Alex Convinced Yossi Benayoun Signing Will Help Club Retain Premier League Title

Chelsea defender Alex has been impressed with new boy Yossi Benayoun in pre-season training and is convinced "he will help" the club retain the Premier League title.

Alex, 28, has been preparing with the rest of the squad for the campaign ahead without the club's World Cup 2010 contingent. Despite missing the likes of John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, he has been kept on his toes by the signing from Liverpool.

Speaking to the club's official website, Alex praised the Israeli international's impact since being snapped up by manager Carlo Ancelotti.

"He is a good man, he is experienced and I think he will help us this season. We need players of this quality,' Alex said.

"He is difficult to mark when we do this in training - attackers v defenders - and I have to have more concentration in defence."

New Chelsea Starlet Tomas Kalas Admits To Snubbing Premier League Rivals Arsenal

New Chelsea signing Tomas Kalas has revealed he rejected Arsenal to make the £5 million switch to the Premier League champions.

Kalas, 17, has joined the Blues from Czech side Sigma Olomouc on a contract that runs until 2016. As one of the most highly rated young defenders in Europe, he had a pick of teams to move to.

Despite visiting the Gunners - as well as German sides Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim - the childhood fan was determined to force through a move to Carlo Ancelotti's side.

"There were rumours flying around already during the spring, but at that time there were more clubs around me," Kalas told iDnes.cz.

"It became more specific only after the U-17 European Championship in Liechtenstein in May. Chelsea scouts were present there.

"Then I, my dad and Olomouc were proposed a specific offer. But Mr [Frank, sporting director] Arnesen told me I had been on the list already before the Euro and they had been following me for two years."

Kalas has only made one appearance in the Czech top flight so far and will stay at Sigma on loan next season. He further revealed he not only rejected Arsene Wenger's advances, but a pair of moves to the Bundesliga.

"Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim from the Bundesliga and apart from Chelsea also Arsenal," Kalas added.

"I have been to both German clubs and also Arsenal, but the best impression was left on me by Chelsea.

"People say that Arsenal are famous for their academy, but from what I could see during my days at Chelsea, that really impressed me.

"Even my dad thought of Chelsea as the best option. Moreover, I have been a Chelsea fan since I was a little kid.

"I am convinced I have made the right decision by joining Chelsea. After all, by this I am making my dream come true."

Olympique Marseille Pursuing Audacious Move For Chelsea Star Didier Drogba

Olympique Marseille remain interested in tempting Didier Drogba away from Chelsea and back to Ligue 1, according to a report from France Football.

The French outfit apparently contacted the Ivorian a few weeks ago, but at that stage it looked like his wage demands would prove prohibitive.

However, OM are trying to reduce their wage bill and trim their squad, which may create room in the budget for Drogba.

The striker, 32, knows that the Blues are looking for a new, younger centre-forward and Marseille might offer him a longer contract on slightly lower wages, similar to the strategy employed by Paris Saint-Germain when they snapped up Claude Makelele.

The move is at present on ice, according to the report, although Drogba remains on Marseille's shortlist, with the French club believing a fee of around £12.5 million (€15m) could be enough to snare the striker.

France's Nicolas Anelka Refuses To Apologise About Player Strike

Nicolas Anelka has refused to apologise for his role in the players’ strike that undermined France’s World Cup campaign.

Anelka was sent home from the World Cup after a verbal confrontation with manager Raymond Domenech during France's 2-0 defeat to Mexico.

The rest of the squad subsequently refused to train in protest at Anelka's expulsion and finished their campaign bottom of Group A with just one point and one goal to their credit.

There were calls in France for Anelka to be banned from representing his country for the rest of his career, though new coach Laurent Blanc has since hinted the door may still be open for a return.

However, last night Anelka insisted the atmosphere inside the France camp at the World Cup was like a time bomb.

“If it hadn’t been me that brought it to a head, someone else would. It was waiting to happen," Anelka said.

"Everyone, and I really mean everyone, was as one. If there were some players who wanted to train, let them speak now. But I’m 100 per cent sure that nobody will want to.”

Anelka’s France team-mate Jeremy Toulalan publicly attacked Domenech’s methods at the time and recently admitted he played a direct role in the training ground boycott.

"I'm not proud of what I did but I accept responsibility," Toulalan said.

"There were no ringleaders and no slaves, no good guys and no bad guys. We were all involved and we are all responsible because nobody said a word [against the boycott]. Whoever says otherwise is a liar”.

