On 25 July, Chelsea officially started training for the new season, and this day was also the day when Zhang Tiehan officially stepped into the club's training base - Cobham.

The multi-million-pound Cobham training base covers about 130 acres and has 15 football pitches and an indoor soccer pitch for winter training.

Wounded rehabilitation, medical and media services are all part of the base, with Chelsea's first-team, reserves, youth teams (from under-9 to under-18) and even community football activities taking place at the base.

The Cobham base is also equipped with a fingerprint verification system to protect the safety of players and club staff.

Cobham may be more important to Chelsea than Stamford Bridge, as the team's performance depends on the effectiveness of training here and the rehabilitation and medical care of the players at the base.

However, the Cobham training base was not completed until 2003, when Roman Abramovich arrived at Stamford Bridge, when Chelsea were quickly equipped with first-class senior management, first-class medical staff and first-class coaches and players, but what was lacking compared to the top giants was a well-equipped training base. So, Chelsea started to build the Cobham training base, and it has been three years now, and in the past three years, the Cobham training base has built a lot of things, including some facilities.

Since last season, Chelsea have slowly increased the amount of time they spend training at this training base, after all, Stamford Bridge is an open stadium and Cobham is fully Chelsea.

When he came to the Cobham training base and saw a group of new teammates, Zhang Tiehan's appearance was very plain, in fact, these people said that they were new teammates. But most of them he already knew.

He was joined by Frank Lampard, John Terry, Bridge, Joe Cole and Ashley Cole, who had just moved to Chelsea.

Zhang Tiehan's new home lives very close to Joe Cole, so when he came, he also picked up Joe Cole, who doesn't like to drive, and the two joked all the way to the training base. Then I met Frank Lampard.

"Hey Joe, you've got a ride from today!" Frank Lampard quipped.

Joe Cole didn't take it seriously at all and said directly, "Zhang's car is really good, better than mine." As he spoke, he patted the roof of the car vigorously, and Zhang Tiehan was worried when he saw it.

"A hundred pounds a day from this day onwards!"

"......," Joe Cole rolled his eyes, "even a robbery isn't that expensive." ”

"Not much. Joe, you must know that this is England's biggest star driving, and if you tell the fans about this, there will probably be tens of thousands of people queuing up to take Zhang's car. Frank Lampard said something that attracted hatred, and Zhang Tiehan could only roll his eyes.

It was the morning of his first visit to Cobham.

Then he met the rest of his team-mates, including Ballack, who had just arrived in the team, Drogba, and Essien, Robben, Phillips and Makelele, who did not have a good relationship on the field. There are also Milk, Hilario and others who don't know each other, Sinclair, Carvalho and others...... However, Zhang Tiehan does not have a good relationship with Chelsea's backcourt defenders. If they were on the field, they would have glared at Zhang Tiehan angrily, especially goalkeeper Cech, who didn't know how many goals had been scored by Zhang Tiehan, and the Czech international looked a little strange when he saw Zhang Tiehan appear at the Cobham training base. Perhaps Zhang Tiehan is his biggest enemy in the Premier League, but now that the two have become teammates, the world of professional football is really full of strangeness.

It's good to be teammates.

Lampadra came to Zhang Tiehan to introduce and get to know his teammates, and Zhang Tiehan also greeted everyone with a smile, although he was an opponent before. But now that they're teammates, they can turn enemies into friends.

That's probably all the players at Chelsea Football Club.

But there are still players who have not come to report, and there will be players who will continue to transfer to the club in the next August, after all, the transfer work will not end until the beginning of September, and the whole Chelsea club knows that it is basically AC Milan striker Shepchenko who will definitely come to the team, and the transfer of Mr. Ukrainian nuclear warhead has not been negotiated, but the English and Italian media all know that AC Milan wants to sell Shepchenko, because Shepchenko has not been able to play for a few years, and now he can sell it for a good price, And Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich doesn't care about this loss, both sides are willing, Shepchenko's transfer is only a matter of time, and AC Milan still have the young and excellent Gilardino, they don't care at all.

Chelsea's forward line is a bit bloated.

Drogba, Shepchenko, Salomon Kalou, Ben Sahar, Scott Sinclair, the latter two players are not very competitive, while the first three players will certainly be very competitive. Drogba has always been Chelsea's main centre-forward, and his strength goes without saying; Salomon Kalou, who is also Ivory Coast's new talented striker, moved to Chelsea for €12 million in the summer and is certainly here to find a place; Shepchenko is definitely one of the top goalscorers in the world and with his fame at Chelsea there is certainly a place.

In addition, Zhang Tiehan.

