Cristian – The Double

In the photo, a man in a blue suit, white T-shirt and trainers is crouching on the San Siro pitch, smiling. It's a big, beaming smile, the smile of someone who knows exactly where he is, what he's doing and how he got there. His hands rest on two gleaming trophies, instantly recognisable to any football fan: the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia. Or, put simply, the Double.That man is Cristian Chivu, looking relaxed and smiling ahead of Inter vs. Verona. A match that had once threatened to be a dramatic final-day decider had become little more than a formality before the title celebrations. Chivu had won both trophies in his first full season as a first-team manager, up against teams coached by Massimiliano Allegri, Antonio Conte, Gian Piero Gasperini and Luciano Spalletti. Those being some of the biggest names in Italian coaching. Yet of all those managers, Chivu is the only one to have won a trophy since taking charge of Inter.

In Resita, a city of 80,000 people in southern Romania, the 12,000-capacity stadium is named after a man called Mircea. Not Mircea Lucescu, the legendary figure of Romanian football who recently passed away. A new stadium being built in Bucharest will be named in his honour. This Mircea was the coach of Resita, where his son also played. Despite his father being in charge, the boy would take the tram home alone, with no special treatment. That coach was Mircea Chivu, and his son Cristian has never forgotten the lessons his father taught him.

Cristian Chivu's career reads almost like an education: primary school at Resita, secondary school at Craiova and university at Ajax. But first came his own version of an Erasmus experience: Euro 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands. Still a teenager, Chivu was the shining light of a Romania side that knocked England out in the group stage, opening the scoring in that match with a stunning left-footed strike from outside the box. Next stop was Amsterdam, where he found himself among a host of young talents, including Sneijder, Ibrahimovic and the fleeting star of Van der Meyde. The highlight came in 2003, when Ajax reached the Champions League quarter-finals, only to be knocked out by Milan in the dying seconds. And who was captaining that side? None other than 23-year-old Cristian Chivu, the rock at the heart of Ronald Koeman's defence. That summer, he moved to Roma, where he enjoyed a superb first season, forming a formidable partnership with Walter Samuel as the pair helped make Roma's defence the best in Serie A. Four years in the capital brought three second-place finishes and a Coppa Italia triumph. Then it was time for another big move.

It's an unusual photograph. A table set for a meal, Inter technical director Marco Branca and Cristian Chivu. An Inter shirt is held up above the empty plates. This was the first photograph of Chivu as an Inter player, the beginning of six seasons in which he would become a byword for quality and versatility. Whether at centre-back, left-back or even in central midfield, he excelled wherever he was needed. Take that memorable derby just before Christmas, when he lined up alongside Zanetti and Cambiasso and helped outclass Milan's formidable midfield.The season that perhaps best captures Chivu's time at Inter is, of course, 2009/10. On 6 January, a collision with Pellissier left him with a serious head injury that raised fears for his life. He would need to wear protective headgear when he returned, but what followed was the stuff of fairy tales. His first goal for Inter came against Atalanta, prompting him to remove his headgear and salute the fans. Then came the Champions League semi-final at Camp Nou, where he found himself playing in an advanced wide role in a 4-2-3-1 formation after Pandev was injured in the warm-up. And finally, Madrid, where he helped keep Arjen Robben at bay as Inter conquered Europe. There is that famous photograph of Chivu with the trophy, his hair cropped short and the scar from his injury clearly visible. It might have seemed like the perfect ending to an extraordinary story, but some of its finest chapters were still to come.Chivu retired relatively young, at 33, with injuries having taken their toll, and it wasn't long before he moved into coaching. What followed is now part of Inter's history: success with the Nerazzurri's youth teams, the remarkable achievement of keeping Parma in Serie A and the Double in his first season in charge of Inter. Yet his story is far from finished. A new chapter is still unfolding, and with every passing week, it seems to get better.

Koeman, Capello, Spalletti, Mancini, Mourinho and, of course, Lucescu. Cristian Chivu has learnt from some of football's greatest coaches, each leaving their mark on the manager he has become. Yet we suspect his greatest influence has always been another Mircea.