Chelsea greet fans with a swift passing movement
The star-studded Chelsea team landed in Hong Kong yesterday to a rapturous reception - but headed straight off to their hotel after some nifty footwork.
Last season's Premier League runners-up were greeted at the airport by a crowd of more than 200 chanting fans wearing Chelsea shirts.
Captain John Terry, Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard and the rest of the 26-man squad emerged from immigration into the arrival hall for a routine group photo. But despite having made only a short trip from Bangkok, they left quickly for their hotel in Hung Hom without stopping to meet the fans.
However, the supporters' club in the city booked two coaches to ferry the fans from Chek Lap Kok to Hung Hom, where some were lucky enough to get players' autographs.
'Maybe they were a bit tired,' said supporters' club chairman Anson Mui Ka-leung. 'But this is still a good opportunity to see the players and we found them much more friendly at their hotel.'
The team is in the city to take part in the Barclays Asia Trophy at Hong Kong Stadium against fellow English teams Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa and local champions Kitchee.
Their welcome was in contrast to that of their English rivals, who failed to receive much of a fanfare when they arrived at the weekend.
Chelsea's assistant first team coach Roberto Di Matteo said: 'It's going to be a very competitive tournament.
'So far we have played two games in Asia, one in Kuala Lumpur and one in Bangkok, and it will be good to measure ourselves against the other English teams to see what stage we are at. It was a bit difficult in the beginning because of the jet lag and the weather conditions, but we are progressing slowly in terms of physical conditioning and playing.'
Chelsea returned to form with a 4-0 victory in Thailand on Sunday after a disappointing showing in Malaysia, where they beat a local select team 1-0.
Blackburn and Aston Villa will meet in the opening game of the Asia Trophy tomorrow night, followed by Chelsea and Kitchee.
The winners go through to the final on Saturday night, with the losers playing off for third place.
