Bonding & building - what we learned about Alonso's Chelsea in pre-season

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Chelsea have won two of their five matches so far in pre-season

Football reporterPublished2 hours agoChelsea's pre-season campaign was all about new manager Xabi Alonso but, in truth, the 56 hours spent travelling 24,561 miles by plane had been organised long before his appointment in May.

The Blues travelled further and longer than any other Premier League club, almost twice as much as during last season's US tour under former boss Enzo Maresca, visiting Sydney, Hong Kong and Jakarta before finishing in Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia, on Sunday.

It was tiring for many, not least Alonso, but that did not stop him setting standards by running off the jetlag at a remarkable pace of four minutes 30 seconds per kilometre alongside members of the club staff.

It set the tone for a culture of not making excuses, as did his involvement in a staff match before the squad flew out.

The 44-year-old former Spain World Cup winner was on the winning side and set up most of the goals.

Having already completed a substantial amount of fitness work for his players at home, including gruelling double sessions at the club's Cobham training base in the weeks leading up to the tour, Chelsea used the trip to focus on key tactical elements despite the demands of travel and fatigue.

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Published4 hours agoHands-on approach and one-to-one sessionsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Alonso said he and his players learned things about each other both on and off the pitch during pre-season

Chelsea had done plenty of work to mitigate those demands. As well as hiring a private Airbus A340, the club immediately switched players on to Sydney time and instructed them to sleep after meals during the journey, which included a stop at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka, before landing in Australia.

Training at Sky Park, home of Sydney FC, they had access to a compact but high-quality training facility, in addition to an open session at Allianz Stadium that was relatively low in intensity.

The session nevertheless offered an insight into Alonso's hands-on approach. He regularly demonstrated his passing ability, while testing players such as Estevao Willian by encouraging him to cross on his weaker right foot for team-mates to finish.

Alonso also smashed a 25-yard half-volley into the net at the end of the same session - a reminder of the qualities that made him one of the game's best midfielders during spells at Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

England defender Levi Colwill confessed he was "jealous" of how well Alonso could "spray balls around".

"The manager was a great player, one of the best of his generation," added midfielder Romeo Lavia. "You see that when he steps into a training session.

"He starts pinging balls around in a way only those who have played at the top level can. It's a privilege to be working with him, especially as a midfielder."

Australia's rugby union head coach, and Chelsea supporter, Les Kiss visited after making the short walk from his team's headquarters and exchanged shirts with Alonso.

There were a number of 16 and 17-year-olds in the group, notably Sydney-born Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, who emerged as one of the tour's breakout performers with a series of impressive midfield displays.

He also attracted considerable interest from the Australian media, given his mother's links to the city and the prospect of representing the national team in the future, despite playing for England Under-17s.

Younger players were given time off to visit the cinema, go on boat trips and take in the local culture while table tennis, darts and computer games were available at the team's luxury hotel, which overlooked Darling Harbour.

It was a quieter part of the trip when Chelsea and Tottenham players, who they faced in front of 80,000 fans on Saturday, were given the freedom to explore.

There were organised sponsor events near Bondi Beach, while another activity was a group visit to North Sydney Pool beneath the Harbour Bridge, where players completed a gym session before being allowed to enjoy the spa and Olympic-sized swimming pool. Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez also appeared on breakfast TV before the match.

Colwill described it as a fantastic team-bonding trip, although the 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers and 2-1 defeat by Tottenham suggested it was still early days in terms of what Alonso was building.

Insiders said it initially felt similar to Mauricio Pochettino's regime, with a heavy focus on fitness, but tactical ideas were introduced as senior players returned from international duty.

In the first three matches, Alonso changed little about the 4-2-3-1 approach favoured by Maresca and later used during Liam Rosenior's short-lived spell in charge.

Key executives including co-owner Behdad Eghbali and sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Joe Shields were in Australia. It was clear transfer business continued between time zones as Chelsea worked on deals for Maxence Lacroix, Danny Welbeck, Jordan Henderson and later Spanish defender Pep Chavarria.

Alonso was also seen taking late arrivals Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson aside for one-to-one sessions after their arrival from World Cup duty, physically testing them as they received passes from the coaching staff.

Australia was also the setting for Cole Palmer's first-ever pre-match media conference. He was relaxed, smiling and telling stories and, in his own blunt way, came across as charismatic.

Alonso was impressed by Palmer's fitness and hunger on his return and described him as a "leader", something reflected in his interaction with the younger players on tour.

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Superstar treatment and set-piecesImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, New signing Danny Welbeck [right] joined Chelsea in Hong Kong

Following another 10-hour private flight to Hong Kong, the squad stayed at the Kerry Hotel, where local fans regularly gathered in the hope of securing selfies and autographs.

Although the attention remained positive, the level of excitement required heightened security, with some supporters even booking rooms in the same hotel in the hope of encountering players in lifts and public areas.

Palmer and Colwill were given the freedom to go shopping after picking up knocks against Spurs, but videos of their outing showed just how well-known they were.

They were chased for selfies inside a local mall to highlight how big some of these Premier League stars are in Asia, while many players were presented with hand-crafted gifts to take home from those lucky enough to get close to their heroes.

It was in Hong Kong that Mykhailo Mudryk, along with Welbeck, Mike Penders, Geovany Quenda and Gabriel Slonina, joined up with the group.

Mudryk's arrival had not been planned, but Chelsea opted to treat him as a fully fledged member of the squad despite his 20-month absence after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium.

The reception was emotional throughout the Ukrainian forward's return. He received a hero's welcome during an open training session and later made his comeback as a substitute against Juventus last Wednesday, before a late assist in the 3-3 draw with Johor Darul Ta'zim.

Perhaps more significant from a pre-season perspective was the arrival of new set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, who immediately assumed a prominent role within training sessions.

With a notepad in hand and junior coaches acting as blockers, the Scot - who had a successful spell at Aston Villa - barked instructions throughout sessions.

It marked a stage of the tour during which tactical work increased significantly as Alonso's attacking patterns became more visible.

Those ideas were evident despite the 1-0 defeat by Juventus at the world-class Kai Tak Stadium, although a poor pitch made life difficult for both teams in attack.

Alonso and a few of his players and staff also played a round of golf on Thursday, others were out for meals, playing a virtual reality game and some went to see the famous Tian Tan Buddha on a scheduled day off.

"We have learned a lot in these two weeks, not just on the football side but on the personal side in getting to know each other," Alonso said.

Avoiding temperatures that felt like 39C due to the humidity meant training was held later in the day. Hong Kong served as the second base before shorter visits to Indonesia and Malaysia.

Against AC Milan on Saturday, Chelsea's standout performer of pre-season, Joao Pedro, scored twice in a 3-0 win to take his tally to six goals in as many games, including behind-closed-doors fixtures.

Their best result this summer included two goals from corners in the week following the arrival of new set-piece coach MacPhee, while it was also the first time the Blues had played with wing-backs in a back three - a system Alonso used to win the Bundesliga title with Bayer Leverkusen in 2024.

There was heavy rotation, with a lot of youth involvement, against Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta'zim on Sunday as Chelsea snatched a draw with an 89th-minute own goal from Antonio Glauder after Liam Delap had netted two penalties.

Overall, Chelsea faced less-than-ideal conditions during the tour, including extensive travel, sponsor commitments and difficult pitches.

They now have two weeks at Cobham to reset, facing Alonso's former club Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, 15 August, before visiting Fulham for their opening Premier League fixture on Monday, 24 August.

Despite the demands of the summer tour, it was a culture-building exercise for Alonso as he looks to help lift Chelsea's fortunes after their problems last season.

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