KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — Last season, Chelsea faced their fair share of turmoil. First, there was the sacking of manager Roberto Di Matteo, followed by the controversial appointment of former Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez who the fans strongly disapproved of and who also constantly left club captain John Terry out of the starting Eleven.

Then Frank Lampard was told that his services would no longer be needed at season’s end, only for the club to make a U-turn on their decision and offer him a new contract.  With all these challenges, it’s a miracle that they managed to finish third and win the Europa League.

Over the weekend, I managed to have a chat with Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech about what his thoughts were on season 2013, and what football fans can expect from Chelsea FC in season 2014.

Season 2012/2013

Chelsea's goalkeeper Cech watches during a coaching session in Petaling Jaya. — Reuters pic

Petr was the first to admit that last season was a challenging one.  He summed it up that last season was about learning through adversity.  He said, “Sometimes teams face tough situations and they fall apart, but we learnt in difficult moments that we are still a great team. We can go through a difficult period and still have success. We got together, managed to get out of trouble, and in the end, we had a European trophy in our hands.”

Technical adjustments for next season

Petr was a little coy when talking about what technical aspects the team was working on next season. At one point he joked, “Yes, I have spoken about it with the Manager but I can’t and won’t tell you.” You can’t blame a journalist for trying, but Petr did mention that the team had to be more consistent in the way they played the game if they wanted to win trophies.  He stressed that they must avoid the ups and downs and keep the balance of the team by learning from last season’s adversity.

Competition for places

One of Chelsea’s new recruits is Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. When I asked Petr on how it feels to have two excellent goalkeepers fighting for the same spot, he responded, “Welcome to the big clubs!  It’s always like that (at a big club).  You always have pressure and you always have to earn your place in the team.  Your target is to force the manager to make only one choice, which is to put you on the pitch.”I then probed further and asked if it was a friendly rivalry with Mark? Petr’s answer, “The most important part is the team -- as long as the team is doing well.”

Adidas’ 10-year contract extension

On 21 June 2013, Chelsea announced a 10-year contract extension with Adidas which will supply the club kits until 2013. Petr mentioned that this generated a great feeling amongst the players because they have tasted success with Adidas.

Malaysia is Chelsea's favourite destination

Chelsea defeated Malaysia 4-1 on Sunday. The Malaysian team fought gallantly, but was outclassed by a more technically proficient and fitter opponent.  At halftime, Chelsea led 3-0 and Malaysia gave a better account of themselves in the second half.  Even Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho admitted after the match that he was not happy with Chelsea’s second half performance. But at the post match press conference, I also asked Jose why Chelsea keep coming back to Malaysia for their pre-season – this is their fourth visit in 10 years. Jose responded, “Because here the stadium is blue.”

* Ben Ibrahim is a TV host-emcee and writer.  He can be contacted on twitter @benibrahim