Chelsea had done plenty of work to mitigate those demands. As well as hiring a private Airbus A340, the club immediately switched players on to Sydney time and instructed them to sleep after meals during the journey, which included a stop at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka, before landing in Australia.
Training at Sky Park, home of Sydney FC, they had access to a compact but high-quality training facility, in addition to an open session at Allianz Stadium that was relatively low in intensity.
The session nevertheless offered an insight into Alonso’s hands-on approach. He regularly demonstrated his passing ability, while testing players such as Estevao Willian by encouraging him to cross on his weaker right foot for team-mates to finish.
Alonso also smashed a 25-yard half-volley into the net at the end of the same session – a reminder of the qualities that made him one of the game’s best midfielders during spells at Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
England defender Levi Colwill confessed he was “jealous” of how well Alonso could “spray balls around”.
“The manager was a great player, one of the best of his generation,” added midfielder Romeo Lavia. “You see that when he steps into a training session.
“He starts pinging balls around in a way only those who have played at the top level can. It’s a privilege to be working with him, especially as a midfielder.”
Australia’s rugby union head coach, and Chelsea supporter, Les Kiss visited after making the short walk from his team’s headquarters and exchanged shirts with Alonso.
There were a number of 16 and 17-year-olds in the group, notably Sydney-born Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, who emerged as one of the tour’s breakout performers with a series of impressive midfield displays.
He also attracted considerable interest from the Australian media, given his mother’s links to the city and the prospect of representing the national team in the future, despite playing for England Under-17s.
Younger players were given time off to visit the cinema, go on boat trips and take in the local culture. There was table tennis, darts and computer games available at the team’s luxury hotel, which overlooked Darling Harbour.
It was a quieter part of the trip when Chelsea and Tottenham players, who they faced in front of 80,000 fans on Saturday, were given the freedom to explore.
There were organised sponsor events near Bondi Beach, while another activity was a group visit to North Sydney Pool beneath the Harbour Bridge, where players completed a gym session before being allowed to enjoy the spa and Olympic-sized swimming pool. Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez also appeared on breakfast TV before the match.
Colwill described it as a fantastic team-bonding trip, although the 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers and 2-1 defeat by Tottenham suggested it was still early days in terms of what Alonso was building.
Insiders said it initially felt similar to Mauricio Pochettino’s regime, with a heavy focus on fitness, but tactical ideas were introduced as senior players returned from international duty.
In the first three matches, Alonso changed little about the 4-2-3-1 approach favoured by Maresca and later used during Liam Rosenior’s short-lived spell in charge.
Key executives including co-owner Behdad Eghbali and sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Joe Shields were in Australia. It was clear transfer business continued between time zones as Chelsea worked on deals for Maxence Lacroix, Danny Welbeck, Jordan Henderson and later Spanish defender Pep Chavarria.
Alonso was also seen taking late arrivals Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson aside for one-to-one sessions after their arrival from World Cup duty, physically testing them as they received passes from the coaching staff.
Australia was also the setting for Cole Palmer’s first-ever pre-match media conference. He was relaxed, smiling and telling stories and, in his own blunt way, came across as charismatic.
Alonso was impressed by Palmer’s fitness and hunger on his return and described him as a “leader”, something reflected in his interaction with the younger players on tour.
