Chelsea 2-1 Club America
The score line may have read 2-1, but the real winners of the Chelsea v Club America friendly in Palo Alto, California were the fervent Club America supporters, who turned out in droves on Saturday for what was billed as the Disney Friendship Cup.
An estimated 47,329 people filled the stands at the Stanford University Stadium (capacity 50,000) to watch the match take place on the synthetic pitch there. The Club America supporters were out in full force. Huge blue and yellow streamers were strung through the rafters, a constant stream of ticker tape rained down, and the fans barely stopped singing and chanting for a second. And in the first half, they had good reason.
Club America were first to score, in the 3rd minute, thanks to midfielder Juan Carlos Mosqueda. For the better part of the first half, Club America looked like the better team, capitalizing on a poor Chelsea performance that was littered with mistakes and turnovers.
The Chelsea line up for the first half included many first team regulars. Frank Lampard, who looked as though he had been fried under a tanning lamp, Joe Cole, Arjen Robben, Petr Cech, Claude Makelele, Andriy Shevchenko, John Terry all made appearances. New signing Steve Sidwell was out there, as well as reserve player Jack Cork.
Steve Sidwell, eager to impress at his new club, looked lively, and will probably prove to be a good addition to Chelsea's midfield. But many of the other players looked like they had just come back from long vacations. Robben showed off his fancy dribbling skills, but couldn't seem to pass to his teammates. Lampard looked especially lost, as he tried several times to connect with others but couldn't. Shevchenko also looked slow, but kept a friendly attitude, despite being fouled several times and being denied a blatant penalty.
At halftime, both Chelsea and Club America made wholesale changes. John Terry remained, but he was joined by Ricardo Carvalho, Salomon Kalou (with his signature orange boots), Glen Johnson, Sean Wright-Philips, Lassana Diarra, Didier Drogba, Carlo Cudicini, Scott Sinclair, Michael Essien, and new signing Florent Malouda.
Although Chelsea may have looked a bit slow in the first half, they still had a few tricks up their sleeve. Malouda, who played well throughout the 2nd half, capitalized on a defensive error in the 75th minute for Chelsea's equalizer. Club America goalie Armando Navarrete came out of the box to make the tackle, but Malouda flicked the ball away form the keeper and past two confused defenders. It wasn't the prettiest of goals, but Malouda made his mark on his debut.
Salomon Kalou was especially lively, as he constantly beat the Club America midfield to expose the right wing. His crosses were not the best, and only infrequently found a waiting Drogba. With manager Jose Mourinho expected to revert to a 4-3-3 this season Kalou will need to hone his skills if he is to take a place in the team as an advanced wide man.
StephenDunn/GettyImages
Florent Malouda scores on his Chelsea debut
In the 84th minute, the goal that all the Chelsea fans had been waiting for finally came. Malouda, who used to take the set pieces at Lyon, delivered a corner right onto the path of John Terry, who dispatched it in typical style. Initially, it looked like the scary scene from the Carling Cup final, where Terry got a terrifying boot to the head. But thankfully there was no defender there to stop the header this time, and the entire Chelsea team united on the field in a great circle to celebrate and dance the
Drogbacite.
The Club America supporters were undaunted, though, and kept up their celebrations. As the final whistle blew, they kicked it up a notch and it turned into a frenzy. John Terry received a 'Man of the Match' award, and as he accepted it - shirtless, except for his Captain's armband- the Club America fans decided to empty their arsenal of fireworks at the other end of the field.
Sing when you're winning, or sing when you're losing, for the Club America fans it was all the same as fireworks and flares whizzed into the air. But the Palo Alto and Stanford Police Departments had had enough, and as a few dozen of the city's finest descended on the Club America fans, the party finally wound down.
For most fans though, despite Chelsea's slow beginning, it was a good day out, and a nice chance for Americans to see two of the best club teams from Mexico and England.
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