Inter’s head coach responds to the controversy after Inter–Juventus, defends his team and shifts the focus to the Champions League challenge against Bodø/Glimt.
Cristian Chivu arrived in Bodø with a hint of concern. Kjetil Knutsen’s allies are well known: artificial turf and snow. Overnight snowfall forced staff at Aspmyra Stadion to clear ice and snow by hand and with small tractors—routine work in Norway, less so for Inter. Still, Chivu framed the challenge with respect rather than excuses.
“The Norwegian game is growing,” he said. “Bodø are a tough team. They beat City and Atlético. We know them well. They started a journey and they’re continuing it—they’ve reached a very high level.”
The conversation quickly shifted to the fallout from Inter–Juventus and the comments made by Luciano Spalletti. Chivu’s response was long, deliberate and unapologetic.
“I don’t respond to what others say—I say what I think. Maybe elsewhere there’s some frustration and they’re not able to manage it. Criticism has to be accepted. The team at the top is always the most hated. Football has been like this for a hundred years. We need to stop acting like moralists.”
Chivu placed the episode within a broader historical context. “Every Sunday there’s a situation like this, going back to Maradona scoring with his hand at the World Cup. Nobody ever said anything to him. We also suffered an injustice in Naples—and I’m saying this for the first time—but we didn’t react like this. We want to stay competitive and keep going on this path. Maybe someone isn’t happy with what we’re doing…”
Beyond the single incident involving Alessandro Bastoni, Chivu expanded his reasoning to football culture itself. “Why is football so loved? Do we like it or not? I honestly can’t answer. When we find the answer,” he continued, “then we’ll stop pretending in the face of so many things we see but choose not to see. If important measures had been taken fifty years ago, maybe we wouldn’t be seeing what we see today.”
Attention then returned to the pitch and to one of Inter’s main concerns: the artificial surface. The team trained at Interello on synthetic turf and completed their final session in Bodø to adapt.
“The concern is there—I care deeply that all my players come through this healthy,” Chivu admitted. “There’s no guarantee you fully get used to it, but we’re not unprepared. Mentally, we’ll be ready.”
Chivu also acknowledged the danger posed by Bodø/Glimt at home. “We’re aware they get important results here. They have nothing to lose and start as underdogs. They’ll do everything they can to put us in difficulty. We’ll be ready to do the same. We’ll adapt to the pitch, the stadium and even the weather.”
