Chelsea Signs 4-Year Deal With Disney

England's Chelsea Signs 4-Year Deal to Become Disney's Official Soccer Club
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Chelsea of the English Premier League has signed a four-year deal with The Walt Disney Co. to become the official pro soccer club of Disney's Wide World of Sports complex and presenting sponsor of the Disney Soccer Showcase Series.

Chelsea will also have a significant presence at other Disney-created soccer events through coaching and player clinics held in conjunction with some of the events.

An annual educational exchange program will also be created where at least one Chelsea Soccer Academy team will visit and compete at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida.

In exchange, Chelsea will bring a winning team from a selected Disney soccer tournament to be their guests at a Chelsea match and train at their soccer academy in England.

"Chelsea is committed to assisting and promoting all levels of soccer in the United States, and youth soccer is a massive part of that," Chelsea business affairs director Paul Smith said.

Further talks between Chelsea and Disney are planned to see how Chelsea can work with the media and entertainment company's various brands.

"To align ourselves with Chelsea FC will not only confirm the position of the Disney Soccer Showcase as the premiere youth soccer tournament in the United States, but now makes it an absolute must tournament for youth soccer players everywhere," said Mike Millay, director of sports at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Via : biz.yahoo.com

Chelsea duo Drogba, Shevchenko on AC Milan shopping list

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani admits Chelsea strike-pair Didier Drogba and Andriy Shevchenko are on their shopping list.

"One of these five non-European players that we are following will arrive," said Galliani.

"Those players are Ronaldinho, Shevchenko, Drogba, (Samuel) Eto'o and (Alexandre) Pato."

Milan are aware that the chances of signing Ronaldinho or Eto'o this summer are slim, Barcelona having warned the Italian giants that both are unavailable for transfer.

The Rossoneri also face tough opposition from Chelsea and Inter to sign 17-year-old Brazilian starlet Pato, who has a contract with Internacional until 2009.

And it is no secret that Milan are eager to bring Shevchenko back to the San Siro.

The Ukraine international has failed to make an impact since joining Chelsea last summer and is reportedly keen on a return to Serie A.

Via :www.tribalfootball.com

Chelsea's Bridge, Cole could miss time

London, England (Sports Network) - Chelsea may be without a pair of defenders to start the season as both Wayne Bridge and Ashley Cole are battling injuries and are not expected back for a few more weeks.

The 26-year-old Bridge had to pull out of a training session in the United States this past Friday, and according to reports, he had surgery on his pelvis to repair the problem. If Bridge did indeed have to undergo surgery, he is expected to miss the next three months.

Cole, meanwhile, is still recovering from the ankle surgery that he had at the end of last season, and is not going to be ready to play for weeks.

These injuries leave manager Jose Mourinho with a shortage of players to fill the left-back position along his defense. With less than one month until the start of the Premiership season, it looks like Mourinho will turn to newly- signed defender Tal Ben Haim, who normally plays in the center but can also play out wide if necessary.

Ben Haim played 30 games for Bolton last season and was brought to Stamford Bridge to bolster the back line, but should now get to take over a starting spot to begin the season.

Via : www.tsn.ca

Real confident of landing Chelsea star

Real Madrid are confident they will prise Arjen Robben from Chelsea Football Club.

The Spanish champions have made it known they fancy signing the Dutch international this summer, although the Blues insist the player is staying and are in negotiations with him over a new contract.

Despite this, Real remain determined to land the former PSV Eindhoven winger, and new manager Bernd Schuster is believed to have placed the player at the very top of his wanted list.

It is now being reported in Spain that the Bernabeu club are lining up a solid bid of £13.5million for Robben, and they are quietly confident this will be enough to land the player.

Via : www.fansfc.com

Terry's late show as Chelsea open U.S. tour with victory

John Terry's late goal proved decisive as Chelsea came from behind to claim a 2-1 victory over Club America in a friendly at Stanford Stadium.


The Blues skipper struck in the 84th minute when he collected a pass from new signing Florent Malouda and beat America goalkeeper Armando Navarrete with a powerful strike.


