open to all teams in the EPL and English Football League -- and the 2005 Community Shield, which is contested in early August by the previous season's FA Cup and Premiership winners.
This summer has been another busy one for Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and chief executive Peter Kenyon. First, the Blues wooed Germany captain Michael Ballack to Stamford Bridge on a free transfer from Bayern Munich. The creative engine for Die Mannschaft and for Bayern, Ballack has scored and impressive 31 goals in 70 appearances for his country and tallied 44 goals in 107 appearances for Bayern.
The other massive move Chelsea made this summer was to swoop for Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko, shelling out a rumored $58 million to prise him away from AC Milan. The 29-year-old's international strike rate (69 caps, 31 goals) is nearly identical to Ballack's, and he's struck 187 times in 324 appearances for Dynamo Kiev and AC Milan.
The Blues have also brought in two budding young stars this summer in Ivory Coast forward Salomon Kalou and Nigerian midfielder Jon Obi Mikel. Kalou, 20, joined in a transfer from Dutch side Feyenoord, while Mikel, 19, was at the centered of a protracted saga between Chelsea and Manchester United that ended up costing the Blues nearly $30 million dollars in transfer payments to both United -- who themselves wanted to sign Mikel -- and the player's former club, Lyn Oslo of Norway.
Ballack and Shevchenko are two of 11 Chelsea players coming to Chicagoland Saturday to have seen the field at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Three of those players -- Joe Cole, Frank Lampard and John Terry -- hail from England.
Terry, a central defender and the captain of the Blues, came up through the youth system at Stamford Bridge. He was voted Player of the Year in England for 2004-05, and is a candidate to be named England's captain now that David Beckham has stepped down from that role. Midfielder Lampard has been the driving force behind Chelsea's attack for the last two seasons, scoring 39 goals in all competitions. Last winter, he finished runner-up to Ronaldinho in voting for both the European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. Cole has provided an attacking spark on the flank, scoring 17 goals in 97 appearances for the Blues.
The other nation with multiple players on Chelsea's roster is Mourinho's native Portugal. Both Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira won the UEFA Champions League with Mourinho at Porto FC in 2004 and followed him to west London that summer. Carvalho has joined with Terry to form the backbone of the Chelsea defense, while Ferreira has helped choke off opponents' attacks as a fullback.
Behind Terry, Carvalho and Ferreira stands goalkeeper Petr Cech, the Czech Republic's first-choice shot-stopper. Only 24 years old, the tall, athletic 'keeper has proven himself to be one of the best in the world. During the 2004-05 season, Cech set a record with a 1,024-minute run without conceding a goal.
At the other end of the field for the Blues are Dutch winger Arjen Robben, who uses his shiftiness and speed to leave defenders in the dust, and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba, a man who is a specimen of strength and aerial ability. Rounding out Chelsea's international contingent is Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien, a former France Player of the Year who can easily switch from lying deep in midfield to racing ahead to join the Blues' attack.
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
