Thread by @FUTVEEnglish

In 1970, Chelsea FC became the first – and to date only – professional English club to play in Venezuela.

They arrived just 4 days after lifting their first FA Cup, a 2-1 win over Leeds United in the replayed final at Old Trafford. Here’s the story.

🧵Thread Begins:

As stated on chelseafc.com, the team were in the Venezuelan capital for a “celebratory post-season tour”, which also included Barbados. The Blues were set to face Vitoria Setubal (🇵🇹) and Santos (🇧🇷) in the Torneo Gran Ciudad de Caracas, hosted at El Olímpico de la UCV.

With the tournament’s first game just 24 days before the start of the World Cup in Mexico, Santos were to play without their main attraction: Pelé.

It was a loss to Chelsea, but Pelé’s Santos had already played in Caracas in ‘59’ & ‘66, and he would return in ‘77 with NY Cosmos.

The upcoming World Cup meant Chelsea would not field their own stars either, England ‘keeper Peter Bonetti and Cup Final scorer Peter Osgood.

Considering the final has gone down as “the most brutal game in English football history” (BBC), they were likely in need of the rest.

Visiting teams from the United Kingdom had played in Venezuela before, but on all three recorded occasions they were naval outfits, not professional clubs.

HMS Ajax visited in 1935, HMS Apollo in 1937, and Sheffield Navy in 1948). Each time the Venezuelan hosts were victorious!

The other footnote in the history of English football in Venezuela came in 1953 when English settlers in the state of Zulia won the Copa Coronación with a 4-1 win over their counterparts from Holland.

Welcoming Chelsea, the reigning FA Cup Champions, however, was a big step up.

The opening game of the Torneo, which until 1960 was an unofficial precursor to the Intercontinental Cup and in turn the FIFA Club World Cup, was contested by eventual winners Vitoria and Brazilian giants Santos. Vitoria won 3-1, naming an identical XI two days later vs. Chelsea.

Despite arguably fresher legs and 7 of the XI that started in the FA Cup triumph over Leeds, Chelsea not only lost but also failed to score.

Two first half goals gave the Portuguese opposition the victory and with it the trophy, which they proudly list on their official website.

Chelsea’s celebratory tour seemed to be a lot more about the festivities than the football, judging by the results. They fared even worse against a Pelé-less Santos, losing 4-1, but one man had written himself into Venezuelan football history: midfielder Keith Weller.

Weller, then 23, was signed from Millwall for £100,000 a day into Chelsea’s Venezuela and Barbados Tour. He immediately flew out to Caracas and made his debut vs. Santos.

He marked it with a goal, in the process becoming the first and only Englishman to score on Venezuelan soil.

To not erase the memory of the naval games, the first recorded scorer was Leading Seaman R.M Acford of HMS Apollo. His strike in a 2-1 defeat to Dos Caminos SC – who were in the middle of three consecutive Venezuelan Primera Division titles (amateur) – came on 24 January 1937.

Last month, 52 years after spurning the chance to win the Small Club World Cup on Venezuelan soil, Chelsea won the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time. They lifted the trophy in Abu Dhabi after a 2-1 extra time win over Palmeiras (🇧🇷).

Venezuela awaits a second English club.

Sources: first and foremost, @perezeliezer (eliezerperez.wordpress.com), but also: thechels.info, chelseafc.com, worldnavalships.com, BBC Sport, Vitoria Setubal Official Website, and Wikipedia.