Christian Kivu stunned experts last summer when he moved from Parma to Inter Milan. As the successor to Simone Inzaghi and an outsider for the title, the Romanian coach won his first Scudetto leading the team, following three consecutive titles as a player for the "Nerazzurri" (2007-2010).

250 days after his debut in Serie A with Inter, Kivu celebrated another success at the San Siro Stadium. The 26th victory in 35 matches this season, a 2:0 win against Parma (his first club as a head coach), secured Inter's 21st Scudetto in the 118-year history of the Lombardy club.

Kivi enters the history of Italian football with several records. He achieved an exceptional feat in the last half-century, second only to Fabio Capello, who won the title in the 1991-1992 season with only five Serie A matches as a coach under his belt!

Kivi needed 48 matches (13 in Parma, 35 in Inter), while his first coaching experience as a player in Serie A (in Roma) was with 37 matches (all in Milan), winning his first title two rounds before the end of the season.

Expanding the comparison to the entire history of Serie A, only three other coaches have triumphed in their debut season with less experience: Carlo Bigatto with Juventus in 1935, Nino Resegotti with Inter (1920), and Giovanni Invernici with Inter (1971). The difference is that none of them started leading the team from the beginning of the season, but were appointed mid-season. Another remarkable achievement for Kivu!

Similar to "Robiolina" Invernici in 1971, Kivu is on track to match an incredible achievement at Inter. He is the first coach from the post-war era to win the title as both a player and a coach.

The first in the club's history from San Siro-Meazza is Armando Castellazzi, who was champion as a player in 1929-1930 and later led the team in 1937-1938.

Moreover, Kivi is the Inter coach who has achieved the double with the Primavera (U19) and the senior team in the shortest time. In the 2023-2024 season, he became champion with the youth team and is now leading the Serie A.

Only one other coach has achieved this feat: Giovanni Invernici won three titles with Inter's Primavera in 1963-1964, 1965-1966, 1968-1969 and the Scudetto with the senior team in 1970-1971.

Kivi joins the select group of those who have achieved a double as both a player and coach with the same club. Before him, five others have been champions in both roles:

  • Carlo Parola (Juventus, twice as a player, once as a head coach, and twice as an assistant)
  • Nils Liedholm (Milan, with four titles as a player and one as a coach)
  • Fabio Capello (Milan, with five Scudettos, the last four as a coach)
  • Carlo Ancelotti (Milan, two Scudettos as a player plus one as a coach)
  • Antonio Conte (Juventus, five on the field and three on the coaching bench)

Kivi has two more challenges ahead: he could be the first coach in Inter history to achieve a double in his debut season. The only other coach to achieve a double, the title and the Cup, is José Mourinho (2009-2010, with a "Triple Crown"), but he won the trophies in his second season at the helm of the "Nerazzurri."

Also, Kivi could become the Inter coach with the most goals scored by a champion team. "Nerazzurri" have 80 in 34 matches, with the record held since 2024 by Simone Inzaghi's team (89).

Similarly, "Nerazzurri" matched the record number of victories in the season for the 20th Scudetto (29, in 2023-2024). They have 25 wins and four more rounds to go, with Kivi's team having only lost five times so far (a double defeat in the Derby della Madonina plus losses to Juventus, Napoli, and Udinese)!