Julian Faustini unpacks the relationship between Jose Mourinho and Cristian Chivu and their unique contribution each has made to Football Club Internazionale Milano.
For Italian football romanticists, the UEFA Champions league could not be kicking off any better, with Real Madrid hosting Inter at the Santiago Bernabeau. Jose Mourinho vs Cristian Chivu represents an emotional reunion between the two master tacticians who have an extra-special bond: the Romanian coach played under the Special One throughout his time as coach of the Milanese giants.
While Mourinho arrived at the Beneamata after winning two Premier Leagues, two League Cups, and one FA cup, Chivu took the helm of the Nerazzurri with only 13 games under his belt as coach of Parma. Despite arriving at the San Siro in two completely different stages of their managerial careers, the parallels between their experiences as coaches of Inter cannot go unnoticed.
Immediate Impact and Sense of Authority
It didn’t take long for Mourinho to establish his dominance at Inter, wining the 2009 scudetto in his first season in Milan. Although the Portuguese tactician arrived at Inter on the back ofthe Biscione winning three consecutive league titles, he transformed the domestic champions into a team with genuine European ambitions, securing a historic treble for Inter the following season, the only Italian club to ever do so.
As for Chivu, the Romanian tactician inherited a Nerazzurrisquad that was mentally frail following a season which, in a devastating one-month spell, went from competing for a possible treble to winning absolutely nothing. Despite the difficult start, Chivu restored confidence and resilience, as he guided Inter to both the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia in his first season in charge.
Cristian Chivu and Jose Mourinho are amongst just a handful ofcoaches to have won the Serie A title in their first season at Inter, along with Árpád Weisz, Alfredo Foni, and Giovanni Invernizzi.
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What impressed most about Mourinho’s arrival in Milan was how quickly he embraced and understood Inter and Italian culture, taking the media by storm as he spoke fluent Italian athis first press conference.
The Portuguese tactician created an unbreakable bond between the players in the dressing room, harnessing the siege mentality of “Inter contro tutti”. Through exceptional defensive organization and immense psychological strength, Mourinho constructed a strong collective identity and repeatedly emphasized Inter’s history and principles throughout their treble winning run.
As for Chivu, there is a deep connection between him and the Special One as the Romanian was not only a successor toMourinho, but also played a significant part in the Portuguese tactician’s Nerazzurri team.
Chivu played a pivotal role under Mourinho in the 2009/10 treble winning campaign, winning the Serie A, Coppa Italia, and Champions League together.
Furthermore, Chivu arrived as coach of Inter with a full understanding of what it meant to be part of La Beneamata, having won the Scudetto three times as a player, once as a Primavera coach for Inter in 2022, and most recently as the first-team coach last season.
Two coaches from two different eras. One of them inherited a squad that included Ibrahimovic, Zanetti, Maicon, Cambiasso, Cordoba, and of course Chivu himself. The other inherited the spine of Inzaghi’s squad featuring Lautaro, Barella, Calhanoglu, Dimarco, Bastoni and Thuram. In two different periods, they have eached played a pivotal role in psychologically resetting their respective squads and are now set to face each other in an epic clash between the student and the master.
WORDS BY JULIAN FAUSTINI