Profiling The Future - Jeffrey Bruma

Bruma signed for Chelsea from Feyenoord aged 15 for a paltry £100,000. His skills were evident even then as he plied his trade in their youth setup having appeared for their B team aged only 14.

Youth Coach Mario Been was devastated at the loss stating:

'I am not happy that the board has let him go, I expressed his importance to the future of Feyenoord to the board. He was the jewel of our setup, but it is not my decision.'

Joining Chelsea at this tender age, he had little problems adapting to the friendly environment at Cobham. He began the 2007/08 season admirably and aged just 16 he managed to make a place in the reserves set-up.

He played in almost every game for the Youth team and made 3 appearances for the reserves.

In the 2008/09 season Bruma was involved in every game in our run to the Youth Cup Final defeat scoring 2 headed goals en route to the final. He made further reserve appearances and his form was so impressive that having barely turned 17 he was called up to the Holland U-21 team.

He has been selected to start for almost every game since. 2009/10 was the breakthrough year for Bruma as much as it was for all the other youngsters. The arrival of Carletto, saw him get his chance to impress with the first team... perhaps in his case, more deserving than any other youngster in the squad.

In a team with amazing defenders of the likes of Carvalho, Terry, Ivanovic and Alex, Bruma was still able to stake a claim for himself as he made 2 league appearances for the blues, helping them keep clean sheets against both Wolves and Blackburn in 40 minute spells.

He played in the Carling Cup exit to Blackburn as well, coming on as a substitute for Belletti. The management were very impressed by his performances in each. Meanwhile, he was also taking part in the Youth campaign. He played in almost all games in the FA Youth Cup triumph and scored in the Final first leg at Villa Park.

Bruma has not been in the game very long but he has all the qualities to be one of the best defenders of the coming era and if he continues to improve at this rate.... even the best. His qualities being showcased at such an age suggest that if Chelsea can hang on to this one and nurture him that £100,000 spent can be increased at least 500 times in value.

Alex: Back Among Young

At 28 years of age Alex is all set to be the old man at the heart of the Chelsea defence when the pre-season games kick off tomorrow at Selhurst Park.

John Terry, Ashley Cole, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira and Branislav Ivanovic are all yet to return to training following World Cup action and Jose Bosingwa has yet to rejoin full training.

He is in the final stages of recovery from knee surgery so the likes of Michael Mancienne, Sam Hutchinson, Jeffrey Bruma, Patrick van Aanholt and Ryan Bertrand come into the frame for defensive positions alongside the Brazilian for the match at Crystal Palace.

Several possible combinations have been worked upon in training Alex reports.

'It is good to start the pre-season games after two weeks everyday with training,' he tells the Official Chelsea Website.

'We start with what I think is a difficult game and we don't have many of the other players here yet, but we have a good group with the reserve team coming in to play a part and it is important to win the first game of pre-season.

'It is good for us in training games because the young players never stop running,' he smiles. 'They are always up and down the pitch and it is good for your condition. You always have to pay attention.

'It has been good working together with players like Jeffrey and Michael Mancienne who are sometimes also as left back and right back.'

Alex as much as anyone is pleased to have joined the preparations from day one having seen this stage disrupted by injury the last two years.

'When I arrived here two weeks ago the doctors spent one training session with me in the morning but I felt good and I trained normally. I had a problem the last two pre-seasons but this season it's very good.

The Future In France

The international football continues to come thick and fast as this weekend Chelsea youngsters embark on their pursuit of the Uefa Under-19 championship in northern France.

After coming through two rounds of qualifying, Gael Kakuta (France), Fabio Borini and Jacopo Sala (Italy), Jacob Mellis (England), plus Matej Delac (Croatia) who has signed a pre-contract agreement to join Chelsea, will all be monitored closely by sporting director Frank Arnesen and our Academy staff.

Their involvement follows off the back of having 12 senior internationals representing us at the World Cup in South Africa, a number that would have been higher but for injuries, and England's success at the Under 17 European Championship, in which Josh McEachran and schoolboy Nathaniel Chalobah featured.

'In the last few years we have increased our number of players on the international level very much, and for the Academy last season was fantastic, two players as Under 17 champions, and now players in different teams battling for the Under 19 title in Europe,' says Arnesen.

'These are very important players in their own teams - Mellis has done very well for England, at one stage he played four games and scored in all four. Then we have Borini, the captain of Italy, and Sala, the vice-captain, which is very good.

