Cristian Chivu, Romanian footballer
Cristian Eugen Chivu (Romanian pronunciation: [kristiˈan e.uˈdʒen ˈkivu]; born 26 October 1980) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Inter Milan Primavera.
A defender, he began his career with hometown club CSM Reșița before moving to FC Universitatea Craiova in 1998, leaving Romania to join Dutch club Ajax a season later. His performances as the captain of Ajax inspired an €18 million transfer to Roma in 2003. Chivu won the Coppa Italia in his last of four seasons in Rome before a transfer to Internazionale, where he spent the rest of his career before retiring in 2014. After recovering from a fractured skull, Chivu wore a distinctive protective headgear from 2010 onwards. His honours at Inter included a treble of the Italian league, domestic cup, and the UEFA Champions League in 2010.
Chivu earned 75 international caps for Romania between 1999 and 2010, and was part of the squads for UEFA European Championships in 2000 and 2008. After retiring, he became a football pundit for Italian television stations Sky Sport and Fox Sports. He is also a technical observer for UEFA.