Didier Drogba learned a lot at the Bukit Jalil Stadium on Thursday, having for the first time sampled the enthusiasm of almost 85,000 Chelsea supporters in Asia.
Our sell-out at Malaysia's national stadium sets a new record for a Chelsea friendly, with the noise inside the arena reaching previously unimagined levels. For Drogba, who missed our 2008 tour of the region, it was an unforgettable experience, demonstrated by his filming of the crowd on his phone prior to kick-off.
The support clearly had an effect, with the 33-year-old Ivorian creating the game's only goal, his venomous free-kick rebounding off the post and in off the Malaysian goalkeeper. 'The reception was amazing,' Drogba said afterwards. 'People used to tell me we have a lot of fans here in Asia and what we saw today was unbelievable, and the whole time we have been here, the passion really was special. 'It is good to travel and feel who our supporters are. Now we know when we are playing we are not only playing for our Chelsea fans in England, we are also playing for these people.'
The forward's free-kick was the standout moment in a game made difficult by energetic opposition and an awkward pitch, not to mention the hot and humid conditions.
'I think it was a good opportunity to try and score, I'm not sure if the ball crossed the line but the most important thing is the result,' Drogba said. 'It's good for the team to win, even if it was a friendly and the game was very difficult.
'Everything made it difficult, our opposition, the heat, the pitch. We have had around 14 days of training since we started, not a lot, and our fitness is difficult starting again here.
'The pitch was not easy and also the weather, the humidity, the heat, it is really difficult. I've said before it is similar to Ivory Coast, so I am a little bit used to it even though it is very difficult. I think it's difficult for both teams, even though they are from here it must be difficult for them as well. That's how it is, it's a bit crazy.'
'Crazy' would certainly describe the levels of support experienced so far. Now it is on to Thailand and the Rajamangala National Stadium, where we will meet a local Premier League All Stars XI, once more live on Chelsea TV.
Andre Villas-Boas admitted after the 1-0 win in Malaysia that his team lacked the efficiency in front of goal that would have given a scoreline more reflecting of the play, but he saw clear signs of progress with four pre-season games yet to play before the league season begins.
It took a rebound off a post and then off the keeper for an own-goal winner after a well-struck Didier Drogba free-kick late in the game, but the Blues dominated throughout against a young Malaysian select side, who were reduced to two genuine chances to score. Chelsea had more.
'We cannot forget the heat and the conditions, but it is clear that result in the end seems short because we had some good opportunities,' said Villas-Boas after the game.
'At the end we had a couple of good moments regarding what we are doing in training. Things are happening for us in terms of our objectives in transition and without the ball.
'Of course we could have scored more because we made a lot of opportunities which is a good sign for us, but the most important thing is that we continue to grow as a team leading up to the Stoke game. 'Also there was a major display by the Malaysian goalkeeper.'
The Portuguese manager was not able to comment on whether the ball had crossed the line, it was a tight decision by the linesman, but he declared he is not worrying over a lack of goals from his forward players at this stage of the summer, even if he recognises a need for improvement.
'Gaining confidence to find the back of the net comes with training and that comes with patience,' he said. 'At Chelsea we are prepared to give our forwards this kind of patience because the most important thing for us is to win collectively.
'I will just let things happen naturally. In Chelsea every player finds extreme competitiveness to be successful and the best players performing in training will go into the games and hopefully help the team to be successful.'
With the intensity of the training sessions that run for 90 minutes, often twice a day, and the heat in Asia, Villas-Boas continues to limit the players to 45 minutes match action at a time. He does not see any player given 90 minutes in the immediate future so performances from half-to-half are likely to vary.
'In the first half we played a lot horizontally from side to side and we could not find enough vertical passes forward,' he said of Thursday's game.
'In the second half we finally found more vertical passes, we changed the structure to 4-4-2 with a diamond by playing Nicolas Anelka behind Daniel Sturridge and Didier Drogba, and there was the space that we were looking to find. It is not his position but he has done it before in the past and we created another couple of chances.
'We are trying to build a new way of playing and things don't happen in three weeks. That is our target and that is our challenge and hopefully they will happen in the future.
'4-4-3 for us is a modern system and we are trying to link what we have with this system. It has been a lot of information for the players and the players are magnificent at absorbing so many new ideas in such a short period of time.'
