Is it more difficult to be Chivu at Inter or De Rossi at Genoa? » What the legendary Fabio Capello answered
Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published Sunday, December 14, 2025 3:13 p.m. / Updated Sunday, December 14, 2025 4:23 p.m.
Fabio Capello trained Cristian Chivu and Daniel De Rossi TO AS Romain the 2003 – 2004 season. The two will be opponents on Sunday evening, as coaches, in Genoa – Inter.
Asked by Gazzetta dello Sport journalists who he sees more Fabio Capello, Chivu or De Rossi?, the legendary Italian coach preferred a diplomatic answer.
Fabio Capello: “Inter is always a more difficult place”
“They are two coaches who know how to handle difficult situations well. And that is very important. They also know how to convey things correctly to the teams they are coaching. Those are two great qualities that I recognize in them, and I think they're some of the things that I've been good at as well“, Capello pointed out.
But when asked whether “is it more difficult now to be Chivu on the bench at Inter or De Rossi on the bench at Genoa?”, the former Milan, Roma and Real Madrid coach left no room for doubt.
Capello: “If we look at the absolute and objective value of clubs and teams, Inter is always a more difficult place. Chivu has taken over a bench that has a specific weight in terms of fans and history, especially considering recent achievements. It is very difficult to sustain.
On the other hand, De Rossi is in an environment where there is so much soul, so much passion. And there, in a different way, there is no lack of pressure. In essence, Chivu and De Rossi are two different opponents. One has to hold on and can afford to lose against bigger teams, the other just can't afford to lose games“.
Fabio Capello, on the decision to buy Cristi Chivu: “He was organized and knew how to distribute the ball well”
Fabio Capello also revealed why he decided to transfer Chivu from Ajax to AS Roma in the summer of 2003. “I bought him to make the team even stronger defensively, but mainly because he was organized and knew how to distribute the ball well in defense.
As they say now: he was good at opening the game from the defense. We needed a defender like that, of a certain quality. It was an excellent purchase and a very important one for that Roma team,” he explained.
Fabio Capello on player Cristi Chivu: “He was very intelligent and had a great personality”
What was Chivu like at 22 years old? Capello: “He was very intelligent on the pitch and he had a great personality. I gave him some suggestions, because in Holland they weren't great scorers, so I gave him some defensive tips. But, as I said, Cristian was very good and intelligent and he learned everything quickly.
He integrated immediately, he understood what I and the team wanted. After all, when a player is technically capable and intelligent, it's easy to give suggestions and then see how he develops them on the pitch.”
