A WINNING START

Inter Milan has defeated Vaslui by 2-0 in a match of the Europa league. Rodrigo Palacio and Esteban Cambiasso scored the goals for Inter. The first goal was scored by Combiasso in the 23rd minute of the match when he smashed a fantastic volley with his left foot straight into the bottom corner of the goal post. Palacio had almost doubled the lead of Inter towards the end of the first half, but, his shot rebounded after hitting the goal post and the opportunity went begging. But, Palacio didn’t miss the opportunity in the second half. In the 73rd minute of the match, he capitalized on Sneijder’s pass and put the ball into the goal post from an awkward angle. The Inter players looked in control throughout the match and the team won the match comfortably.

This was the 800th match of Javier Zanetti for Inter Milan. Zanetti is currently the skipper of the team. He has been playing for Milan since the last 17 years.  He had joined the club way back in 1995. Inter had bought him from Banfield. Zanetti played his first match for the club in August 1995 against Vicenza. He has been captaining the Inter team since a long time and the team has won 15 trophies under his guidance so far. In the post match press conference, Zanetti said that he is very happy to have played for the club for so long. It has been wonderful playing for Inter so far. He wants to continue playing for Inter till the end of his career. On being asked about the performance of the team in the match, Zanetti said that the players maintained their intensity throughout the match and that was nice to see. As per Zanetti, it is important to be consistent in the entire season and hopefully, the players would continue playing in the same way in the further matches as well.

CHIVU SIGNS UP

The Romanian football player, Cristian Chivu, has said that he is delighted by the renewal of his contract with Internazionale. Cristian was not able to perform too well in the last season of Italian Series A. So, there were talks that he would probably leave the club after his contract gets completed. But, this doesn’t happen. The Romanion star said that it would be so nice to play for Internazionale again. As per Chivu, there were no doubts in his mind about signing the contract again and the reports of him leaving the club were just rumors.

Chivu said that the new coach of Inter has promised him that he would be given the chance to play as central defender in the upcoming season. He said that centre back is his specialized position and he feels pretty comfortable playing in that position. On being asked about the poor performance of the team in the last season, he said that sometimes a poor season is essential to make the team understand the importance of a victory. As Per Chivu, when you win continuously, you tend to be a bit complacent. So, sometimes, a wake up call is necessary. He said that winning is a habit and it’s necessary to win consistently. You can’t be inconsistent in your performances at such a podium.

Chivu said that there are quite a few young players in the team and they would get valuable assistance from the experienced players. He said that it is necessary not to do the same mistakes which were committed in the previous season. On being asked about his personal targets, Chivu said that it is pretty unfair to focus on the personal goals in a team game. He said that the team comes first and team’s better performance in the upcoming season would be the primary goal.

CHIVU IS STAYING

Romanian defender Cristian Chivu has agreed to extend his stay at the San Siro by agreeing a new contract with Inter Milan. It was widely expected that the 31-year-old defender will be one of the big names to depart Inter Milan in the summer after they missed out on the opportunity to play in the Champions League next season.

After a very poor start to the season, Inter Milan finished the season in the sixth position meaning that they would not play in the Champions League next season. Due to the mounting debts and spiralling wage problems, the club was not expected to handle the loss of at least £ 30 million in revenue through the Champions League.

Hence, Cristian Chivu was one among the many names expected to depart the club. The Romanian defender was out of contract at the end of this season, with many clubs including the likes of Ajax and Real Madrid showing interest in the versatile player. Cristian Chivu was a £ 16 million signing from Roma a few seasons ago. He has turned out to be one of the best defenders in the Italian Serie A and Inter Milan will certainly be extremely happy that he has agreed to a new deal with the club.

“We have reached an agreement with Inter for the renewal. Everyone thought that Chivu would leave, but they called us in at Inter and we have reached this agreement. Chivu will renew for three years at €3m a season, the agreement is final,” said his agent Victor Becali. Even spectacular is the fact that Cristian Chivu has decided to take a pay cut in order to come to an agreement with Inter Milan. This pay cut is in force due to the fact that Inter Milan will not have Champions League football next season.

CHIVU MIGHT STAY

Inter Milan defender Cristian Chivu is looking at the possibility of staying with his current club after it has been recently revealed that a number of other big clubs have already shown interest in the player, who will be out of contract at the end of the season. The 31-year-old defender joined Inter Milan from Roma for € 16 million a few seasons ago. He is all set to depart the San Siro at the end of the season due to the fact he has not been able to reach an agreement with Inter Milan over the possibility of extending the contract.

With only a few months remaining on his current deal, Cristian Chivu has made an amazing U-turn by stating that he would like to stay with the club. The Romanian defender’s agent has revealed that there have been offers from Spain, Germany, and France for the 31-year-old defender. Recent reports suggest that Napoli could be in for the player should they qualify for the Champions League next season. Napoli are looking to have experience at the back in order to cope with the demands of Champions League football, and Cristian Chivu would certainly suit them well.

“We met with Inter last week and we were offered a renewal. We discussed a two-year contract, with the option for a third year. We have been contacted by other clubs and there are offers for Cristian from France, Germany and Spain too. Therefore, if we don’t reach an agreement with Inter then we will know who to turn to as there is interest. We’ll give Inter a clear and precise answer in two weeks,” said the agent of the Romanian defender in a recent interview. Real Madrid have also been credited with showing an interest in the player, with José Mourinho having already worked with him.

