July 14, 2012
CHELSEA ROSTER
Cech, Lampard on team for U.S. tour

NEW YORK---Chelsea FC on Saturday announced the list of players heading to the United States for its tour, which will include participation in the MLS All-Star Game and three World Football Challenge games.

The all-star game is set for PPL Park in Chester, Pa. on Wednesday, July 25 at PPL Park (ESPN2, TeleFutura, TSN and RDS, 7:30 p.m. CT).

Besides the MLS All-Star Game, Chelsea will play three additional games as part of the 2012 World Football Challenge, opening against Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday, July 18 before traveling to New York to take on budding French superpower Paris Saint Germain on Sunday, July 22 at Yankee Stadium. After they face the MLS All-Stars on July 25, the club will travel to Miami to take on AC Milan at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday, July 28..

Chelsea’s roster features players that have won trophies for club and country. Englishman Frank Lampard captained Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich, and is the team's career top scoring midfielder. Czech goalkeeper Peter Cech holds the records for shutouts and fewest goals conceded in an English top-flight season.

Five players who made it beyond the group stage of Euro 2012 – Ashley Cole, John Terry, Florent Malouda, Raul Meireles and Fernando Torres – will join up during the course of the tour.

Chelsea’s newest signings, 21-year-old Belgian midfielder Eden Hazard and 23-year-old German winger Marko Marin will partake in the tour. Hazard was instrumental in achieving the league and Cup double with the French club Lille in 2010-2011. As a result, he was named Ligue 1 player of the year for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons. In his final season at Lille Hazard finished with 20 goals, second-best in Ligue 1. Marin comes from Werder Bremen (Germany), having made 87 Bundesliga appearances with the club while registering 12 goals. He has 16 caps with the German national side, making two appearances at the 2010 World Cup.



The roster:

Goalkeepers: Petr Cech, Henrique Hilario, Ross Turnbull, Jamal Blackman

Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, John Terry, David Luiz, Paulo Ferreira, Gary Cahill, Sam Hutchinson, Todd Kane, Nathaniel Chalobah

Midfielders: Michael Essien, Ramires, Flourent Malouda, Raul Meireles, Frank Lampard, John Mikel Obi, Eden Hazard, Marko Marin, Yossi Benayoun, Josh McEachran, George Saville

Forwards: Romelu Lukaku, Fernando Torres, Gael Kakuta, Kevin De Bruyne, Patrick Bamford, Lucas Piazon