'If you take Borini, he has already played at Under 21, which is unusual at his age in Italian football. Then we have the host of the tournament, France, and Kakuta. He is one of the most exciting players at this level, he proved that at Under 17 when they lost the Final to Spain.'

Goalkeeper Delac has been a regular in the first team at Croatian side Inter Zapresic for over a year, and has signed a pre-contract agreement so he is due to arrive at Stamford Bridge next season.

'He is not so well known and it will be very good to see him at that level, he has a lot of experience, he has played one-and-a-half years of senior football in Croatia, and is looking good,' Arnesen explains.

'Holland is also qualified but haven't taken Jeffrey Bruma, because the Dutch thinking is that he is already playing regularly at Under 21, he has passed that stage and moved up, so it could have been more players, a fantastic achievement for us I think.'
The former Denmark international goes on to add that for the club it is no problem to release young players at this time of year rather than the busier periods during the calendar.

'It is very awkward if Fifa and Uefa arrange championships during the season, it is very poor because everyone knows players are already playing at the highest level, so they have to consider that clubs will withdraw them, but this is a good time to do it.

'We think it is a good experience for them. July is a good month, they have had their holidays, they can play the tournament and hopefully one of our guys will win.'

On Sunday England play Austria, France play Netherlands, Croatia play Spain and Italy take on Portugal.

Fans Take To Pitch At Cobham

Chelsea fans from around the world descended on the Cobham training ground to participate in the third annual supporters' tournament.

Teams made up from supporters groups across the UK and beyond competed in the largest tournament yet, featuring 11 sides, all battling it out to win the top prize.

With former Chelsea stars Clive Walker, Colin Pates, Gareth Hall and Steve Finnieston on hand to get involved with the teams, soak up the atmosphere and even join in with a spot of refereeing, and with some gloriously sunny weather, the stage was set for a fantastic contest and we were not disappointed.

With the teams being split into two groups and the top two sides progressing to the final and plate trophy respectively, competition was fierce and tackles were soon sliding in with enthusiasm.

The day kicked off in Group A with the Powerday cfcuk team roaring out of the traps with a 3-0 victory over the travelling men and women of Chelsea Italia, who had flown in specifically for the tournament.

Elsewhere CFC Net and the Chelsea Staff side edged out a narrow 0-0 draw. In Group B the goals came thick and fast with Chelsea Supporters Group defeating the KR Swingers 4-1 and Bucks Chelsea handing out an 8-0 drubbing to Vital Chelsea.

All the players from all sides gave a great account of themselves, leaving everything on the pitch whilst keeping up the buoyant atmosphere at the training ground, despite many tired legs and sunburned faces. A special mention to the staff of St John's Ambulance, who were on hand throughout the day, dealing with players' niggles, injuries and strains.

Alongside the football on display, it was an opportunity for many Chelsea fans, young and old to get together, share stories from the terraces and show their excitement and anticipation of the season to come.

Darren Mantle of cfcnet.co.uk shares his thoughts on the day: 'The tournament was really well run and it was good to play against other Chelsea fans, the turnout was fantastic and it was a nice touch having some Chelsea old boys there too.'

After a series of hard fought games, the group stages ended with Powerday cfcuk topping Group A on goal difference by a single goal over the unlucky Blue and White Army, whilst Chelsea Supporters Group ran out as comfortable winners of Group B with Bucks Chelsea finishing second.

With anticipation for the final building, fans and supporters enjoyed food and drinks from the Chelsea Wagon and gathered to watch Blue and White Army take on Bucks Chelsea for the Plate Trophy. An enthralling contest finished up with Bucks Chelsea as winners by a score of two goals to nil.

So to the final and in an engaging and thoroughly entertaining end to the tournament, Powerday cfcuk emerged as deserved champions after a 4-1 victory over the battle weary Chelsea Supporters Group.

In addition to all of the action, a raffle was held to raise funds and awareness for the outstanding work that Help a London Child do, and over £200 was donated to the charity.

Overall the day was a resounding success and the event organizer, Cliff Auger, had praise for the victors, whilst looking ahead to next year.

'Peter Trenter and I were once again entrusted with organizing the Chelsea Supporters' Tournament and the day went very well and largely without any major mishaps. It obviously takes a lot of hard work but the club has been wonderful with their help and support.

'Congratulations to the two competition winners, Powerday cfcuk and Bucks Chelsea and we look forward to next year and to an event that is becoming firmly established in the Chelsea calendar.'