Zhang Tiehan doesn't have to worry about the main position, no matter how the lineup changes, there must be a position for him in the frontcourt, but when he sees these competitors, the first thing he thinks of is that the head coach Grant is in trouble, the former Israeli coach, the most important thing to consider now is how to arrange the lineup, if this position cannot be solved, his coach position will definitely be questioned.

It's not an easy thing to do.

The main lineup, it seems very simple to say, but the position is limited, perhaps the good news is that Chelsea needs three fronts in the new season, and Grent can use Mourinho's 'excuse', 'everyone will have a chance' to prevaricate the past, but he is not Mourinho after all, he will definitely be busy when arranging the starting lineup for each game, this is a bad job, and he can't let Zhang Tiehan, Drogba, Shepchenko, Kalu play at the same time, In fact, having two people in a game is pretty good.

There are so many problems up front, not to mention the whole team, Chelsea have 26 players and thankfully in the summer. Chelsea have sold a dozen players, including Gudjohnson, Hut, Crespo, etc., otherwise the squad would have been even more bloated now.

……

One day at the club, Zhang Tiehan had dinner with everyone in the evening, which was organized by Frank Lampard, just to find an excuse for everyone to get together together, and Zhang Tiehan was happy to participate in this kind of party. Especially since he has just joined the team, most of his teammates are not familiar with him, so he can get to know him well when he has the opportunity.

The men all met in the wine shop, and they got to know each other very quickly after drinking.

In fact, not only Zhang Tiehan wants to know everyone, everyone also wants to know Zhang Tiehan, many people were absolute opponents with Zhang Tiehan before, and now that they have become teammates, their senses are completely different, when they are opponents. They felt extremely angry at Zhang Tiehan, because they couldn't guard Zhang Tiehan, but it was different when they were teammates, they should worry about other teams instead of them, the better Zhang Tiehan looked, the easier it was for them to win.

Even those of Zhang Tiehan's competitors are the same.

Zhang Tiehan is no ordinary player, he is one of the most watched players in the world when he came to Chelsea. It means that it will definitely occupy a main position, which is almost inevitable. Even Drogba knows that if he competes with Zhang Tiehan for the same position, he will definitely be brushed down directly, although the two are competitive, but in fact, he is not qualified to compete with Zhang Tiehan.

So their competition is actually not in existence.

However, he didn't expect that Zhang Tiehan was actually very easy to get along with. Although Zhang Tiehan is very irritating in dealing with his opponents, he is very polite to his teammates, and he does not refuse to drink, and he is a little informal, very hearty of a Northeast man. There are few people who can't talk to Zhang Tiehan, and he can talk to everyone for a few words.

Everyone had a great time this night, and they all became more familiar with Zhang Tiehan.

In fact, when Zhang Tiehan did not come to the team, and even when the Premier League did not end last season, Zhang Tiehan had confirmed his transfer to Chelsea, Zhang Tiehan was the topic of conversation among Chelsea players in private, and this topic was still long-lasting, because every Chelsea player was deeply impressed by Zhang Tiehan.

When the media broke the news that Zhang Tiehan was going to join Chelsea, they even thought it was incredible, Liverpool would sell Zhang Tiehan? How is this possible? A reporter came to interview them, and they questioned the same thing, and they didn't believe it until the club had agreed with Liverpool.

This also shows the shocking power of Zhang Tiehan's table.

Even in the hearts of these Chelsea stars, Zhang Tiehan's table is a little incredible, a season, an average of more than one goal per game, not participating in the league for more than three months, can still squeeze out Henry to get the Premier League scorer king, this is simply unimaginable, just a year ago, Drogba also swore that he could get the scorer king, but a season has passed, his goals are not even as good as Charlton Athletic's Bent, and Zhang Tiehan directly got the scorer king, which really makes many people sigh.

In the hearts of Chelsea players, Zhang Tiehan is also a superstar, many young players like to discuss Zhang Tiehan very much, such as what he likes to do on weekdays, what his temper is, etc., are all topics discussed by players in private, and the main thing is that Zhang Tiehan is so good that they can't imagine what kind of person such a guy will be.

Arrogant!

This is the first impression that many people at Chelsea have of Zhang Tiehan, because they are opponents, they saw Zhang Tiehan's arrogance, but now they find that this guy is not annoying, but a very good teammate.

For Zhang Tiehan, getting along well with his teammates is also a good start, which means that he can integrate into the team faster.

A few days later, Zhang Tiehan was very familiar with the team, and in the preparation training at the beginning of the new season, Zhang Tiehan was also very casual, he was like the state of training in Liverpool, he came to the training ground early every day for his own personal training, and then carried out simple recovery training with the team, and still did individual shooting training in his free time, of course, the most important thing is tactical training with his teammates.

