30,000 fans flock to see 'The Blues' in training

 

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 30,000 local and foreign fans of English Premier League club, Chelsea FC, flocked to the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, here tonight to watch their favourite team undergo a training session.

Fans from as far as Europe, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand came as early as 4pm, although the training session only started at 7pm.

Most of them sporting the team's jersey were ecstatic to watch their favourite players right in front of their eyes.

The team touched down in Malaysia yesterday, for their first pre-season match against a Malaysian selection on Thursday (July 21) at 8.45pm.

All of the 26 Chelsea players, including team captain, John Terry, Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Nicolas Anelka, Fernando Torres and Frank Lampard were present during the more than an hour training session.

The team under the guidance of Andres Villa-Boas will be meeting Malaysian selection, a combination of the Harimau Muda and Harimau Malaya team, at the National Stadium at 8.45pm on July 21.

This was the team's third appearance in Malaysia.

In 2003, the team defeated Malaysia 4-1 in the FA Premier League (FAPL) Asia Cup at the National Stadium and in 2008, they beat Malaysia 2-0 in their final leg of the 2008 Asia Tour at the Shah Alam Stadium.

After Malaysia, the team will meet Thailand All Stars at the Rajamangala Stadium on July 24.

Chelsea will then play two games in the Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong, namely against Hong Kong champion Kitchee FC on July 27 and the winners will face either Aston Villa or Blackburn in the final on July 30. - BERNAMA

TORRES FEELING GOOD

Posted on: Sat 16 Jul 2011

Today marks the start of a busy couple of weeks for the Blues, with a trip to Portsmouth this afternoon followed by departure for our Asian tour tomorrow.

For Fernando Torres, it comes after a lengthy break from football at the end of last season, but a return to goalscoring form against Wycombe Wanderers at Cobham on Tuesday.

The striker is now looking ahead to an exciting pre-season period starting at Fratton Park this afternoon before games in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Hong Kong, where we will compete for the Barclays Asia Trophy.

It is a competition the Spaniard knows well, having taken part with former club Liverpool upon signing there in 2007, losing a penalty shootout in the final against... Portsmouth.

'I missed a penalty, and the other one was Yossi Benayoun,' Torres smiled as he recalled the situation in Hong Kong. 'I remember it because I didn't play in the first game against South China because I didn't have the clearance from my transfer, so I couldn't play in the tournament but I travelled just in case, not expecting to play in that game.

'I was in the stand and was sitting in my seat to watch the game with Portsmouth when some people from Liverpool called me back and said I could play, so I changed, played and missed a penalty so we lost the final to Portsmouth.'

Despite the disappointment, he began that season in sparkling form, opening his Anfield account by netting against us in a 1-1 draw, and he believes competitive football in pre-season can only help your readiness for when things get going in the Premier League.

'It's good to have a competition, the main thing is to be fit and find your good form so you can start the season as well as possible,' said the 27-year-old. 'It is good to play against good teams, and in Hong Kong we will also play a Premier League team and it is natural to be more focused on the game. We want to win and show we are better than the other teams, it is the first challenge to balance if the season is going to be good or not.'

On a personal level, Torres has begun pre-season well with a tidy finish against Wycombe to show for 45 minutes of work, the profit he believes of a timely rest.

'I'm feeling good, it's a new season, a new start for me,' he said. 'It was a difficult four months last season but now I am already settled and happy, feeling sharper and I could enjoy my holidays in the summer after five years without a break so I am happier after some time with my family and a rest and I feel ready to start the season.'

The former Atletico Madrid man also had encouraging words for Benayoun, who netted a cheeky firstpre-season goal on Tuesday.

'Yossi was unlucky last season with the injury he had but now he is fully recovered and you could see the other day his quality, so now it is just a matter of form and he is back,' he said.

The Portsmouth game is live on Chelsea TV with free build-up for all Sky Digital subscribers between 2.30pm and 3pm.

MALAYSIA VS CHELSEA (SEE IT LIVE..!!)

PRE-SEASON ACTION ONLY ON CHELSEA TV

Posted on: Tue 28 Jun 2011

Chelsea TV is your passport to all the action this summer as we will be showing four exclusive pre-season fixtures including the first three games under new manager Andre Villas-Boas LIVE on Chelsea TV. Our summer action kicks off against Portsmouth on Saturday 16 July, concluding with exclusive coverage of our match against Glasgow Rangers as live on Saturday 6 August.

There will also be full match coverage from Chelsea's participation in the Barclays Asia Trophy being held in Hong Kong involving Aston Villa, Blackburn and the winners of the Hong Kong First Division, Kitchee.

Don't miss out on your chance to watch the Blues return under a new manager plus any new players in action first - remember you can watch Chelsea TV wherever you maybe on the TV, PC and video-on-demand on via the mobile app. 

The summer line-up looks like this:

Live & Exclusive coverage
Saturday 16 July - Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 1 (Highlights on Chelsea TV)
Thursday 21 July 1.15pm - Malaysia XI v Chelsea
Sunday 24 July 11.15am- Thailand All Stars v Chelsea

Full match coverage - Barclays Asia Trophy
Wednesday 27 July 10pm - Kitchee v Chelsea
Saturday 30 July 10pm - Aston Villa/Blackburn v Chelsea

Exclusive on Chelsea TV
Saturday 6 August - Rangers v Chelsea

Share your views on pre-season during our Pre-season Live phone-in show on Friday 22 July, Friday 29 July & Friday 5 August at 6.30pm - 7.15pm. What's more, to keep in-the-loop over the summer, our daily news show Blues News has all the latest news, exclusive interviews and live training sessions.