Speaking of the future, Villas-Boas predicts a bright one for teenage centre-back Nathaniel Chalobah who contributed 45 minutes to the clean-sheet performance.
'Nathaniel is very young but already he is very impressive. At the moment he can build on to a very successful career but at 16 you never know what is going to happen when you are 25 or throughout your career. Hopefully things for him will work out.
'I think he has a place in Chelsea's future for sure because he has enough quality and he shows already enough maturity to be a great central defender.'
Chelsea laboured to a 1-0 victory over a Malaysia XI thanks to controversial Didier Drogba goal, but the game was marred by Yossi Benayoun suffering racial abuse.
The Blues struggled to break down their Asian opponents, selcted largely from the Olympic U23 team, unlike Arsenal and Liverpool who both thrashed the same team.
Lampard had the best chance of the game before half-time after Kalou sliced open the Malaysian defence with a wonderful pass but the veteran Chelsea midfielder failed to connect.
A Drogba free-kick won them the game but the ball did not cross the line at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur.
Replays of the 80th minute strike show the ball hit the post then and bounced off goalkeeper Mohamad Izham Tarmizia’s back, but did not hit the net.
Malaysia then could of equalised in the 85th minute, but A. Thamil Arasu shot wide after being put through with only the goalkeeper to beat.
But the sour point of the match was the constant booing of Benayoun – the first Israeli to play in Malaysia – in the first-half.
Muslim-majority Malaysia has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
Porto striker Falcao has agreed a new two-year deal with the club -seemingly ending any prospect of a move to Chelsea.
Falcao, who scored 38 goals last season as Porto won an eye-catching treble, was reportedly a target for new Blues boss Andre-Villas Boas, who himself made the switch from the Estadio do Dragao this summer.
A release clause of 30million euros had been in place - a figure that has now been raised to 45million euros, or nearly £40million.
The Colombian striker, who had also been linked with Atletico Madrid, is now contracted to the club until the end of the 2015 season.
Sergio Aguero has reaffirmed his desire to quit Atletico Madrid.
The Argentine starlet revealed earlier this summer that he wanted to leave Vicente Calderon, and he has been strongly linked with Real Madrid, as well as Chelsea and Manchester City. However, his father was quoted earlier this week suggesting that his son could yet remain.
But speaking from his homeland, where he is taking part in the Copa America, Aguero underlined his desire to find a new club.
"I will not return to Atletico, it is clear," he told ESPN.
"I talked to the club, gave a statement, now my representatives are negotiating my departure from the club.
"I don't know when the agreement will be, but I will know when the Copa America is finished."
We have come across this leaked image of the new Chelsea 3rd shirt to be worn during the 2011/12 English Premier League season.
Chelsea’s football kits are currently designed and manufactured by Adidas.
The shirt has a has colour of white but features a dark blue polo neck collar. Beneath the collar is a thick dark blue horizontal stripe that runs across the top of the chest, whilst a thick yellow stripe appears below this across the middle of the chest. The Chelsea badge and the Adidas logo both appear on this yellow stripe.
We’ll add more images when the Chelsea Third kit is officially unvielled.
Thanks to our friends at Football-Shirts.co.uk for the images.
Chelsea are close to finalising a deal for Genk's teenage goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The 19-year-old is very highly rated and helped Genk to win the Belgian championship last season.
The Premier League giants have been tracking him for a number of months, and despite reported interest from Atletico Madrid, a deal looks set to be concluded.
Courtois' father and agent Thierry confirmed a deal was close and he expected it to go through on Tuesday.
"He [Thibault] was in in Chelsea last week," he revealed to Het Belang Van Limberg.
"I think Chelsea and Genk have reached an agreement. Tuesday we will come and talk about the transfer."
Chelsea are reportedly happy to let Courtois return to Genk on loan, and his father admitted this was an option but he rubbished any claims he could sign a new deal with the Belgian club.
"Maybe Chelsea will lend Thibaut to Genk, but a contract extension does not interest us anymore," he added.
Talks
Chelsea are still understood to be keen on making a double swoop on Genk, as talks over midfielder Kevin de Bruyne also continue.
