CHELSEA arrive in the United States on Tuesday for their pre-season tour – but coach Enzo Maresca will feel his feet have barely touched the ground since taking charge.
The racist row surrounding £106million Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez refuses to go away.
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On Sunday, thousands of River Plate fans sang the offensive chant about the French team as he paraded past his boyhood club in Buenos Aires.
So even though 23-year-old Fernandez is on a different continent, he’s still causing his manager a headache when they arrive in California.
Trouble always seems to be around the corner at Chelsea and the fallout from Fernandez filming his team-mates singing the vile song after their Copa América final victory was significant.
The player effectively threw a grenade into Chelsea’s multicultural dressing room – causing a complete meltdown.
Up to ten Blues stars unfollowed or dismissed Fernandez on social media, while French teammate Wesley Fofana criticized “uninhibited racism”.
Fernandez will not join Chelsea on their tour of the United States – which has other problems – but his presence will remain throughout the fortnight’s trip.
He apologized and the Blues launched an investigation.
But none of these actions will have healed the wounds of the club’s French contingent, which includes Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Malo Gusto, Christopher Nkunku, Lesley Ugochukwu and Fofana, with three other non-French players also reportedly angered by Fernandez’s actions.
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New Stamford Bridge boss Maresca must now try to pick up the pieces in the USA.
Dealing with a group that is angered by racist references to their African heritage is not something the Italian would be prepared for.
Chelsea pre-season squad
Here’s a look at Chelsea’s full pre-season squad…
Goalkeepers
- Roberto Sanchez Marcus Bettinelli
- Eddie Beach
- Lucas Bergstrom
Defenders
- Reece James
- Malo Gusto
- Josh Acheampong
- Wesley Fofana
- Axel Disasi
- Tosin Adarabioyo
- Benoit Badiashile
- Levi Colwill
- Ben Chilwell Renato Veiga
Midfielders
- Carney Chukwuemeka
- Romeo Lavia
- Lesley Ugochukwu
- Kiernan Dewsbury Hall
- Andrey Santos
Forwards
- Nicolas Jackson
- Christopher Nkunku
- Raheem Sterling
- Mykhailo Mudryk
- Noni Madueke
- Armando Broja
- Tyrique George
- Marc Guiu
- Angelo
Players who have been at Cobham with the former Leicester manager since the start of this month have been impressed by the intense initial sessions.
The team worked hard, but also had more time to work with the ball at their feet – always a popular move – with Maresca taking part in many sessions.
But now there is an early test of how he manages the group when things go wrong.
Does he come down hard on Fernandez or try to get his team back together?
For someone with just one full season under his belt, this will be a lesson in how serious issues can become under the spotlight of a major club.
Keeping the players happy during the tour – which begins with a match against Wrexham in Santa Clara in the early hours of Thursday – will be the priority for now.
One plate Maresca won’t have to spin is new signee Caleb Wiley, 19.
The US international left-back has signed a six-year contract after joining MLS side Atlanta for £8.5m. Wiley is in Paris as part of his country’s squad for the Olympic soccer tournament.
And he is expected to immediately go on a season-long loan to Strasbourg, who are part of the same ownership group as Chelsea.
The idea of preseason tours used to be a solid amount of time on the training field with players to really get to know them and form new bonds.
Now, money is king and preparation for a difficult season takes a backseat.
This means that Chelsea will, over the next two weeks, play five games in five different cities, traveling almost 21,000 kilometers from London in the process.
And if there are complaints about players being overworked at the club throughout the season, we’ll know where it all started…
The hectic schedule, which also sees Maresca’s men face Celtic, Club America, Manchester City and Real Madrid, has given some players memories of 2022.
That tour of the United States, where the players – seniors and marginals – were divided into two groups, caused enormous problems for Thomas Tuchel.
The German was sacked just six games into the 2022-23 season.
His successor, Graham Potter, later revealed that the trip had upset the camp.
He said: “Speaking to some experienced guys, they thought it was the worst pre-season they had, for different reasons.
“This is no one’s fault. That’s what happened.
“It was more organizationally that the tour didn’t work as well as they would have liked.”
This trip only lasted three games, so playing five this time wasn’t great.
Maresca will not have experienced so much interest from fans and commercial partners before – even as Pep Guardiola’s No. 2 at City.
Chelsea, with their American ownership, is a different beast, even for Pep’s Treble winners.
Chelsea pre-season tour
Here’s a look at Chelsea’s full US tour:
- Chelsea x Wrexham – July 24 – Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California
- Chelsea x Celtic – July 27 – Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, Indiana
- Chelsea x Club America – July 31 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia
- Chelsea x City of Manchester – August 3 – Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio
- Chelsea x Real Madrid – August 6 – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Chelsea Women’s Calendar:
- Gotham FC x Chelsea Women – August 19 – Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey
- Chelsea Women x Arsenal Women – August 25 – Audi Field, Washington DC
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
