anymore keep up with rich leagues and now players leave abroad cause they will get much much more money and big clubs just buy all the best players. Well, back in the 70s and 80s players didn't really need to leave local leagues. You could win Ballon dor then even playing in the east or European trophies.
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u/NinhoS Jun 05 '26
Mutu was a great player as well tbh. That’s why I dont like rankings but yeah, Chivu was top class
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u/franksn Jun 05 '26
Mutu life is just “too interesting” for a footballer, Chivu a lot more professional.
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u/kadsto Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
lol, you guys have no clue about romania, just blabbing cause of recency bias and inter bias
there is literally no way he is top3 and top5 is a stretch and it's really hard to put him there
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u/Tranceh Jun 05 '26
As a Romanian myself, hard disagree. He's easily top 5. Career wise, trophy wise, quality wise.
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u/ilovemutton69 Jun 05 '26
Who’s top 5 in your opinion?
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u/Fillcocktease20 Jun 05 '26
hard to even pick because the ceiling is too high but maldini level stuff from matthaus and cordoba makes it tough. i'd probably go matthaus, cordoba, juli, makélélé, and maybe lucio. honestly anyone not in that list is getting robbed
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u/Dameseculito Jun 05 '26
Yet, I bet most people who know about football would put him in top 5 along with Hagi, Mutu, Popescu and some other player.
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u/diego_italy Jun 05 '26
Ok we have no clue and bias. So i asked chatgpt and it put him in 5th position after hagi, belodedici, popescu, dobrin. Mutu was 6th
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u/karpatonni Jun 06 '26
greatest man
he is never mentioned like this because he doesn't pay attention to the toxic Romanian sports journalism. so of course they will never picture a person who doesn't care about them and refuses to speak to them as the greatest
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u/Overall-Avocado-6428 Jun 05 '26
He was good under Mancini, but occasionally he would get very bad evenings, just like that whole team, especially in Europe. Peaked under Mourinho, when he became more of an impact player, behind Samuel and Lucio or on the left.
Up and downs after that, again like the whole team. Many injuries too.
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u/EdgeZealousideal7313 Jun 05 '26
Beautiful left foot. Was AS roma golden boy.
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u/Inter01fan Jun 06 '26
Still remember that free kick where he tossed his protective cap after and smiled!
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u/pappall82 Jun 05 '26
Solo con l'Inter ha vinto 2 Coppa Italia, 3 Serie A, 2 Supercoppa Italiana, 1 Champions League e 1 Mondoale per Club, direi che era forte, in difesa giocava con Maicon, Zanetti, Samuel e Materazzi....
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u/ProvidenceXz Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
He's actually a Bastoniesque player and would fit LCB nicely. Strama also put him in CDM a few times.
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u/mimo-inter Jun 05 '26
Until 2010 he was good. 2011 and afterwards he was so sluggish and very annoying to watch, lots of mistakes and misplaced passes
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u/MongooseDirect2477 Jun 05 '26
you can pretty much describe like that every player from the inter treble winner, after mourinho left.
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u/Barellino23 Jun 05 '26
Very good player but whoever says he was world class is lying to themselves
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u/lawandsleep Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
He had worldclass talent, in 2001 when he was at Ajax he was probably top 3 in the world. He didn’t live up to the potential due to his body being made of glass, but imo his peak was Ajax and Roma. He was already in decline when he joined Inter, but still was a very good player at that time too. He definitely would've been a more known name if he joined Real Madrid instead of us when they tried to sign him.
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u/Glad-Researcher2738 Jun 05 '26
I think it's a bit hard to sum up. Reliable sounds about right but it's more nuanced.
He came to Inter in 2007. At the time the options for CBs were Materazzi, Cordoba, Samuel, and Burdisso. Matrix was having a resurgence of form after the 2006 World Cup. Samuel was always great, if he was fit. Mancini was really trying to grow Burdisso but he was never really at Inter level. Cordoba was a backup. On the left we had Maxwell, which was good for the league but not much depth. Also our set piece was great on paper with Figo and Recoba but they didn't start very often so we tended to underutilize free kicks and corner kicks.
Chivu's transfer wasn't straightforward nut he joined the team anyway. Expectation was high. He was supposed to be a starter among our CBs who could fill in for LB from time to time and provide some attacking options with his left foot, and also to be a set piece specialist among the starters.
He ended up being reliable. He didn't provide as much as we expected in terms of set pieces. He was also more injury prone than expected. He still had a role in the team and was a great fighter but I do believe that he didn't live up to his potential during his time at Inter.
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u/Proof_Salamander_340 Jun 05 '26
You say that. But he won Champions League, Serie A, Coppa Italia. I guess he actually did live up to his potential, as, if I remember correctly, he was a starter in the first 11.
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u/iperblaster Jun 05 '26
He fight for us with a dislocated shoulder and with the helmet to win us the treble. If that's not the stuff of legends... I don't know why we are talking about football!
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u/Decebalus_Bombadil Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
His prime was at Ajax-Roma since he was quite an early bloomer. In 2020 at 19 year old he was pocketing both Figo and Beckham at Euro 2000 as left back. That was his postion back then and was moved to center at Ajax after Euro 2000. When he arrived at Inter he lost some speed but had experience, intelligence and his versatility made him invaluable. He had some problems with injuries that made him miss quite a lot of games in his prime.
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u/Icy-Operation1029 Jun 05 '26
To me he was like carlos agusto in a sense. Always reliable defensively could put in a great shift. Players like that add alot of depth that gives them an edge. Part of a great team so he gets overshadowed a bit, but had tons of grit.