The Blues had hoped to send De Bruyne back on loan to Belgium, but to Genk's rivals Anderlecht, which would also have helped their continued pursuit of Romelu Lukaku.
However, Genk have insisted they will not allow De Bruyne to be loaned to any other Belgian club should he be sold.
Regarding Lukaku, he admits he is more than happy to stay at Anderlecht, should his move to Chelsea fail to materialise.
"Occasionally you might yearn for something new, but for now I sit here very well. We'll see where it goes," he said after returning for pre-season training, where he was joined in the first team by his young brother Jordan.
But he still admits a move to England is his dream, adding: "I would really like a top transfer and I have always wanted to go to England."
Chelsea's hopes of signing Santos sensation Neymar are all but over with Spain's two super clubs set to battle it out for his signature.
The Brazilian teenager has been on the agenda of a number of Europe's top clubs this summer after Chelsea had a bid for the 19-year-old rejected last year.
But the west London club look to be out of the running now as race for the signature of one of the world's hottest properties is whittled down to two.
Wagner Ribeiro, Neymar's agent, said: "Real Madrid and Barcelona have no no problem in paying Santos.
"The two have made their proposals and the numbers are good, but the decision is not mine or Santos', the decision is Neymar's.
"But we will not review the proposals until the end of the Copa America Cup. It is not the time for the kid worry about this. He will analyse everything after the competition and tell us what he wants."
Udinese winger Alexis Sanchez is the subject of an intense bidding war between Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City.
The United chief executive, David Gill, flew to meet the Serie A club’s president, Giampolo Pozzo, to discuss a £30million bid for the 22-year-old.
Gill’s counter-part at City, Brian Marwood, was in talks last weekend but failed to reach an agreement on a £27million move. Chelsea have turned their attention to the Chile international as their long-standing attempt to sign Neymar from Santos appears to have stalled with owner Roman Abramovich unwilling to meet his £40 million buy-out clause.
The Blues bid £22million in January for Sanchez, which was rejected, but as yet have not tabled another offer, according to The Times.
Udinese are hoping the added interest from the Premier League will spark a bidding war for their star who has also attracted interest from Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Juventus. If United manage to steal the signing of Sanchez from under the noses of their neighbours would signify a major coup for the club.
The Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been very busy so far this summer, after signing Phil Jones from Blackburn and on the verge of completing deals for Ashley Young and David de Gea.
London calling: Neymar (top left) is Chelsea's priority target this summer Photo: AFP
Chelsea have stepped up their efforts to sign Neymar by offering Santos around £30 million for the Brazilian prodigy, according to reports in Italy.
Roman Abramovich has made Neymar, 19, one of three key transfer targets this summer - the others being Luka Modric and Alexis Sanchez.
It was claimed in Italy that Chelsea have lodged a formal offer worth around £30m, with wages of £70,000 per-week.
Neymar, who will play for Brazil at this summer’s Copa America, has said he would prefer to stay in Brazil for another season before moving to Europe.
Arsenal face competition from Tottenham and Manchester City for the signing of Lille’s Ivorian striker Gervinho. Lille claim they have already turned down an offer from Tottenham worth £10m for the Ivorian striker.
Tottenham had a similar offer for Fulham striker Moussa Dembele turned down last week and also had an offer for Brazilian international Damiao refused by Internacional, though they hope to succeed with an improved bid.
Spanish international midfielder Marcos Senna, 34, has confirmed he is in talks with Swansea over a move to the Premier League newcomers.
Senna is available after his contract with Villarreal expired. His agent Ely Coimbra said: "It is a very attractive option since Brendan Rodgers explained his ideas, and obviously because of the nice and vibrant city of Swansea."
Sunderland have agreed an £800,000 deal for South Korean striker Ji Dong-won, while West Ham will make an improved offer for Newcastle midfielder Kevin Nolan.
Liverpool are considering an offer for Roger Johnson, Birmingham’s £10million-rated central defender.
Rushden and Diamonds have been expelled from the Blue Square Bet Premier over their precarious financial position which meant they could not guarantee fulfilling their fixtures next season.
The decision to spare Manchester United’s Ravel Morrison a jail sentence for his second conviction in four months is being reviewed by Salford magistrates.
