Our legendary former captain encountered many during his trophy-laden career. However, he won’t be out on the grass this summer in Australia. Instead, he's working as a club ambassador, meeting Chelsea fans in Sydney and attending our many events in the city.

The tour represents a first visit for Cahill to New South Wales, and our former skipper is excited to explore Sydney.

However, he will be keeping a close eye on how the squad is shaping up on the pitch under new manager Xabi Alonso, with Cahill emphasising that a strong pre-season is key in achieving success in the season ahead.

We sat down with Gary at Allianz Stadium in Sydney during our open training session earlier this week, ahead of our first fixture of the tour against Western Sydney Wanderers – which you can stream live via CFC+ on the Chelsea Official App.

The burning question we had to put to Gary first was simple. Do you miss being a player and getting involved in pre-season training?

‘You know what, I normally don’t miss it when I’m working as a pundit or watching on TV, but when you’re in and among it, I really do!’ Cahill said with a smile across his face.

‘But it’s great to watch the lads up close and to feel part of the group again. And I’m excited to be representing the club here in Sydney.'

It’s a first visit to Australia for our former No.24 and Sydney is a city he’s keen to get to know better during his stay here.

‘It’s great to be here – this is actually my first time in Australia,’ our former skipper said. ‘We came to Perth with Chelsea a few years back, but I didn’t go on that trip. So it’s really nice to be here and the first impressions of the country is it's really good.

'I managed to have a little walk around earlier. We’re close to the harbour, so I walked along there and saw the Sydney Opera House, the bridge, and then did a few bits of sightseeing, which was nice.

‘I’m here in an ambassadorial role, so then it was out to an event in the community where I met some local kids playing in a football tournament, and that was great to be involved with. I’ll also be meeting supporters while I’m here too, so that’s a really fun part of this role.

‘I'm looking forward to the week, meeting lots of people, lots of Chelsea fans in Sydney and just excited to explore a bit more too.’
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While Cahill is working hard in the community, the players are working hard out on the pitch. Xabi Alonso has been putting his new squad through their paces, with the former England international all too familiar with what is required in this period to be successful later in the season.

Cahill believes pre-season tours – where you’re in the company of team-mates for an extended period of time – are the perfect environment for Alonso to get to know his players and put the building blocks in place for the campaign ahead.

‘It’s a great opportunity for the new manager to get to know his players and for the players to understand what he wants from them,’ added Gary.

‘He’ll get to know his players on the pitch but also off the pitch, in terms of personality and I think that’s so important for building a good team spirit.

‘This is a time where points aren’t on offer, so it gives him the flexibility to have a real look at his squad and try a few things out in the games ahead.

‘And likewise for the players, it’s a clean slate for them to impress. First impressions are obviously big, so I'm sure they'll be looking to do that in the games, in the training sessions, to try and get themselves in this team ready to start the season.

‘The pre-season is obviously geared for conditioning the players for the new season, but playing in front of such a passionate fanbase as we’ve seen so far in Australia will mean a lot, and I know the club really appreciate the support they get from all around the world.’