Chelsea meeting Sounders FC for friendly tuneup

Chelsea's players and staff might not be in Seattle long enough to truly enjoy all the city has to offer in the summertime, but the soccer fans here were certainly glad to have the Blues in town.

Hundreds waited in line in the heat Friday afternoon at Qwest Field just to watch Chelsea run through a few drills, scrimmage a bit and stretch — and maybe get a scarf or catch a mini-ball tossed into the stands.

A lot of those fans could be back today to watch Chelsea play Sounders FC in a friendly. It's the first game of a four-match American tour for Chelsea that the team is using to tune up for its Premier League season.

"We've been away for four weeks," said Chelsea forward-midfielder Salomon Kalou. "To come back and play this kind of game is good. It's going to be a difficult game, but even though we are not really 100 percent, we have to do our best to win the game."

Chelsea, led by new head coach Carlo Ancelotti, doesn't appear to have winning as its primary objective today. This is, after all, its first preseason game and at least a few players aren't likely to play because they were later arrivals to preseason training. But the players are viewing today's match, and their time in the U.S., as a chance to further expose Americans to soccer.

"They're trying to develop the game, and I think Chelsea is one of the teams that people in America know about," Kalou said. "It's always fun to be with all our fans and try to promote the soccer game."

Goalkeeper Petr Cech was with Chelsea in 2004 when the team played Celtic in the same stadium. He remembers a lot of Chelsea supporters in Seattle then, but noticed that now there are even more.

"Soccer in the U.S.A. has made a lot of progress, gained a lot of supporters, and I think Chelsea, since 2004, made a huge step forward in being a worldwide-known club," Cech said. "As a player, you always like to come to a place where you can be appreciated."

As with any top-tier sports club, Chelsea is not without its distractions as the season begins. Ancelotti is the team's fifth head coach in 21 months, and captain John Terry possibly might depart because of differences of opinion between him and the club.

"He's the same captain as he was three months ago, five months ago, one year ago, five years ago," Cech said of Terry. "I don't seen any difference in his behavior."

Ancelotti realizes he is managing one of the most renowned soccer franchises in the world, but said he felt no pressure. Neither do his players, at least for today.

"If we lost [today], I don't think we have to be ashamed of that because it's a preseason game and also, Seattle is a good team," Kalou said. "They're training every day and trying to win the MLS, so it will be a good game to watch and a good game to play."

Note

• A report out of England speculated that Fulham of the English Premier League is "keeping tabs" on Sounders FC forward Fredy Montero. Seattle GM Adrian Hanauer said rumors come up often and that such is the nature of world-class soccer.

"Some are rumors and some are true attempts to woo a player," Hanauer said, without commenting directly about Montero and Fulham. "We have a number of players on our team that are on the radar of teams around the world. I'd be stunned if [Montero] is not a known quantity by just about every team in the world."

Hanauer added that any deal for Montero would have to include the Colombian team that owns at least part of his rights, Deportivo Cali.

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com