Morrison, an 18 year-old who is rated one of United’s best prospects, was given a 12-month referral order at Trafford Youth Court in Janaury for witness intimidation and warned that he would face a year in prison if he was convicted of another offence before the end of 2011.
But in May, Morrison escaped with just a fine at Salford magistrates’ court after admitting criminal damage following a bust-up with his girlfriend.
Now the sentence is being reviewed after the family of the victim in the first case complained and threatened to apply for a judicial review.
For the convenience of football fans tickets for the Arsenal and Chelsea matches against the Malaysia XI in July will be sale at the FA Cup Final between Terengganu and Kelantan at the Nasional Stadium in Bukit Jalil tomorrow.
Those who buy tickets at the National Stadium will get a special limited edition commemorative car sticker (while stocks last). Julian Kam, CEO of ProEvents Group, the promoter of the tours for Arsenal and Chelsea said the FA of Malaysia (FAM) have given them the nod ti set up a booth for the sale of tickets at the stadium for the convenience of all football fans.
"Whether they are from Kelantan, Terengganu, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Selangor or anywhere, they will be able to buy the tickets for Arsenal and Chelsea match. This is for the convenience of football fans." said Kam, who is also a FIFA match agent.
Meanwhile, the sale of tickets to the Malaysia XI, also at the National Stadium on July 16 (Kickoff at 5.45pm) will go on sale today.
Didier Drogba looks set to snub a move to Italian giants AC Milan and make the trip across London to Spurs.
The north Londoners are in pole position to land the Chelsea striker whose days at Stamford Bridge have been numbered since the arrival of Fernando Torres for a British transfer record fee of £50m.
A striker is a top priority for Spurs boss Harry Redknapp and 33-year-old Drogba fits the profile with 145 goals in 306 games for Chelsea.
Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Peter Crouch scored just 17 Premier League goals between them last season, one of the reasons Spurs dropped out of the Champions League places.
Drogba is Redknapp’s top target, but his wages are the only stumbling block. Spurs will have to smash their wage structure to land the Ivorian who is also attracting interest from Manchester City, a move which would see him united with Ivory Coast teammates Kolo and Yaya Toure.
The Stamford Bridge clear-out has already started with defender Michael Mancienne joining Hamburg while the futures of Michael Essien, Alex, Salomon Kalou, Yuri Zhirkov and Florent Malouda still remain uncertain.
Here we have a leaked image of what's thought to be the new Chelsea away shirt for the 2011/12 English Premier League Season.
Adidas have designed and manufactured the new Chelsea football kits for 2011/12.
The new Chelsea jersey is mainly black but features light blue squares that cover the top of the chest. The trim on the end of the sleeves is also light blue.
Samsung are the clubs Official shirt sponsors and their name appears in the middle of the shirt coloured white.
We'll have more details on the new change strip as and when it is confirmed.
Manchester United and Chelsea look to lure Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric by tripling his pay to £130,000 per week – report Spurs man wants Champions League football again after this year’s experience and could see massive pay rise by moving to one of the top two Premier League clubs Manchester United and Chelsea are reportedly ready to offer a staggering triple pay rise to star midfielder Luka Modric to entice the player to leave Tottenham in the summer.
The 25-year-old, who would attract a transfer fee of around £30million, is currently on a £45,000 a week deal at White Hart Lane.
However, the Croatian could bump his wage up to at least £130,000 a week if he joins either Chelsea or United and would also have the opportunity of playing in the prestigious Champions League again. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy could make an exception to his wage structure to keep Modric at White Hart Lane but he will not offer as much as Chelsea or United.
(Goal.com)
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has made it clear he has no intention of selling any of his top talent but perhaps there is a fear that an offer of the kind illustrated by this source may tempt the Croatian into leaving the North London club. A failure to secure Champions League football has led many to believe that some of White Hart Lane’s star turns may seek a move this summer.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been linked with moves to bring in more creativity to the club’s midfield and has also been strongly linked with moves for Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart. Modric would add more of a link between midfield and attack and the former Dinamo Zagreb midfielder is a more offensive weapon than the likes of Michael Carrick, Anderson, Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher.