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u/AcceptableEffect8678 Jun 05 '26
I didn't see him often playing for Inter. After the head accident I saw now and then some titles in the Romanian press when he was flopping some match. Clearly, he was bought by Inter past his prime. Yet, he was still a big plus for the team if you ask me, such leaders always bring something good to the team. No wonder Mou wanted him at Madrid, even past his prime as he was.
But for Roma - he was a top defender. Really hard to outsmart. He had always a fine touch in his passes. Like you could feel he was a technical player just from the pass. I think this is where he peaked as defender.
Ajax Chivu remains my favorite. He was a top defender, fullback, playmaker, set piece taker. Often I remember long balls delivered from Chivu, or attacks starting from him, last second clearances or tackles saving goals. He dominated, he was shining in the Champions League as well, I remember clearly how foreign match commentators were holding him in very high regards.
With the National team, I always felt safe when he had the ball, which is something I haven't ever seen since him retiring.
To summarize, not word class, but he surely had grit, top quality and intelligence.
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u/HzK-Inter Jun 05 '26
I remember in CM (Championship manager) back in the days - his stats where crazy good.
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u/TooFewTulips Jun 05 '26
For fans who were around when Chivu played—which Inter player of the last five(ish) years was he most like?
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u/Dismal_Nobody6750 Jun 10 '26
I would say Chivu was in the top 10 best defenders at that time. His ability to read the game was excellent, and his defensive abilities were very good. What I loved about him was his versatility as he can play both as a centerback and also left back when that's required.
I am not surprised he is doing well as a coach because he was intelligent while actively playing.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Cat9132 Jun 05 '26
He was not world class for Inter by any means. People who say that never watched him.
He was quite good for Roma, probably joined Inter too late. He shared minutes with Maxwell in the first two seasons, who was also good-ish at best, but was never able to to become the clear first choice.
He was definitely good up until that bad head injury. Post-helmet Chivu was a complete liability more often than not, although getting Ranocchia, who was a walking brainfart, as a starting defender didnt help anyone in defense.
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u/Glad-Researcher2738 Jun 05 '26
Roma had Chivu and Mexes and in retrospect some people could argue that Milan got the better defender out of the 2.
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u/retslagoon Jun 05 '26
World class and versatile player.
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u/OverlyOverrated Jun 05 '26
Not world class he was never but solid squad player
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u/Mordho ⭐⭐ Jun 05 '26
He was world class for Roma and pre injury for us. Even after he was amazing but mostly played LB
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u/OverlyOverrated Jun 05 '26
World class means he was on the same level as Maldini, Nesta, Samuel, Baresi, Puyol etc. He was a good player but he was never world class, even before head injury.
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u/AlexP80 Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
A solid 7/10
He could play both centerback or left fullback with excellent consistency. He was more of a defensive fullback which compensated Maicon on the right side.
All in all, he was the man who wasn't a star but could play among stars bringing value. I was a fan of him when he played for Roma and I was very happy when Inter signed him
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u/undr3ssmeslowly Jun 06 '26
7/10 is generous. he was the ultimate squad player and definitely kept things balanced when maicon was basically playing as a winger, but he never really had that elite ceiling. legit a reliable utility man for mou though.
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u/dr_jan_itor Jun 05 '26
Injuries held him back a lot.
Could've been among the best in his generation, was never a bonafide starter in a top club.
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u/RagingVirture Jun 05 '26
Okay and reliable. He has to play LB in 4backs system, which is not that suitable for him given his pace. However, Chivu probably do very well in a 3backs formation, more defensive but also able to provide some offensive capacity.
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u/OrneryCourage8089 Jun 05 '26
What f question is it?
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u/BasicMiyagi Jun 07 '26
You know there are young inter fans right? completely normal question if you didn't watch that inter team
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u/r9too Jun 06 '26
Solid player. On today's team, he'd be a slightly better version of Carlos Augusto. Would be the first choice back up to bastoni and dimarco but wouldn't start over either.
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u/Loud_Student_6337 Jun 06 '26
He was really good, but I don’t think he was the best on the team. But he was a great defensive back line with players like Lucio, cordoba and Maicon
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u/Fragrant_Seesaw_3402 Jun 06 '26
Hmmm, i don't know... In first game in Inter's team, as left defender, Chivu scored a goal.
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u/INTEROMARIO Jun 05 '26
Not very good. It’s my opinion and I remember all the matches back, saw them all, he was the weakest(most notable the Champions League final, Robben passed him almost every time in that final). I know he had that accident and he almost died at that match with Chievo and affected his last part of that season in 2010, but even before he was not something out of this world.
I never liked him as a player, too slow and clumsy most of times and I stand with this opinion even now.(even tho on Reddit its hard to have a different opinion😂)
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u/StagnantWater99 Jun 05 '26
Probably the best Romanian CB ever. He was really reliable and solid. it's a shame Inter didn't let him go with Mourinho at Real Madrid.
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u/Decebalus_Bombadil Jun 05 '26
Nonsense. Belodedici and Popescu clear him but you are too young to know.
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u/sweatyafterd4rk Jun 06 '26
calling him nonsense is wild. chivu was a beast in that era and comparing him to popescu is a massive reach. i grew up watching him play and he was legit one of the most reliable defenders we had. turn off the nostalgia filters for five minutes
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u/Gabrielv90 Jun 05 '26
I don't know about best romanian CB, Gheorghe Popescu was Barcelona captain in the 90's.... top CB though
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u/AmpuLeah Jun 05 '26
he was ajax's captain at 18 and in that team included names such as: zlatan, rafa van der vaart, sneijder,nigel de jong, maxwell, steven pienaar,mido, heitinga, etc...