Contents
* 1 Club career
o 1.1 Early career
o 1.2 AFC Ajax
o 1.3 AS Roma
o 1.4 Internazionale
* 2 International career
o 2.1 International goals
* 3 Personal life
* 4 Career statistics
* 5 Honours
o 5.1 Club
o 5.2 Individual
* 6 References
* 7 External links
Club career
Early career
Chivu's first professional club was FCM Reşiţa. After moving to Universitatea Craiova, his reputation began to rise and his performances sparked interest from some larger clubs outside of Romania. Dutch club Ajax was particularly impressed with Chivu and signed him in 1999.
AFC Ajax
At Ajax he developed a reputation as a reliable fullback and a free-kick specialist. Then-manager Ronald Koeman appointed him as captain of the club. With Chivu as captain, Ajax dominated the Dutch Eredivisie with an exciting young squad. Playing alongside Chivu were future stars such as Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Andy van der Meyde, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Maxwell. Chivu played a pivotal role for Ajax in their Champions League run in the 2002–03 season, when they came to within a minute of the semi-finals. That season Chivu was in a group of Ajax players who all went on to join Internazionale, comprising himself, Maxwell, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Andy Van der Meyde and Wesley Sneijder.
AS Roma
In 2003, Roma expressed their interest in signing Chivu. At the time, Roma had an enormous debt and there were questions raised over Roma's ability to pay any proposed fees. Seeking to silence the increasing doubt over their financial situation, Roma sought a bank guarantee, which was subsequently denied. However, after much speculation Roma finally completed the purchase of Chivu, ending the long and protracted saga. The fee was reported to be €18 million. Though he became a regular in defence, he made limited appearances due to injuries. He won the 2007 Coppa Italia in his last season with Roma. During the summer transfer window, he was once again a subject of transfer speculation, with newly-crowned La Liga champions Real Madrid and FC Barcelona reportedly making a formal bid and Internazionale also interested.
Internazionale
After a four-year spell which yielded a Coppa Italia, Chivu left Roma and signed a 5-year contract with Internazionale on 27 July 2007. The transfer fee was €16 million. which €3M of the transfer fee paid via defender Marco Andreolli moved to Roma in a co-ownership deal.[3] His first season with the defending Serie A champions was a successful one as he won the Serie A title that had eluded him during his time at Roma.
During the Champions League match at home to Manchester United in the 2008-2009 season, Chivu had a terrific game, denying Rooney and Ronaldo many times, and won Man of the Match ahead of Julio César.
Chivu was a regular at left back during the 2009–10 season as Walter Samuel and Lúcio became the preferred centre back pairing. On 6 January against Chievo Verona, he was stretchered off early in the second half after colliding heads with Chievo striker Sergio Pellissier. He was in two hours of surgery for a skull fracture and later cleared of any danger. Although it was initially thought he might be out for the rest of the season, he returned to Serie A on 24 March. A month later Chivu scored his first goal for Inter in a game against Atalanta. On 22 May 2010 he was in Inter's starting line-up in the UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich, which Inter won 2–0.
International career
In 1999, Chivu was chosen to represent the Romanian Under-20 team and quickly made the step up to play for the full side. He played for Romania in Euro 2000 and Euro 2008. Despite being capped only four times prior to the Euro 2000, he started all four matches and scored his first international goal. During the Euro 2008, he earned plaudits for his performance, keeping previous World Cup champions Italy and runners-up France at bay, despite being played in a less familiar role as a holding midfielder. He captained Romania through World Cup qualification but they failed to make the play-offs, finishing fifth in their group.
International goals
Scores and results table. Romania's goal tally
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