English Premier League side Chelsea, with their new manager Andre Villas-Boas, arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to begin a two week long pre-season tour to Asia.
Villa-Boas' side is expected to play four matches in three different countries, with a friendly against a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur kicking off the tour.
Chelsea will then play against Thailand All Stars in Bangkok before moving to Hong Kong, where they will compete in the Premier League Asia Trophy, that includes two other English clubs Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa.
The squad arrived at a hotel in the suburbs of the capital city and received a heroes welcome, with fans reaching out for the established stars like Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
But much of the attention will be on their Portugese coach Andre Villas-Boas, who only took over the club last month.
Chelsea is the third English club to arrive in Malaysia in the past one week, following Arsenal and Liverpool who played friendlies as part of their pre-season tour.
Far East has been a strong fan base for the top English clubs for many years and the Blues are the latest one to join the club.
Having spent only about ten days with the squad so far, coach Villas-Boas is treating this Asia tour as a chance to evaluate his players for the upcoming season as well as getting to know the club's fan base.
"It's going to be an intense fifteen days. I mean, this is always important. You can do it in Asia or you can do it in Europe or in America or other countries but it's always important to touch on the people that love us and are far way from us,” says Villas-Boas.
Chelsea ended the last season with no silverware - which signalled the end of the road for Carlo Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge.
Many expected Chelsea stars including the likes of Didier Drogba, John Terry, Frank Lampard to be shown the exit door at the end of the season.
But Villas-Boas has shown no urgency to add or sell players so far. The 33-year-old Portugese, the youngest coach to manage a team in the English Premier League, believes the next two weeks in Asia will give him a clearer idea.
"There is no sense of urgency. It's still a big fifteen days for us to go through, lots of activities and games and training sessions. And again, when we go to the market, hopefully we can go to the market and do a proper business."
The only confirmed addition to the Chelsea squad is the 19-year-old Belgian player, Thibaut Courtois, who is currently undergoing medical at Stamford Bridge.
Midfielder Frank Lampard is not surprised that the new coach has not made any significant addition, given the strength of the already existing squad.
"Manchester United, Man City and Liverpool have spent fortunes on good quality players. But I think we are in a bit of a different situation because I think we already have a very strong squad. The manager obviously wants to evaluate what he's got, which is very understandable, and who knows whether we add or change, that's the manager's prerogative. But the great thing we know already is that we believe in ourselves as we are. So if the manager makes additions or changes it, I think we are very strong to challenge, whether Manchester United or any other team spends whatever we still believe in ourselves,” says Lampard.
Chelsea's owner Abramovich has set the bar high for Chelsea coaches in the previous years and it is no secret that the Russian has now set his eyes on the Champions League title.
To say that Villas-Boas begins his spell with the Blues under pressure will be an under statement.
The confident Portugese, who hit headlines when he guided his previous club Porto to a Europa League title last season, is aware that his future with the Blues will depend certainly on etching their name on a trophy at the end of the next season.
"I just have to keep the standards high. If not, it's nothing, it's normal in football that you have to win and your compromise is to win. So there's nothing new for me in that kind of environment. You are...any person that sits in the manager's job at Chelsea is expected to win and I don't run away from that,” says Villas-Boas.
Chelsea will begin their tour with a friendly match against a Malaysia XI at the Bukit Jalil Stadium.