Early career Chivu's first professional club was
CSM Reșița. 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.
Ajax At Ajax, Chivu 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,
Johnny Heitinga,
Zlatan Ibrahimović,
Steven Pienaar, and
Maxwell. Chivu played a pivotal role for Ajax in their
UEFA 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 quintet of Ajax players – himself, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Maxwell, Wesley Sneijder and
Andy van der Meyde – who all went on to later join
Inter Milan.
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. After much speculation, however, Roma finally completed the purchase of Chivu in September, ending the long and protracted saga. The fee was
€18 million. Though he became a regular in defence, he made limited appearances due to injuries. He won the
2006–07 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 reportedly making a formal bid, while
Barcelona and Inter Milan were also interested in signing the defender.
Inter Milan in 2011 Chivu was reported to be in the middle of a tug-of-war between Barcelona and Real Madrid during the 2007 summer transfer window. After a four-year spell, which yielded a
Coppa Italia, Chivu left Roma and signed a five-year contract with
Serie A rivals Inter on 27 July 2007. The transfer fee was €16 million, which €3 million of the transfer fee paid via defender
Marco Andreolli moved to Roma in a
co-ownership deal. 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
2008–09 season, Chivu had a terrific game, denying
Wayne Rooney and
Cristiano Ronaldo many times, and won Man of the Match ahead of Inter goalkeeper
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, Chivu 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. After this, he needed to wear a
headguard in matches. A month later, Chivu scored his first goal for Inter in a game against
Atalanta, a terrific 30-yard strike. 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. He scored his second goal for Inter in the
2010–11 season against
Cesena, which turned out to be the game winner in a 3–2 win for Inter. He also scored the winning penalty for Inter in their
2010–11 Coppa Italia win over
Napoli on 26 January 2011. Chivu left Inter after his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 31 March 2014. The very same day, he announced his retirement from football on his
Facebook page. ==International career==