CHIVU OPENS TALKS

Romanian defender Christian Chivu will first be opening talks with his current club Inter Milan before deciding on the offers from other clubs. Christian Chivu is one of the many top quality players available on a free transfer in the summer.

His contract has only a few months to go before its expiry. The former Roma defender is now one of the sought-after players according to his agent, who has said that clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Ajax have shown interest in signing the defender. However, he has also revealed that his client will first be interested in listening to the offer from Inter Milan before thinking about moving elsewhere.

It is highly unlikely that the offer from Inter Milan will be able to compete with the offers from other clubs given that the Milan club are currently in financial difficulties. Wages has proven to be a major issue for the Milan club, which won the Champions League title back in 2010, and the exit of Christian Chivu could prove to be a boon for the club. Christian Chivu is one of the players on a high wages at the San Siro. The 31-year-old, though, has a lot of football left in him according to his agent.

“We have not yet spoken to anyone. The situation has not changed recently. I don’t know when we will talk with Inter, but we will listen to them first, before possibly talking with other teams,” agent Joan Becali said to Il Sussidiario. Christian Chivu has been at Inter Milan for five seasons now during which time he has won every major trophy with the club including the Champions League title back in 2010 and also numerous domestic league titles. He has made more than 100 appearances in the league for Inter Milan.

Manchester City remain firm favourites for his signature.

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SUFFERING A DIP IN FORM

Inter Milan defender Cristian Chivu has said that Inter Milan are suffering from a psychological dip in form, but has said that they will come back stronger than expected. Inter Milan have been one of the surprising teams in the Italian Serie A this season. They began the season with a new manager in one of the worst fashions, as they continually struggled with the threat of relegation during the initial few months of the season.

Following the arrival of former Chelsea and Napoli manager Claudio Ranieri, things improved a lot and they were in a position to once again challenge for top four finish this season. However, since the winter break, things have become once more difficult for the 2010 European Champions.

Inter Milan managed to go 10 games without even managing a single goal, which was finally brought to an end only recently. They were also winless during this stretch of games, which have seen their hopes of qualification for the Champions League evaporate. Despite the continual struggle with the form, Cristian Chivu is of the opinion that Inter Milan will soon be much better in the league. Inter Milan was recently knocked out of the Champions League by Marseille in the last 16 stage.

“We are a great team suffering from a psychological dip and we’re finding it hard to get over it. It’s not easy to deal with a month in which you didn’t win a match or even score a goal. Only in the last game did we show our pride, without playing particularly well though. That’s the starting point for this team, to help us find ourselves again, perhaps with a little less pressure over whether we’ve scored or not,” Cristian Chivu spoke about his team. Cristian Chivu is out of contract at the end of the season.

WILL CHIVU STAY?

It seems that Cristian Chivu staying at his current club Inter Milan is not certain after all. His agent has recently revealed that even though Inter Milan are interested in signing the Romanian on a lengthy contract in the future, he has a lot of options open.

Chivu’s agent has said that his client will not be making a decision until the end of the season. Inter Milan are extremely anxious to extend the contract of one of their best players, but it seems that the player has a lot of options on his hands. The former Roma star enters into the final few months of his current contract, and is currently eligible to speak with interested clubs.

Even though Inter Milan have not made a contract offer for the Romanian star, they are believed to be very much interested in extending his current contract. Inter Milan are transitional phase and they believe that retaining the club’s best players over the years like Cristian Chivu is crucial to their future success. Inter Milan have not been able to challenge for the top honours since the famous treble winning side under José Mourinho has been split apart by many transfer windows.

“We haven’t spoken to Inter yet and no meeting is planned” his agent told the Betfair Football Betting site. “I think we will meet up at the end of this month though. Are we optimistic about an extension? There is no need to feel optimistic, we’re not desperate. If there is an opportunity to stay at Inter then that will be good, otherwise we’ll assess other options.”

Chivu will hopefully have his future mapped out ahead of the European Championships, where the latest Euro 2012 Betting places his romanian team as favourites to qualify from their group for the knock-out stages.

CHIVU RULES OUT AC MOVE

Inter Milan defender Cristian Chivu has said that there is no truth in the reports linking him with the arch rivals of Inter Milan – AC Milan. There have been reports recently suggesting that Cristian Chivu would be open to a move to AC Milan in the summer. Players moving between Inter Milan and AC Milan is certainly not new, but the prospect of one of the Inter Milan veterans moving to AC Milan would be a great prospect indeed. However, Cristian Chivu has said that he has still not decided the potential place he would move to in the summer when his contract expires.

Cristian Chivu also seemed to suggest that he would be willing to stay at Inter Milan provided he comes to an agreement with his current club. The Romanian defender revealed that Inter Milan have tabled an offer for him. It remains to be seen if he will be willing to extend his association with Inter Milan even further. There were initial reports linking him with various high-profile clubs across Europe including the likes of Real Madrid and Ajax. However, following the interest, it seems that Inter Milan have realised his value and are looking to keep him at the San Siro.

“That was just something the media concocted, and by no coincidence it was right before the derby. That was wrong and totally untrue. Nobody spoke to the club, to me or anyone else about that. And it’s not going to happen. It’s all made up and I’m not even interested. My agent and the club have decided they will discuss it in February,” Chivu was quoted as saying by Inter Channel. Inter Milan have made a solid recovery from their poor position earlier in the season. They are now challenging for a Champions League position.