RETURN JOURNEY TO KUALA LUMPUR
Posted on: Thu 26 Aug 2010

More details of Chelsea's 2011 summer tour of Asia have been revealed today with Malaysia added to the itinerary.

The team will play a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur and the country will act as the pre-season training hub, chief executive Ron Gourlay announced in the Malaysian capital.

This addition follows hard on the heels of news earlier this week that Carlo Ancelotti will be taking his squad to play in Bangkok, Thailand as a leg of the tour.

The Kuala Lumpur match means a return to a city visited by Chelsea in 2008 when a Malaysian XI was defeated 2-0.

'At Chelsea we are in no doubt about the interest from Malaysia in the club,' Gourlay says.'A huge crowd came to our game during our last tour of Asia and with next summer's match taking place in the 85,000-capacity national stadium there is the chance for many to do so again.

'As a centre for pre-season training as well, Carlo will require first-class facilities and we know Malaysia will provide that too.

'And we are looking forward to getting closer to our fans out here. Announcing so early gives us the opportunity to plan activities in the region over the next 10-11 months ahead of our pre-season tour. Our successful community coaching scheme will be just one of many engagement activities.'

Next summer's match will be in the Bukit Jalil National Stadium with the date and ticket-selling details to be announced.

The 2008 match took place in the Shah Alam Stadium in front of 60,000 fans. Current interest in Chelsea from Malaysia is such that only Indonesia and the United Kingdom provide more Facebook fans on the club's official page.

Also present at today's announcement were Tengku Mahkota Pahang Tengku Abdullah, deputy president of the Football Association of Malaysia, and Julian Kam of ProEvents, the tour promoters.

'We are delighted to bring Chelsea back to Malaysia with the support of Tengku Mahkota,' said Kam.

'Malaysia is best known for its superb hospitality, excellent facilities for football and the tremendous football fans we have in this country. The Chelsea supporters' club here has a 600-strong following, and numbers are growing.

'The club is widely popular throughout the world and especially so in Asia. With Ron's vision to plan the pre-season ahead, this will give Chelsea fans in the region a tremendous opportunity to plan their next summer holiday in Malaysia.'

Chelsea also visited Kuala Lumpur in the summer of 2003 when we took part in the FA Premier League Asia Cup.

THE THURSDAY INTERVIEW: JOHN MIKEL OBI
Posted on: Thu 26 Aug 2010

While the attacking players have been lauded for their swashbuckling displays against West Brom and Wigan, the defence has also received credit for its pair of clean sheets over the season's opening weekends.

The man who knits the two halves together in his role at the base of the midfield, John Mikel Obi, has enjoyed a fine start to the season himself and it has not gone unnoticed at Stamford Bridge.

Anyone who saw the congratulations the midfielder received from his team-mates after his rangy pass found Nicolas Anelka for the second goal at the DW Stadium on Saturday will testify to the high regard in which his performances are currently held within the dressing room.

'Last season I did similar things in some games, sometimes it is difficult to do that week in week out, but I did it for Didier last season at Portsmouth, so it is nothing special really,' he said of the pass.

'I don't always get the opportunity to show my range of passing, it is quite difficult, you have everyone in front of you but if I get to do it more and create goals, then good, and it is great we scored 12 goals but more important to me is that I think it's good we haven't conceded any, that's where I feel happiest, my responsibility is more in the defence than the attack.'

Mikel has earned more praise from the fitness coaches at Cobham since the beginning of pre-season. They will tell you he is working harder than ever, and the player agrees.

'Towards the end of last season before I was injured I was in good shape and playing almost every week,' says the 23-year-old. 'Then I got injured, had surgery and did my rehab. I just put my head down and knew I had to work twice as hard as the other players to get myself ready for the start of the season.

'I feel like it is paying off and I don't want to stop, I want to keep going and working hard in training. If you speak to the guys they will tell you I work as hard as anyone else on the training pitch, maybe harder and I just want to keep going like this. This is where I want to be at 23 years old.'

It seems the boy Jose Mourinho signed in 2006 has developed into a man under Carlo Ancelotti.

Ancelotti talks with Mikel

He has previously spoken of feeling like one of the side's senior players as he approaches 200 Chelsea appearances (his current total is 168) and it seems with age he has developed into a more disciplined character both on and off the field.

'It doesn't feel like I am in my fifth year,' he smiles. 'I was 18 when I came, I had a bad start, it was a wake-up call to me, and I got sent off a couple of times and booked a lot, but now I am happy and I feel I am still getting better, I win the ball more now without fouling people.

'I do think I am more disciplined when I play. Playing for Chelsea you always have the full-backs going forward, Ashley Cole plays like a winger so I am the one who keeps the balance of the team and it is something I learned to do. It is a sacrifice I have to make for the team, not going forward and getting the goals.'