Chelsea is among the most successful teams of modern times and is one of the true aristocrats of European soccer.
Nicknamed “The Blues” Chelsea is very much a European side, and play an attacking brand of soccer. The players are known for their fast, open and creative style. The club is renowned for its international flavor - during the 2008/2009 season, the team included players from 11 different countries and 4 continents. Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea Stadium was built by the Mears brothers in 1905 in the hope that nearby Fulham FC might want to use it for their matches. Fulham did not, so the brothers decided to establish their own club, which they called Chelsea FC.
History:
Founded in 1905, Chelsea plays in the Premier League and has spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. The club had their first major success in 1955, winning the league championship. Chelsea won several cup competitions during the 1960s and 1970s, but after that did not win another major title until 1997. The past decade has been the most successful period in Chelsea’s history, capped by winning consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006. What’s more they reached their first UEFA Champions League final in 2008, losing to fellow English side Manchester United after extra time and penalty kicks. Chelsea have been English champions three times, and have won the FA Cup four times, the League Cup four times, and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup twice.
Testimonials:
“Many operators in this field promise far too much, but the adidas International Training Program met every request we had and every promise they made. The places we trained and played were first class, and the outreach that adidas have in the pro game is like no other. The ability to organize fixtures with some of the world’s top youth academies at the clubs’ own facilities was excellent for development purposes. The professionalism of the program is also very high, and we would like to take this opportunity on behalf of D.C. United to thank adidas for all their help and organization on this tour.”
– Todd Hitt
DC United Youth
Sightseeing:
Walking the streets of London, or strolling through its parks, one realizes that in a city hailed for its ability to embrace modernity and change, the past is, however, never far away. For instance, there are four UNESCO World Heritage sites in London (the Palace of Westminster, the Tower of London, Maritime Greenwich and Kew Gardens) and some 40,000 listed buildings and structures.
The tourist heart of London lies mainly on the north bank of the River Thames, with the expanse of flat land between South Kensington in the west to Tower Bridge in the east chocked full of things to do and see.
Starting in the west, there are the three major South Kensington museums - the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. Moving eastwards, the key attraction is Buckingham Palace. A short walk away, through St James's Park, is Westminster, with the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.
From here, another short walk up Whitehall takes you to Trafalgar Square, featuring the National Gallery and other interesting attractions. This is where the West End starts, heading slightly north to Leicester Square connecting with Piccadilly Circus to the west and Covent Garden to the east, and with the stately old British Museum a little further away to the northeast. In the middle of the West End, Theatreland and Chinatown merge into Soho, with its wonderful nightlife and new media offices.
Along the river itself, on the north bank is the Tate Britain gallery in the west, followed by Westminster and then the Embankment. Crossing over the River Thames from the Embankment can easily be done on the pedestrian Golden Jubilee Bridges.
You will find the south bank of the river has its own throngs of tourists at the London Eye and London Aquarium. This side also dominates culturally, with the South Bank Centre and further east, the Tate Modern and the Globe Theatre.
Another pedestrian bridge, Lord Foster's Millennium Bridge, connects the Tate Modern with St Paul's Cathedral, back on the north bank. From St Paul's, it is possible to walk through the City of London, reaching the Tower of London further east. Tower Bridge connects this ancient seat of power to City Hall, on the south bank, which is the new state-of-the-art home of London Mayor Boris Johnson and the London Assembly, designed by Lord Foster.
Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium is a great example of the grandeur and importance of the national game. Part of the Chelsea FC Stadium Tour is a visit to the changing rooms where the team’s world famous squad spends many tense and euphoric moments. You will also sense the atmosphere of this enigmatic space and relive the drama experienced there in recent and past matches. The legacy of Chelsea FC is immense and as part of your Chelsea tour you will be offered the chance to visit areas usually reserved for players only on a match day, with many photo opportunities.
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