It proved an eventful debut for the former Lyon winger, who also netted the equaliser to mark his Chelsea bow in impressive fashion.

Club America stunned Jose Mourinho's side by taking an unexpected lead after just four minutes when midfielder Juan Carlos Mosqueda pounced on a loose ball inside the area and beat Petr Cech.

Despite dominating possession, Chelsea could not capitalise on several scoring opportunities against the Mexicans and had to wait until the 75th minute to fashion an equaliser.

Defender Sam Hutchinson found Malouda and the midfielder managed to sneak a shot past America goalkeeper Armando Navarrete to level the encounter before having a hand in Terry's late winner.

Chelsea will next face Korean side Suwon Bluewings before rounding off their American tour against David Beckham's new club LA Galaxy.

Boss Jose Mourinho was satisfied with his side's display and the Portuguese boss, who had previously stated his intention to use the series of US friendlies as competitive training sessions, was happy with the workout his side received from the Mexican club.

"I'm pleased," Mourinho said.

"It was a very good training session. I want to thank Club America because they gave us exactly what we needed - good competition.

"It was a very good game by our team. There was good passing by our team, good defense, and a good overall game."

It proved an eventful debut for Malouda, who also played a part in Terry's late strike after the former Lyon winger had hauled his new side level.

"We played a good game," Malouda said.

"It felt great to contribute to the team in this first game."

Club America coach Luis Fernando Tena was glad to see his side compete with their illustrious opponents.

"Overall I was pleased with the way we played tonight," Tena said.

"Chelsea played better in the second half though and that was the difference."

Via : img.dailymail.co.uk

Beckham targets Chelsea clash for LA debut

David Beckham is targeting Los Angeles Galaxy's friendly against Chelsea to launch his career in America after a scan on his ankle injury showed no long-term damage.


The England midfielder has a medial ligament injury and organised a scan in London at the weekend off his own bat.

The results of the scan were positive news and Beckham, who arrives in Los Angeles late next week for the start of his career in Major League Soccer, is hopeful of making his debut in the game against Chelsea on July 21.

Beckham's spokesman Simon Oliveira told PA Sport: "David had a scan on his injury at the weekend and that showed no long-term damage.

"With the right rest and rehabilitation he should be training as planned when he arrives in the States."

Beckham is currently on holiday but has taken a personal fitness coach with him in order to be in as good condition as possible when he joins the Galaxy, who are midway through the MLS season.

The 32-year-old played with the injury for England and Real Madrid last month and has been told that the break before he goes to LA could be enough to heal the problem completely.

Beckham flies to California next week, after making a visit to his football academy in Greenwich, London, and will be officially unveiled as a Galaxy player on July 13.

The result of the scan also removes any lingering uncertainty about whether he would be fit for England's friendly against Germany at Wembley on August 22.

His first competitive games for the Galaxy are set to be home matches against two Mexican sides: Guadalajara on July 24 and Pachuca four days later.

It is understood that Beckham is not concerned about the prospect of adding to his heavy schedule when he plays for the Galaxy in a one-off friendly with Australian A-League club Sydney FC in November.

The Football Federation Australia (FFA) have guaranteed the England midfielder will play during the match at Sydney's Telstra Stadium on November 27.

Via :www.dailymail.co.uk

Beckham aims to play for Galaxy against Chelsea

LONDON --David Beckham is confident he can recover from an ankle injury in time for his debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy in a July 21 exhibition against Chelsea in California.

The England midfielder originally injured his left ankle playing for England in a European Championship qualifier June 6. The injury flared again when he played for Real Madrid in the Spanish league.

Beckham decided to have an ankle scan during a stopover in London, and it was determined he has an injured ligament. His agent, Simon Oliveira, said Wednesday the scan showed ''no long-term damage.''

''With the right rest and rehabilitation he should be training as planned when he arrives in the States,'' he added.

Beckham helped Real Madrid win the league title before leaving the Spanish club and also has regained his place on the England tea. He is to be introduced as a Galaxy player July 13 at the team's stadium in Carson, Calif.