Cristian Chivu insisted that he remains more motivated to build on last season’s success as he prepares for his second campaign in charge of Inter.

Chivu enjoyed a stellar debut season in the Inter dugout, leading the Nerazzurri to the Serie A title as well as the Coppa Italia. 

He became the fifth coach to win the Scudetto in his first season with Inter in Serie A, and the first since Jose Mourinho did so in 2008-09.

It was also the first time since 2009-10 that Inter achieved a domestic double, which resulted in Chivu putting pen to paper on a contract extension for another two years.

Chivu has taken charge of 58 games for Inter in all competitions, winning 38 of those (D9 L11), finishing the campaign with a win percentage of 65.5%.

Inter have strengthened on last season’s success with the additions of Aleksandar Stankovic, Manuel Akanji and Ivan Provedel, but have seen some key figures also leave. 

Denzel Dumfries has joined Real Madrid, while Yann Sommer, Stefan de Vrij and Francesco Acerbi have all left the club. 

“The most important thing right now is motivation, because it’s never enough in terms of ambition and what we want to do next,” Chivu said.

“It was a strong season, but we don’t want to stop here.

“I have 50 games under my belt now, no longer 13. I’ll do my best, we want to be competitive on every front, and have the ambition to do even better than last year.”

Inizia la nuova stagione 
Segui in diretta la conferenza stampa di Mister Chivu e del Presidente Marotta

https://t.co/SxD19ygBLH pic.twitter.com/GvG3UXecbJ

— Inter (@Inter) July 13, 2026

Not since winning the Scudetto five times in a row between 2005 and 2010 have Inter successfully defended their Serie A title, something Chivu is hoping to emulate. 

Throughout last season, the likes of Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri insisted that a top-four finish was their only target, and anything after that was a bonus. 

Chivu, however, always had his eyes set on finishing at the top of Serie A, and he plans to adopt that same mentality during the 2025-26 campaign. 

“We do not fear anybody,” Chivu added. “I have nothing to prove, if not to myself.

“I still have a lot of responsibilities, doubts and duties towards these lads, even if I lifted two trophies last season, we always start from scratch.”

While Inter enjoyed success in Italy, they suffered a shock early exit from the Champions League, a year on from reaching the final, where they lost 5-0 to Paris Saint-Germain. 

They finished 10th in the league phase and were forced to feature in the play-offs, where they lost 5-2 on aggregate to Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt over two legs. 

It saw Inter eliminated by a team outside of Europe’s top five leagues in the Champions League for the first time. 

“You cannot have everything in life. We got two games wrong, but I take the positives from the experience,” Chivu said of Inter’s struggles in the Champions League. 

“We lost at the last second to both Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, I took responsibility for my mistakes in the play-offs, but we overall played on level terms with everyone.

“I’d like us to improve in our courage, being more determined and going for the victory, not resting on our laurels. We can always be the best version of ourselves.

“I don’t think about what we won, but about what we need to do.”