Chelsea may see Modric as a potential long term replacement for veteran Frank Lampard and Roman Abramovich seems keen on splashing the cash and flexing his financial muscle having spent big to sign David Luiz and Fernando Torres in January. No doubt Tottenham will be looking to offer Modric an improved deal to help scare off prospective suitors but fortunately for Redknapp it does seem that the 25 year old seems very happy at the club.
Tip the wink: Guus Hiddink has admitted he would welcome a return to Stamford Bridge as Chelsea coach Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Jason Burt, in Tegelen, Holland Last Updated: 10:53PM BST 27/05/2011
Guus Hiddink opened the way for a dramatic return to Chelsea when he admitted for the first time that he would welcome an offer to take over as the club’s next manager. “If there was a concrete offer, then I would think about it,” Hiddink said.
That offer is due to be made next Saturday, the day after Turkey, the nation currently coached by Hiddink, play Belgium in a crucial Euro 2012 qualification tie in Brussels.
The expectation is that Hiddink who, as revealed by The Daily Telegraph in April, is Roman Abramovich’s first choice to succeed Carlo Ancelotti, will accept the call to take over. Several times on Friday Hiddink eschewed the opportunity to commit his future to Turkey beyond Friday’s match.
“There’s nothing concrete,” he insisted when asked about Chelsea. “You cannot go into all kind of speculation or rumours because there’s nothing concrete. The moment things are concrete, I’ll go to where I have to be, direct. I have a good relationship with the president [of the Turkish Football Federation]. We talk every week about the future of ‘everything’. But, when things aren’t concrete, why should I go into speculation?”
Matters are also complicated because there are presidential elections for the federation next month and the incumbent Mahmut Özgener, with whom Hiddink has a strong understanding, may not keep his position. “Whatever’s going on, I have a good relationship with the president. He’s a very modern-thinking guy,” he said.
Chelsea sources are hopeful that Hiddink, 64, will sign a two-year contract although the club, and owner Abramovich, are sensitive not to push too hard in case the deal collapses. “Let’s see what happens after next Friday,” one source said on Friday night. “We cannot be sure until he walks through the door.”
It was a view echoed by Hiddink himself. “First, get this game done next Friday, a difficult game, you know. Then we’ll see,” he said. “I tried to plan when I was working in Spain in the mid-Nineties, and thought I’d do one more year and then go into another sports-related business. That was my plan, but now we’re 15 years on. The plan didn’t work.”
Certainly, however, speaking at the Turks’ training camp, close to the Dutch border with Germany, Hiddink did little to dampen down the sense that he was expecting Abramovich to make an offer to return to the club he successfully led on an interim basis after Luiz Felipe Scolari was sacked in February 2009.
Crucially, Hiddink also spoke about his appetite for the game — and his desire to remain as a coach or manager rather than become a director of football as has also been mooted. “As long as I feel fresh, as long as young people, players, are not getting annoyed with me, and I’m always asking for signals regarding this — people getting sour or bitter or nasty as an attitude — then I will continue,” he said.
“So far, I feel energetic to go on. Sir Alex Ferguson is a lesson for us. I read that his wife told him to get lost, go, not to sit here in the garden and do the gardening. Get back to work. As long as you have this energy and you’re not repeating yourself, are keeping it fresh and the players and the people you’re dealing with are not turning away, then continue. You should walk away if they do start doing that, but I don’t feel it at this moment.”
Hiddink also dismissed the notion that he did not want to return to club football as a head coach. “When you’re working at a club with a lot of joy, then all of a sudden you say it might be good to be a national team manager because there you’ll be more flexible and you’ll have fewer games,” he explained. “But, when you’ve been working a long time with a national team and still have that energy — like, with this team, I’d like to work every day because I’d have more impact on them and their execution of games — then you like to work every day. I like to work every day. So, we’ll wait.”
Hiddink dismissed the suggestion he could combine working for Chelsea while remaining as Turkey’s coach — as he did last time round when he led Russia.
“No, no,” he said. “That was another situation because Roman Abramovich was also supporting Russian football very strongly, including the national team. He was a very strong supporter living with the Russia team. And when they decided to do what they did, asking me to jump in for that period, we talked. We spoke with the president of the federation in Russia, too, and we agreed because it all matched. But you must only do one job. That was an exceptional situation.”
