Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Tuesday, October 21, 2025 21:57 / Updated Tuesday, October 21, 2025 21:57
Former goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon, 38 years old, a colleague of Cristi Chivu in the Romanian national team, declares himself delighted with the coaching journey of the current main player from Inter Milan, revealing that he did not expect the former defender to follow this career.
Costel Pantilimon and Cristi Chivu, former Romanian internationals, played together 5 times.
Former goalkeeper with 4 English teams in his CV, Pantilimon knows Chivu well and it is from this position that he is surprised that he followed the path of coaching.
With Chivu on the bench of a huge European club, Inter Milan, Pantilimon is delighted with his progress and recommends him as an example for the new generation of coaches.
Pantilimon teamed up with Cristi Chivu and reveals: “Honestly, I didn't see him in training!”
“I expected him to reach a high level, he has almost all the assets, but to be honest, I didn't see him in training! I could see him continuing on the administrative side. I'm happy for him, I'm happy for the path he's had so far.
His experience can provide an example for young coaches, that one can start from the bottom and reach a high level. Many have started to skip stages and the results are not up to the expectations they had as players.
Cristi gives an example to young coaches, that you can and must take it from the bottom. Everything comes with time, with experience. It's no shame that he started right from U14. At the moment, he is coaching Inter's big team with good results. (…)
He is a complete package, he knows how to work with both young and experienced players. Inter's locker room still contains many players who have won trophies. It is a group that Inzaghi formed, and Cristi came and knew how to keep this gear under control. He also made small changes, bringing in some young players, sometimes the system changed,” Pantilimon said on the GSP Live Special show.
Costel Pantilimon, Chivu's colleague against France: “How important it was!”
Recalling one of the matches in which they teamed up, a duel with France in the preliminaries of the European Championship in 2012, Pantilimon stated:
“Then I also noticed, in a big match, how important it was for Inter, but also for the national team. It's very easy to play with a player of his caliberto see how expertly he handles the phases. It makes your mission much easier too.
If I see players like that in front of me, handling a match like the one against France with such experience and ease, of course my confidence level also increases a lot. And that's exactly how it was.”
