Parma Formally Announce Chivu as Their New Manager | OneFootball

Parma have handed the keys to Christian Chivu, who was one of the early favorites to replace Fabio Pecchia. The deal came together in a hurry on Monday and was officialized on Tuesday. Igor Tudor, Andrea Pirlo, and Davide Ballardini were the other coaches in the running, Goal reports.

The former defender will make his debut on a Serie A bench in the Emilian derby with Bologna on Saturday. He has signed a contract until June 2026. He has been coaching only at the youth level at Inter so far, working his way up the ladder starting from the U-14 team. The 44-year-old won the Scudetto with the Primavera side in 2022 and decided to move on last summer.

Parma turn to Chivu after sacking Pecchia as they fell into the bottom three due to a prolonged skid. The former Romanian international starred for Roma and Inter for a decade during his playing days, accumulating 200 appearances in the Italian league. He contributed to the treble with the Nerazzurri in 2010.

The young boss initially used 3-5-2 but has mostly leaned on 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 in recent campaigns. He was handpicked especially for his ability to work with youngsters.

Our Take on Parma Hiring Chivu to Replace Pecchia

The pool of available managers isn’t too palatable, but it’s a big risk to appoint a raw gaffer, albeit with plenty of Serie A experience as a player. On the positive side, the relegation struggle is very forgiving, and a couple of wins will be enough to turn things around. Perhaps the usual bump will suffice on its own as, on paper, they are better than a few teams near them in the standings.