Article by Daniel Scorpie – Published Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 3:23 p.m. / Updated Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 3:26 p.m.
crystal Chivu he has the opportunity to win the title in Serie A and the Cup in his first season at Inter. Ottavio Bianchi (82 years old), who achieved the “event” with Napoli in 1986-1987, recommended to the Romanian technician how to proceed with his players to keep them focused on achieving their goals.
Very close to getting the first Scudetto of his coaching career and with a qualifying match for the final of the Coppa Italia (tonight, at 22:00, the second leg of the semi-final with Como takes place on “Giuseppe Meazza”, in the round it was 0-0), Chivu receives advice from a former great technician of the 80s in peninsular football.
Ottavio Bianchi: “What are you celebrating? We haven't won anything yet!”
In an interview given to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Ottavio Bianchi, champion and winner of the Cup with Napoli where Diego Maradona played in the 1986-1987 season, praised the Nerazzurri coach and told how he did to avoid relaxing his students, after they had already won the scudetto.
Ottavio Bianchi had 208 matches on the Napoli technical bench in two terms (1985-1989 and 1992-1993) / Photo: GettyImages
“I made a mistake, because when the players and all Napoli were celebrating our first title, considering that we had another final that I was very interested in, I went into the dressing room a little pretended and with a hard face.
I told them “What are you celebrating? I haven't won anything yet!”. They looked at me like I was crazy… But then I also won the Coppa Italia,” revealed Bianchi.
“Beyond the talent of Chivu and the team, it was helped by the fact that the opponents lost the pace at one point
Asked by the reporter if he expected these performances from Chivu in his debut season, the renowned analyst said: “Beyond his and the team's talent, I think he was helped by the fact that Inter's opponents dropped the pace at one point and he was no longer hanging around in the championship.
317matches in Serie A had Ottavio Bianchi as coach at Avellino, Como, Napoli, Roma, Inter and Fiorentina. He won a Scudetto, two Italian Cups and a UEFA Cup
Then, in the Cup, the second line of the team comes into play, but he has the advantage of having valuable and fresh reserves. And last but not least, Inter are used to trophies, while Napoli, my team, are not. It's very different compared to today's Napoli, who no longer have to wait 50 years to win.”
Ottavio Bianchi made a special recommendation to Chivu: “In my former profession, mentors often reminded me of the words of a French philosopher, 'Giving good advice is a mistake, giving excellent advice is a tragedy.' So I'm careful not to give advice.
Chivu will definitely be good at pretending to be mean, even if he wants to laugh and joke, just to keep the team focused. It's part of the trainer's skills.
Coach Cristi Chivu has 25 wins, three draws and 5 defeats in this championship at Inter, with a goal difference of 78-29 / Photo: Imago Images
To downplay a situation when there is drama and over dramatize when the situation is too calm. Sometimes it's good to make a storm just to keep everyone on their toes.”
