Chelsea and the US Connection
from the chelsea website:
Chelsea Football Club announced today (Wednesday) a unique long-term commitment to soccer in the United States.
Chelsea FC chief executive Peter Kenyon revealed at the World Sports Congress in New York that England's Premier League champions are to enter into a major strategic alliance with AEG, the operators of four teams in Major League Soccer, and stadium developers including The Home Depot Center in Los Angeles and venues currently under construction in Bridgeview, Illinois and Harrison, New Jersey.
The partnership between Chelsea FC and AEG is the first of its kind by a top European club with one of the leading forces in United States soccer. The relationship will begin in the summer of 2007 with the staging of a tournament, which will take place every two years, involving Chelsea and a host MLS club.
But the alliance with AEG will also include a club to club relationship between Chelsea and MLS champions LA Galaxy, an agreement to enhance and market the Chelsea brand in the US and promotion of grass roots football activity.
this makes me giddy and fearful at the same time...giddy because i could possibly see chelsea play in north america (and we all know how easy it will be to get tickets to those games), but fearful because my dear chelsea, already tainted by a russian billionaire, will now be touched by american hands...
posted by Giovanna @ 10:15 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
i don't see this as being as horrible as everyone else. so they'll have dibs on the rare yankee. big deal. even freddie adu isn't all he's cracked up to be, and i see him as nothing but a bench warmer at stamford bridge.
we need to keep in mind that other clubs have been working in north america for much longer and already have strong relationships. everton (who gave us wayne rooney) are busy in ontario. ajax are busy in florida (where the u.s. soccer academy has its home in bradenton). and it is in those places where the real talent relationships will be made.
moreover, it is rare for a u.s. player to do well in england (and the one's that do are usual keepers). only brian mcbride can be called a success of all the outfield players.
so it's not horrible for the game, i don't think, and it might be better for us here because it will raise the importance of mls. and evetually those players will retire to teams here.
well, i guess i should start by saying that i didn't think the american players would taint the teams, more like, american exposure. i know that i bitch and complain about north americans not being a part of the real game, but i guess deep down inside, i have to admit that i like that. i like that we're so far behind and stuck up our own arses that we're missing out on what the rest of the world deems as awesome.
but seriously speaking, if chelsea plays a friendly in the US. i'm there.
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