Chelsea coach Xabi Alonso kicked off preseason with the team at Cobham and did not hesitate to share a few words with the fans.
Finally, after several weeks since Xabi Alonso's arrival as Chelsea's new coach was made official, the preseason began at Cobham this Thursday, July 9. That is, it will be the first face-to-face meeting between the players and the coach. It is expected that he will have a large part of the squad, not counting players like Enzo Fernandez, Reece James, and Malo Gusto, who are still competing in the World Cup.
He also took the opportunity to give his first statements as Chelsea's official coach — since he had previously spoken some words, but had not yet officially assumed the position — mentioning: "The message is that we want to share that belief that good things will come if we are together and we create this strength, this power that the club has. It has to come from us to bring this energy, but together we can achieve great things…
We know that success is a consequence of good work, quality decisions, and the good culture we want to build. That's the beauty of such a complex but nice process with so many people involved. Always getting the best out of everyone, and everyone is committed to the ultimate goal of being the best we can and giving our best. If we all share that feeling day by day, we can be optimistic about the future. Settled in. Good vibes, and I am looking forward to it."
Other players like Pedro Neto (whose Portugal fell in the round of 16 to Spain), Moises Caicedo and Kendry Paez (Ecuador, eliminated in the round of 32 by Mexico), or Nicolas Jackson and Mamadou Sarr (from Senegal, eliminated by Belgium in the round of 32) will be joining preseason in the coming weeks, as they received mandatory vacations after competing in the most important and demanding tournament in football.
One of the players most eager for the new season to begin is Cole Palmer, who experienced periods of significant inconsistency and criticism during 2025/26. Something that led to him being dropped from Thomas Tuchel's final squad to represent England in the World Cup.
In the same case as his teammates, Levi Colwill and Joao Pedro, the latter being the most surprising, because despite having participated (goal or assist) in 29 goals during the previous campaign, he was not considered by Carlo Ancelotti to defend Brazil's colors.
Now, Alonso must focus on working with the players at his disposal, because the first Premier League matchday will be an interesting story. It will be against Fulham, under Alvaro Arbeloa, the same coach who replaced him at Real Madrid at the beginning of this year.