He needs to adapt to the team's tactics and work more closely with his team-mates, and the whole team needs to adapt to him.

It sounds incredible, but it is true, Zhang Tiehan is different from others, many opportunities that do not seem to be chances, and when they reach his feet, they are likely to become goals, and his teammates need to know more about him. To know what ball Zhang Tiehan can receive, when it is most suitable for him, what position he will pose a threat to the opponent when he gets the ball, etc.

Zhang Tiehan is not an ordinary player, he is a greater threat, many times he will be closely defended by the opponent, if he plays according to the general idea. As long as Zhang Tiehan is in the front court, no one will pass the ball to him - he is always guarded by the opposing player, how can this ball be passed?

But often even so, as long as Zhang Tiehan is in a slightly better position, he can still get the ball, and many people in the whole team have to adapt to this and have to increase their understanding of him, which is also quite important.

At the beginning, Zhang Tiehan had a training match with everyone, and he couldn't get the ball at all. Because the opponent will limit him, it will be difficult to cooperate with his teammates unless he retreats to defend.

But after a few days, he was able to receive passes frequently, and the other side of the opponent who was close to Zhang Tiehan was always worried about the goal.

It was then that many Chelsea players understood why Zhang Tiehan was able to pose such a big threat to their goal when he was at Liverpool - this guy is too ferocious, with excellent physicality and individual skills, and it is really difficult for a single player to limit him defensively. Together, sometimes he can pose a direct threat to the goal with the ball himself.

There is such a teammate. The Chelsea players feel the new season is completely stress-free.

"Just let him play on his own......" Seeing Zhang Tiehan's long-range shot from outside the box fly straight into the goal, Joe Cole said with a shrug with his hands outstretched.

He just wanted to plug in from the left side, he even ran over when no one was defending, originally thinking that Zhang Tiehan would pass the ball, but Zhang Tiehan kicked the ball into the goal, which was much more direct than passing the ball to give him another chance.

Joe Cole is dissatisfied. But I can only smile bitterly.

"Hahaha, Joe, if you have that kind of footwork, you can also not pass." Lampard patted him on the shoulder.

Zhang Tiehan also walked over and said embarrassedly. "In that position, I want to be more sure of my own shot." Hearing this, Joe Cole could only roll his eyes helplessly.

And he wasn't alone.

Zhang Tiehan's position of not passing the ball involves many people in the whole team, but the point is that because Zhang Tiehan is too threatening, the opponent always has to devote a lot of energy to defend, and as a result, the situation of leakage occurs frequently, when Zhang Tiehan gets the ball, he has a good chance to shoot by himself, and it is rare to pass the ball, but when others get the ball, their cooperation will not be interrupted.

But in short, Zhang Tiehan still has to adapt to the team, and the team also needs to adapt to him.

……

On August 1st, Chelsea had been training for a few days, and the team was going to Stamford Bridge for a day of training, which was also a bit of a publicity nature, and it was also the start of the summer preparations, Chelsea's first public training, and there was a press conference dedicated to interviews.

This is training, and it is also a means of propaganda to the outside world.

On this day, there were a number of reporters at Stamford Bridge, more than 300 heads, and at least 100 media outlets, including not only English media, but also media from all over Europe, the United States, West Asia, China and even African countries, all of whom came to cover Chelsea's first public training.

This kind of pomp and circumstance is rare even at Chelsea.

If it weren't for Zhang Tiehan's transfer to Chelsea, there would definitely not be so many media interviews now, Zhang Tiehan is the World Cup Golden Boot, and he himself can attract a lot of media to come, and many of them are dedicated to interviewing various players, such as the media from Ivory Coast, which is aimed at Kalu and Drogba.

Chelsea seized the day to promote the club, their only public training session at the start of August, and tomorrow the squad travelled to the United States for a training match.

On this day, the promotional training was also open to the public, and many fans bought tickets to cheer for Chelsea in the audience, many of whom shouted Zhang Tiehan's name, and they also came for Zhang Tiehan.

Zhang Tiehan is now the 'world's top scorer', this title was previously sealed by the media, but after the World Cup, many fans are quite recognized by the title of 'first scorer', the Premier League scorer king, the Champions League scorer king, plus the World Cup scorer king with considerable gold content, and the shocking transfer fee of more than 100 million euros, every fan wants to see what Zhang Tiehan can do.

Zhang Tiehan did not disappoint the fans.