Hiddink’s advisers have warned that he will not break his €4 million-a-year (net) contract with Turkey, which takes him up until the end of this qualifying campaign. The target is to reach the November play-offs, and Turkey are in contention for second-place in Group A although that would be damaged by defeat to Belgium. However, that would change if he reached an agreement to go.
Asked what he expected the Turkish media reaction would then be, Hiddink said: “It’s always rather up and down — I don’t read much — but I can imagine that they would say it would be better to quit, as they did after we lost in Germany and Azerbaijan.” He then added: “We’ll play this game and then we’ll see.”
PETALING JAYA: Local football fans of the English Premier League (EPL) are in for a fantastic treat in July!
Three of the Big Four of the EPL – Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool – will be in town for a 10-day EPL Festival. However, the exact dates have yet to be confirmed.
The three teams will take on the national side on three different dates in July.
Football fans can look forward to seeing the likes of Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres and David Luiz (Chelsea); Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie (Arsenal); and Steven Gerrard, Raul Meireles and Luis Suarez (Liverpool) in action.
Big guns: Three of the main stars from the English Premier League (from left) Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea) and Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) will be in the country for the 10-day EPL Festival in July. Manchester United, who make up the Big Four, enjoyed two hugely successful visits here in 2001 and 2009.
This will be the first time that three top English clubs will be in town since the inaugural FAPL Asia Cup in 2003. Then, the teams who came were Birmingham, Newcastle and Chelsea.
Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay had announced last year that they would be in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok in July for their Chelsea Asia Tour 2011.
Chelsea’s Asia Tour programme in Kuala Lumpur would include a friendly game against the national team at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, an open training session for the fans and community coaching programmes.
KUALA LUMPUR, (D5) - Exciting news for football fans in Malaysia! Chelsea will take on Malaysia's best footballers in July and tickets are being sold from May 20 onwards.
In promotion of the Blues' trip here, selected adidas outlets nationwide will chip in a free commemorative Chelsea Football Club training pass with every ticket purchased from May 20-29.
Ticket prices range from RM 58, RM68, to RM108. A limited VIP ticket priced at RM388 will be available as well.
Organised by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), the Malaysia XI vs Chelsea FC match will be held at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on July 21, 2011 at 8.45pm.
And ProEvents CEO Julian Kam, is expecting a huge turnout from fans in the South East Asia region.
"In 2008, we had 55,000 football fans come and watch an excellent and exciting game of football.
"We expect more to come for this year's match, especially from neighbouring countries such as Brunei, Indonesia, Vietenam, Thailand, and Singapore," said Julian.
Apart from the match, other activities involving the Premier League team will be included such as an autograph session, soocer clinics, charitable events and a meeting with the official Chelsea Supporters Club.
FAM secretary general Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad was delighted to have Chelsea play Malaysia's best.
"This is a great opportunity for football fans to come and watch a top notch English Premier League team in action.
"Fans in Malaysia should not miss this golden opportunity," said Azzudddin.
Fans can purchase tickets at selected addidas outlets from May 20 onwards, and from Ticketpro outlets nationwide beginning May 30, or call Ticketpro's hotline at 03-7880 7999, or book online via their website at www.ticketpro.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR: English Premier League champions Chelsea have listed Malaysia in their Asia Tour 2011 itinerary and also for pre-season training, it was announced today.
VS
Disclosing the plan in a media briefing on Chelsea's Asia Tour 2011 here today, Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said the club was planning to be in Malaysia for a week for a training stint prior to a friendly match in Kuala Lumpur.
"As a centre for pre-season training as well, our manager Carlo Ancelotti will require first class facilities and we know Malaysia will provide that too," he said.
Gourlay said Chelsea were confident of Malaysians interest in the club and were looking forward to getting closer to the their fans in the country. "A huge crowd came to our game during our last Asia Tour two years ago and with next summer's match taking place in the 85,000 capacity National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, this is the chance for many fans here to came watch us again," he said.
During the 2008 Asia Tour, Chelsea played a pre-season friendly match against Malaysia in front of 55,000 fans at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil and won it 2-0, with the goals scored by Nicolas Anelka and Ashley Cole.
ProEvents International, a leading football marketing and management consultancy in Asia, has once again been appointed as the sole and exclusive tour promoter for the Chelsea Asia Tour 2011.
