David Popovici visits Cristi Chivu at Inter, the pair swap gifts after 2-0 win over Como

A visit around a Serie A win

Olympic champion David Popovici watched Inter Milan beat Como 2-0 at San Siro on Sunday, 8 November, in the 11th round of Serie A. The 22-year-old swimmer was in Milan to take part in the Arena Planet Water Days event at the Aquamore Bocconi Sport Center that day, and the fixture gave him a chance to support Cristian Chivu, the 46-year-old Inter coach and fellow Romanian. Inter's official Instagram account posted photographs of Popovici at the stadium and of the meeting after the final whistle, captioned as a special meeting between Mister Chivu and Popovici. Before kickoff, Popovici wished the players success, and Libertatea reported that Inter then produced a first half it described as perfect.

Gifts exchanged near the dressing rooms

After the match the two men met in the area near the dressing rooms, where they swapped presents and posed for photographs. Inter gave Popovici a personalised shirt with his name and the number 54 on the back, which Chivu signed with a handwritten message calling the swimmer an inspiration and a source of pride and wishing him much friendship. Popovici returned the gesture with a framed photograph of himself from the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, together with a swimming cap he had worn in a competition. Beside the gift he wrote "Thank you for the friendship!" by hand, according to Adevarul.

A connection that predates the visit

Popovici's link to Chivu goes back further than this weekend. In an interview published in August in Gazzetta dello Sport, he was asked whether he knew Chivu, whom Italian journalists had introduced as the second Romanian at Roma. He answered:

“We have never met, but I have only heard good things about him.”

He added that he respects Chivu's performances at Inter and is glad to be associated with the former Romania captain. He also said he values honest, simple and authentic people, and that he tries to be that kind of person himself. Chivu had already praised him in June 2022, when Popovici, then 17, became world champion in Budapest, posting on Instagram that a star had been born.

Goals and Chivu's reaction

Francesco Pio Esposito opened the scoring in the 12th minute, and Marcus Thuram doubled the lead in the 19th minute, his sixth Serie A goal this season and his first since returning to the France squad.

Como had lost 9-1 at Lens four days earlier in the Champions League. Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, Chivu said:

“The important thing is that we reacted after the derby defeat.”

Chivu added that his team raised the tempo and intensity of its play and that the tactical plan worked. He also noted that the side had played nine matches in 27 days, with ups and downs in both quality and results. The win leaves Inter second, one point behind the league leader, Lazio.