🔎 Inside Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea appointment - via The Athletic:
In the days that followed Liam Rosenior’s sacking, honest discussions were held within the hierarchy to determine what lessons could be learned from a season that had unravelled, and what was needed in the dugout and on the pitch to ensure that mistakes were not repeated and the expectations of ownership and supporters could be met.
There were the trio of imminent Premier League free agents: Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva and Oliver Glasner. Of the three, it was Iraola who gained the most traction in Chelsea’s coaching search, on the strength of his remarkable achievements at Bournemouth. He was approached and impressed, though there were concerns about the radical departure his style of football would represent from the work of Enzo Maresca and Rosenior.
But it was Alonso that was the front-runner from the start. He had been on Chelsea’s radar since the summer of 2024.
His leadership qualities, professionalism and vision for building a winning culture shone through in the early discussions. It was the club that suggested giving him the title of manager rather than head coach, in recognition of those attributes.
Style of play was also an important consideration. Alonso is viewed as being of the same school of coaching as Maresca — inspired by Pep Guardiola’s positional play approach — offering a measure of continuity on the pitch.
With talks reaching an advanced stage, Alonso travelled to London last week.
Alonso had questions about the unique sporting structure and decision-making process at Stamford Bridge. He had several meetings with the club’s sporting leadership to clarify their various responsibilities and how they serve the team.
Alonso say it was important for him to be confident that he would have real influence and a voice at Chelsea.
Alonso spoke during his discussions with the club of his desire to build a team of “mentality monsters” at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are intending to sign at least two starting calibre players in this summer’s transfer market, with proven talent — in terms of mindset as well as skill — set to be prioritised.
#CFC #ChelseaFC #XabiAlonso #Alonso
In the days that followed Liam Rosenior’s sacking, honest discussions were held within the hierarchy to determine what lessons could be learned from a season that had unravelled, and what was needed in the dugout and on the pitch to ensure that mistakes were not repeated and the expectations of ownership and supporters could be met.
There were the trio of imminent Premier League free agents: Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva and Oliver Glasner. Of the three, it was Iraola who gained the most traction in Chelsea’s coaching search, on the strength of his remarkable achievements at Bournemouth. He was approached and impressed, though there were concerns about the radical departure his style of football would represent from the work of Enzo Maresca and Rosenior.
But it was Alonso that was the front-runner from the start. He had been on Chelsea’s radar since the summer of 2024.
His leadership qualities, professionalism and vision for building a winning culture shone through in the early discussions. It was the club that suggested giving him the title of manager rather than head coach, in recognition of those attributes.
Style of play was also an important consideration. Alonso is viewed as being of the same school of coaching as Maresca — inspired by Pep Guardiola’s positional play approach — offering a measure of continuity on the pitch.
With talks reaching an advanced stage, Alonso travelled to London last week.
Alonso had questions about the unique sporting structure and decision-making process at Stamford Bridge. He had several meetings with the club’s sporting leadership to clarify their various responsibilities and how they serve the team.
Alonso say it was important for him to be confident that he would have real influence and a voice at Chelsea.
Alonso spoke during his discussions with the club of his desire to build a team of “mentality monsters” at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are intending to sign at least two starting calibre players in this summer’s transfer market, with proven talent — in terms of mindset as well as skill — set to be prioritised.
#CFC #ChelseaFC #XabiAlonso #Alonso
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🚨🔵Final day scenario:
Chelsea win/Brighton win: UECL
Chelsea win/Brighton draw or L: UEL
Chelsea draw/Brentford draw or L: UECL
Chelsea lose: No Europe
Chelsea win/Brighton win: UECL
Chelsea win/Brighton draw or L: UEL
Chelsea draw/Brentford draw or L: UECL
Chelsea lose: No Europe
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🗣️ Calum McFarlane on Chelsea’s 2-1 win over @Tottenhm Hotspur [H] in the Premier League:
🤝 “I thought the atmosphere was exceptional tonight. I thought you could feel the energy.
“I thought it was exceptional at Wembley as well, and I think it always helps the team when we get that positive energy and it drives us on to do more.
“There were lads out there tonight that were dead on their feet, but the crowd, the enthusiasm and the drive from the crowd, drives them on to just push a little bit extra, and I thought that was clear tonight.
“It was good to get the win.
“It was obvious from minute one that we didn’t at times have the energy and the intensity that we needed. We had it in patches.
“It was always going to be tough with the turnaround from the cup final. With the physical and psychological load that put on us, we knew that was going to be the case.