In fact, he didn't do any special training, just did his own shooting training normally, but this time he asked Cech to cooperate with him. Cech enthusiastically agreed, and the two went one-on-one on goal and goalkeeper drills.

And then...... Petr Cech became a foil.

Zhang Tiehan is outside the penalty area at various distances, in various positions, and in various actions. Constantly making direct shots, Cech also kept shifting positions to make various saves, but he could save three of the ten balls was already very little, and Zhang Tiehan's shooting force twenty meters away was still quite large, as long as the angle was about the same, Cech basically had no hope of saving. It doesn't feel much like a penalty kick.

The Chelsea fans in the audience saw this scene, all excitedly shouted Zhang Tiehan's name, there is no performance more exciting than Zhang Tiehan's direct shot, seeing this kind of table, they continue to look forward to Chelsea and other teams when the game, Zhang Tiehan in the game to come to such a few kicks, Chelsea's goals must be one after another, the other side still plays?

They looked forward to it.

That's when Petr Cech comes in...... He smiled bitterly and kept thinking about ending this training session, if it was at the Cobham training base. Without fans watching, Cech can still use this as his own nervous reaction training, but now with so many fans and so many reporters, he can imagine that there must be Zhang Tiehan's training videos uploaded to various media websites at night, and the protagonist is Zhang Tiehan, who is handsome, handsome, chic, and powerful...... One shot at a time, and he became the background of how powerful the shot was.

It's not a good feeling to be in the background.

So when this very depressing training session was over. Cech looked at Zhang Tiehan with a sad look in his eyes.

Looking at Cech's eyes, Zhang Tiehan was rarely a little embarrassed. He gritted his teeth fiercely and said, "I'll treat you to a big dinner when I come to the United States......

"Huh? Haha, okay! 'Cech was immediately excited, Zhang Tiehan had only been in the team for a few days, but most people already knew a lot about his character, not just in direct contact. For a player like Zhang Tiehan, the media will analyze him in almost all kinds of ways, and 'stinginess' is one of his most prominent personalities, which can make Zhang Tiehan treat him to dinner...... It's a once-in-a-century experience, and Cech excitedly raised his hand. The others rushed over and heard him say, "Zhang said that everyone is invited to have a big dinner in the United States!" ”

"Really?"

"Impossible, right?"

"How so? It's not funny at all. ”

Zhang Tiehan's face darkened when he listened to it, and he held it for a long time before he said, "Am I so stingy?" Say you're in for a treat! He regretted it, hated Cech, and kept the guy's name in his mind.

Cech didn't know he was remembered by Zhang Tiehan.

If you know Zhang Tiehan very well, you will definitely observe a minute of silence for Cech in advance, but unfortunately he doesn't know it now, and he is still in the excitement of being able to let Zhang Tiehan have a treat, and how great he feels about himself.

……

The next day, Chelsea flew to the United States.

This is a practice tournament organised by Chelsea FC in conjunction with Major League Soccer for the purpose of recreational training and publicity, during which Chelsea will play a game against the 'All-Star Team' of Major League Soccer.

The live broadcast rights of this game are owned by ESPN-2 (US local HD pay channel), and only US and UK fans can watch the live broadcast, and other fans can only watch the report, which has somewhat displeased other Chelsea fans around the world, but Chelsea Football Club has to do this to promote it in order to increase the club's external income and reduce the club's profit and loss.

This is also the purpose of coming to the major league in the United States to train.

Developing overseas markets, increasing possible future income, increasing the club's income step by step, so as to slowly build the club, and build the team into a club like Manchester United and Real Madrid that can make a surplus every year, this is Chelsea's development goal in recent years.

The direction is determined, but in fact, Chelsea's losses must be very strict, because Abramovich will not care about buying stars, and he spends his own money to buy stars, but in fact, there are still problems with this, and now UEFA is already negotiating new transfer rules, such as restricting clubs with excessive losses from participating in the Europa League, if the policy is really introduced, such as Chelsea, a club that has lost more than 50 million euros for several consecutive years, it is almost impossible to participate in any European competition, Fortunately, the policy is still being discussed.

In short, Chelsea Football Club's goal is to make money.

Since you can't reduce your spending, you must increase your earnings, and in a week of training in the United States, Chelsea Football Club can sweep up at least more than $5 million in revenue, plus more than $10 million in potential earnings, and more than $20,000 a day this week.

If you can train and make money, why not.

It's still the game that matters.

For Westerners, the respect of the strong is an eternal topic, and against the Major League All-Star team, Grant has only one request - to score as many goals as possible!

Don't be soft, you can enter.

Ten or eight is not too much, but it will make American fans like Chelsea more. (To be continued......)