Cristian Chivu

Cristian Chivu is a retired center back, born on 26 October 1980 in Reşiţa, Romania.

Christian’s professional career started in 1996 after he had graduated from CSM Reşiţa youth academy and signed a professional contract with the club. The young footballer played with the Romanian club for two seasons scoring 2 goals in 25 appearances.

In 1998 Chivu joined Universitatea Craiova. He was guaranteed a permanent spot in the starting 11 which was very important for the young defender. Cristian made 34 appearances and scored 3 goals for the Romanian club.

Following a successful season at Universitatea Craiova Cristian received a lot of interesting offers from top European clubs. AFC Ajax’s offer was the most profitable and Chivu accepted it. During 4 seasons at Ajax Cristian was a regular in the starting lineup except during periods when he was injured or disqualified. For 4 seasons at the Dutch club Cristian Chivu made 142 appearances and scored 13 goals.

In 2003 Chivu caught the eye of top European clubs that wanted to acquire such a reliable defender. In the summer of 2003 Cristian signed a long-term contract with A.S. Roma. For 4 years at the Giallorossi Chivu didn’t become a key player of the starting lineup but was quite frequently allowed to start matches. Cristian made 123 appearances and scored 6 goals for Roma.

In 2007 Cristian transferred to Internazionale. The head coach periodically put Chivu in the starting lineup as a key defender. From 2007 the Romanian defender made 168 appearances and netted 3 goals for the Nerazzurri. In March 2014 Chivu, who had been suffering from injuries, retired from professional football.

Cristian was named Romanian Footballer of the Year in 2000, 2002, 2009 and 2010. From 1999 to 2011 Cristian Chivu played for Romania national team scoring 3 goals in 73 matches.