ProEvents International chief executive officer Julian Kam said a comprehensive programme would be drawn up to welcome Chelsea to Kuala Lumpur, together with match details relating to ticket pricing, venue and timing.
"We will announce them in the near future," he said.
Apart from Malaysia, Chelsea Asia Tour 2011 will among others include Thailand.-- BERNAMA
Last gasp: Steven Taylor celebrates after scoring Newcastle's late equaliser at Stamford Bridge Photo: AP
By Telegraph staff and agencies Last Updated: 4:44PM BST 15/05/2011
Read a full match report of the Premier League game between Chelsea and Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday May 15 2011.
Carlo Ancelotti's new-look Chelsea looked anything but challengers for next season's Premier League title as they threw away victory against Newcastle.
In what could be his final home game in charge, Ancelotti's team selection very much appeared to have the new campaign in mind and it looked promising when Branislav Ivanovic scored inside two minutes.
But Jonas Gutierrez soon levelled after unwittingly deflecting in Ryan Taylor's free-kick and although Alex headed the Blues back in front late on, Steven Taylor snatched a draw at the death.
After seeing Manchester United depose them as champions yesterday, this afternoon's game was Chelsea's chance to lay down a marker for next season as they paraded their new home kit.
Despite appearing resigned to losing his job in the summer, Ancelotti's line-up reflected this as he made several changes, including starting Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun and Josh McEachran.
And despite Ancelotti's protestations that they could play together, he decided against pairing Didier Drogba with Torres.
It took the new-look Chelsea less than 10 minutes to open their account, Frank Lampard's corner flicked on by Torres for Ivanovic to volley home.
The home side continued to dominate as Roman Abramovich watched on from the Stamford Bridge directors' box.
But they undid the good work in the ninth minute when Alex gave the ball straight to Peter Lovenkrands and John Terry tripped the striker, earning a booking.
Making a rare start, Ryan Taylor struck the free-kick, which took a huge deflection off Gutierrez and flew past the wrong-footed Petr Cech.
If that was unlucky for Chelsea, they were fortunate in the 16th minute when Shola Ameobi beat Cech in the air and the striker's goalbound header was cleared.
The hosts also enjoyed a let-off when Ramires lunged horribly at Danny Simpson but failed to earn even a booking.
A crucial interception from Alex cut out a dangerous Shane Ferguson cross, while Ryan Taylor went close to deflecting the ball into his own net at the other end after Ashley Cole's centre sparked panic.
But as the half wore on, Chelsea began to look like a side that had not played together before as Newcastle more than matched them.
The hosts' passing was sloppy, while Torres' inability to hold the ball up was not helping and it appeared only a matter of time before Drogba entered the fray.
Torres wasted a good crossing chance immediately after the restart as his touch began to desert him, with any confidence he might have gained from ending his goal drought last month appearing to have evaporated.
Cole saw a header deflected behind and Ramires flashed wide from 30 yards, although Newcastle remained a threat and Gutierrez looped a header straight into Cech's arms and also curled too close to the goalkeeper from 25 yards.
Lampard had just been booked for going straight through the back of Joey Barton and Ivanovic soon followed suit for tripping the impressive Ferguson.
The resulting Taylor free-kick was clutched by Cech, despite the looming presence of Ameobi.
With a little more than 25 minutes remaining, Ancelotti abandoned his experiment, introducing Drogba, Florent Malouda and Michael Essien for McEachran, Ramires and Benayoun.
Newcastle then lost Ferguson to injury, Kazenga LuaLua coming on.
A brilliant Drogba free-kick evaded everyone and Simpson was carded for a foul on Essien as Chelsea tried to crank up the pressure.
Cole made a hash of a glorious Drogba lay-off before Terry headed over under pressure.
Newcastle introduced Nile Ranger for Gutierrez and they went close themselves when Lovenkrands' overhead kick screwed off target, the forward immediately replaced by Ameobi's younger brother Samuel.
But that 83rd-minute change came during a Chelsea free-kick which set up the home side's second goal, Lampard crossing and Alex leaping above Tim Krul to head home and net for the first time since October.
Ryan Taylor almost levelled in stoppage-time before namesake Steven did, taking advantage of slack marking to nod in Ranger's header back across goal.
