Chelsea add four-match European tour to 2014/15 preseason schedule

Due to the World Cup, Chelsea have decided to play out their 2014/15 preseason without the customary trip to either America or Asia.  Just like the last time the main event rolled around, the Blues will confine their presesaon activities to England, Netherlands, Germany, and a couple other nearby destinations.

The first two friendlies, both against League Two opposition, were announced last month:  July 16th against Wycombe Wanderers (Matt Bloomfield's testimonial match) and July 19th against AFC Wimbledon.  Like the Tour of Asia in 2013 when we had to account for the Confederations Cup, these two games will feature a mix of senior and U21 players, with much of the first-team still vacationing and recovering from the World Cup.

I expect the full team to be back and ready for the... uh... meaty (?) part of the preseason schedule.  Actually, the slate of friendlies looks rather sad when you compare it with last year's (Real Madrid, Roma, AC Milan, Internazionale), though the difficulty level does ramp up a bit towards the end.

July 23:  vs. RZ Pellets WAC
July 27:  vs. NK Olimpija Ljubljana
July 30:  vs. Vitesse
Aug. 3:  vs. Werder Bremen

In order that's a possibly fictional team of Austrian yodelers on the 23rd, not Maribor -- i.e. a probably quite crap Slovenian side -- on the 27th, Chelsea B on the 30th, and a German mid-table side at the end.  I suppose Chelsea B could be an exciting matchup; wonder if UEFA will butt its nose into our business and (un)enforce (un)enforceable contract provisions once again.

In any case, with the Premier League* set to start on the 16th of August, there may be time for one more (home?) friendly - perhaps East Stirling would be interested in that one?

* Fixtures will be announced next week (Jun. 18).