“I thought we played some really nice stuff in the first half, thought we deserved the two-goal lead when we got it, and then it was about when Spurs obviously showed more energy.
“They had more time to prepare for the game, more rest. You could tell that was coming and we just needed to dig in for the result like I thought we did well at the end.”
(Via Chelsea FC)
#CFC #ChelseaFC #CHETOT
🤝 “I thought the atmosphere was exceptional tonight. I thought you could feel the energy.
“I thought it was exceptional at Wembley as well, and I think it always helps the team when we get that positive energy and it drives us on to do more.
“There were lads out there tonight that were dead on their feet, but the crowd, the enthusiasm and the drive from the crowd, drives them on to just push a little bit extra, and I thought that was clear tonight.
“It was good to get the win.
“It was obvious from minute one that we didn’t at times have the energy and the intensity that we needed. We had it in patches.
“It was always going to be tough with the turnaround from the cup final. With the physical and psychological load that put on us, we knew that was going to be the case.
“I thought we played some really nice stuff in the first half, thought we deserved the two-goal lead when we got it, and then it was about when Spurs obviously showed more energy.
“They had more time to prepare for the game, more rest. You could tell that was coming and we just needed to dig in for the result like I thought we did well at the end.”
(Via Chelsea FC)
#CFC #ChelseaFC #CHETOT
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𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋: Chelsea’s 26/27 pre-season tour:
➡️ Western Sydney Wanderers vs Chelsea - Tuesday 28 July (kick-off 7.45pm AEST) – Accor Stadium, Sydney, Australia. 🇦🇺
➡️ Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur - Saturday 1 August (kick-off 7.45pm AEST) – Accor Stadium, Sydney, Australia. 🇦🇺
➡️ Chelsea vs Juventus - Wednesday 5 August (kick-off 7.30pm HKT) - Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong. 🇭🇰
➡️ Chelsea vs AC Milan – Saturday 8 August (kick-off 7pm WIB) - GBK Stadium Jakarta, Indonesia. 🇮🇩
➡️ Johor Darul Ta’z vs Chelsea - Tuesday 11 August (kick-off 8pm MYT) - Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia. 🇲🇾
[Chelsea FC]
#CFC #Chelsea #ChelseaFC
➡️ Western Sydney Wanderers vs Chelsea - Tuesday 28 July (kick-off 7.45pm AEST) – Accor Stadium, Sydney, Australia. 🇦🇺
➡️ Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur - Saturday 1 August (kick-off 7.45pm AEST) – Accor Stadium, Sydney, Australia. 🇦🇺
➡️ Chelsea vs Juventus - Wednesday 5 August (kick-off 7.30pm HKT) - Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong. 🇭🇰
➡️ Chelsea vs AC Milan – Saturday 8 August (kick-off 7pm WIB) - GBK Stadium Jakarta, Indonesia. 🇮🇩
➡️ Johor Darul Ta’z vs Chelsea - Tuesday 11 August (kick-off 8pm MYT) - Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia. 🇲🇾
[Chelsea FC]
#CFC #Chelsea #ChelseaFC
❤34
Congratulations to @Arsenal_london, what a way to win their first Premier League trophy in 22 years 👏🏽
❤32👎10😁9👏2
🚨🗣️ Cole Palmer on Xabi Alonso: "We are all excited. He's a top-notch coach, so we're looking forward to getting started with him."
"It shouldn't be the main motivation, but everyone wants to impress the new coach who arrives."
"It shouldn't be the main motivation, but everyone wants to impress the new coach who arrives."
❤56🤡1
@Madrid_Atletico want to sign Marc Cucurella from Chelsea this summer.
The left-back is of long-term interest to Mathieu Alemany, who wanted him at @Barcelonaen and is now the sporting director at Atletico.
Barca retain an interest in the player too but plan to make the loan deal of Joao Cancelo from @Hilal_Al a permanent switch.
Cucurella’s contract with the Blues expires in June 2028.
[Lyall Thomas - Sky Sports; first reported by Marca]
#CFC #ChelseaFC #AtleticoMadrid #Atleti #Cucurella
The left-back is of long-term interest to Mathieu Alemany, who wanted him at @Barcelonaen and is now the sporting director at Atletico.
Barca retain an interest in the player too but plan to make the loan deal of Joao Cancelo from @Hilal_Al a permanent switch.
Cucurella’s contract with the Blues expires in June 2028.
[Lyall Thomas - Sky Sports; first reported by Marca]
#CFC #ChelseaFC #AtleticoMadrid #Atleti #Cucurella
1❤21
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