Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published Friday, 05 June 2026, 07:53 / Updated Friday, 05 June 2026 07:54
Inter's coach, Cristi Chivu, gave an extensive interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Chivu spoke to journalists from the prestigious Italian daily about both the last season and its defining moments, as well as the one that is knocking on the door.
Cristi Chivu: “For a moment, I thought everything could go wrong”
Although it comes after a 2025 – 2026 in which he did the event in Italy, with Inter, the Romanian technician was asked if there was any moment, during it, when he feared he would be fired. Chivu's answer: “I had some thoughts, especially after the defeats against Udinese and Juve… For a moment, I thought that everything might go wrong, but then I saw that the club did not have the same perception as me. In fact, they immediately supported me. I felt only support and closeness.”
He was at a meeting with Inter's bosses on Thursday that lasted no less than 4 hours. During this, the summer transfer campaign was also discussed, as well as the extension of his contract until 2028, with an option for an additional one. However, Cristi is not sure that he will stay on the Nerazzurri bench longer than the president Bebe Marotta at the head of the club.
Cristi Chivu: “There is a risk of going home early”
“If I don't lose three matches in a row, maybe… (laughs, ed.) That's enough and there's a risk I'll go home early. Jokes aside, this is the reality of football, I've accepted it for a long time: I understand why players get five-year contracts, and coaches only two… The coach is the one who pays first for everything. Whether it's fair or not, that's how things are,” concluded the coach from Resița.
Last season's turning point? “I never had time to look back. My concern was always the next game. I thought how to build on the good things I had done, but I can say that we have learned to react to difficulties and defeats. Here lies the turning point. My mistake? I am my first critic, especially when I win. I've made so many mistakes and I always tend to question myself, after matches but also during…”
Cristi Chivu, about the Champions League: “The main objective would be to reach the round of 16”
On the challenge of the coming season, Chivu commented: “It's more difficult now. We have to be good at finding the right incentives and motivation even in this new situation. The same mentality, hunger, balance day by day. It's never easy to repeat a victory, but we're dealing with great champions who know how to do it. And then we have a club that supports us, a staff capable of understanding and managing certain moments. Nobody can know the future, but with we will all work hard to repeat and improve.”
The Champions League remained, last season, the only competition in which Inter did not go far, being stopped by Bodo/Glimt in the play-off. Chivu's belief is that this race must not become an obsession: “There is too much talk about this cup. We have to accept our reality and that of other countries.
It is obvious that we have ambitions, our history dictates that, but I would start slowly and I think the main objective in Europe is to qualify in the top eight of the group and reach the last 16. Let's remember that there are teams that spend half a billion to win the Champions League and fail, perhaps even qualifying for the quarter-finals or the round of 16. And there are others, like Inter, in recent years, who have reached the final by doing things well”.
To win the League, you need many things: ideas and, above all, players. Because in the end, it's the players who make the difference. At the moment, no Italian team is able to do what the English teams can. That doesn't mean we won't do everything and more to try
Cristi Chivu, Inter coach
Cristi Chivu on the loss of Denzel Dumfries: “He had a clause and Inter couldn't do anything”
Chivu also spoke about the departure of Denzel Dumfries to Real Madrid: “Denzel did his part… He had a clause and Inter couldn't do anything to stop him. We have to be ready to find the right solution, the right alternative and understand what will help us to make the qualitative leap in the future.”
Is the campaign transfers? “I've planned everything; there's Plan A and Plan B for every post, but then August comes and anything can happen because unforeseen situations can arise. Plus, in the summer of the World Championship, everything can become excruciating…”
Cristi Chivu, on how he convinced the players to follow him: “It's always an exchange of rewards”
At the end of the interview, Chivu commented that there is more talk about other coaches, “but maybe not enough about those who have won two trophies”: “I don't care. Not everyone knows what it means to coach a big club like Inter, where the obligation is not only to play well, but to win. And I played well, in addition to winning! It is not easy to manage big players with strong egos, knowledge of the game and deep self-belief“.
How did he get a group with so many egos to follow him so much? The Romanian's reply: “In front of my players, I just want to be a man, not an authority figure. It's always an exchange of rewards and I got the same attention from the players. Even the best coach in the world can come to a club with his most advanced ideas, but if the group doesn't accept him, it's all for nothing.
On the dance floor, you must always dance together: if you dance alone, they will drive you crazy. I probably convinced them with my humanity, with my words, with my hard work, that it is much more important than hitting the table with your fist. Maybe next year I'll lose three times and they'll kick me out, but I'll always be like this.”
