As confirmed by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter are attempting to renew Cristian Chivu’s contract after clinching the Serie A title on Sunday with a win over Parma.
While Inter could end the season with more domestic silverware if they beat Lazio in the Coppa Italia final next week, there is no doubt that this has already been a sensational first season for Chivu back at San Siro, especially given that he had been a senior team manager for barely half a season when the Nerazzurri came calling.
That his Inter side sealed the Scudetto against Parma of all teams gives Chivu’s first campaign as Inter manager an even sweeter note to end on.
Chivu’s new contract will keep him at the club till 2028 and has bumped his wages from €2.1 million to €3 million per season. Talks between the two parties will be held at the end of the season, with the Romanian expected to agree to the deal – as he did when he initially joined last year.
They’ve done it again
Once again, credit has to be given to Inter chairman and CEO, Beppe Marotta, who just never seems to run out of tricks up his sleeve.
Very few people showed faith in Chivu as a successor to the much-revered Simone Inzaghi. His status at the club back from his playing days did little to persuade them to look away from the nascent nature of his coaching career.
That said, Inzaghi himself was subject to scrutiny and lack of faith when he took over at San Siro from Antonio Conte five years ago. While unlike Chivu he was a significantly more experienced at the senior level and regarded as one of the best coaches in the league at the time, he had not won Serie A despite all the good work he did with Lazio, for which he only had one Coppa Italia and two Supercoppe Italiane to show. Yet, he built on the fundamentals Conte left behind and took Inter to the league title as well as two Champions League finals.
Now, the Nerazzurri have a coach in Chivu who, despite his lack of experience, has built on top of Inzaghi’s legacy. The task for him now will be to translate this season’s domestic dominance into prolonged success and seismic continental statements.
For now, Inter can take heart from the fact that they have done it again, having successfully replaced a manager many believed hard to improve upon with one few showed faith in.
Anshuman Joshi | GIFN
