One by one the players of Chelsea stepped on board their eight -hour flight on their way to Philadelphia and went right to go through the aisle, but not Cole Palmer.
The 23-year-old Englishman was a big child in heart and soul, he turned left for a tour of the cockpit through the pilot of their plane, an Airbus A321 in blue wrapped.
Palmer was not only in wearing curiosity during transport to the United States. We all wonder how serious Gianni Infantino's billion dollars baby will be taken by those involved, with the Chelsea team taking on a new competition at the end of an elongated campaign.
Manager Enzo Maresca is empathetic. He realizes that it is a big question to order them again to go again, and if a player wanted to tell him that he needed a break – such as Moises Caicedo, who played in all 38 Premier League matches last season, 54 in all competitions for Club and Land and last week for Ecuador – he would listen – he listened.
Otherwise, Maresca tried to translate the importance of this tournament into his stars in private.
How it is exciting that they are involved in something new. How the first winners of this extensive, vast showpiece go in history.
How their first time they play competitive club football in the United States can expose them to America in a meaningful way.
How they will receive about three weeks of vacation at the point of leaving the club World Cup, whatever happens – even if that comes in New York on July 13 after the final, barely a month before the start of the next Premier League season.
The first group game of Chelsea is tonight versus Los Angeles FC in Atlanta, Georgia – 3 p.m. local time, 8 p.m. at home – but they borrow another MLS side in the facilities of the Philadelphia Union in Chester, the oldest city in Pennsylvania, as a basis for training sessions.
Only 24 of the 28-man team of Maresca traveled on their Friday afternoon flight, with four of their South American-Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos and Aaron Anselmino depreciations because it was logistically easier.
Given the humidity – and the strange biblical downpour in the afternoon – their sessions are mainly planned for the mornings. That leaves them some downtime, with the rocky steps between the items of the bucket list who want to check a few Chelsea players.
The smart money lies on Palmer and wins all races to the top, because we are told that he has unveiled himself as the person who has defeated Chelsea's internal fitness tests, despite his casualt on the field. Maresca's fitness coach Marcos Alvarez may have something to say if someone admits in hearing distance that they would like to try a Philly cheesesteak, spirit.
However, you would not blame Palmer if he is too tired to tackle those 72 steps.
Sources have told Mail Sport that the club World Cup was a hot topic in the Last England Camp. Harry Kane is here in the United States with Bayern Munich, Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold with Real Madrid, Conor Gallagher with Atletico Madrid, and so on.
We hear the consensus in conversations around their games versus Andorra and Senegal was that everyone felt exhausted after a long season and – although they fully appreciate the investment of their clubs in the club world cup, which with £ 97 million in waiting for the final winners – they are not so certain for an extensive club competion after Fifa.
Chelsea had five representatives in the last England-Team Palmer, Levi Colwill, Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and Noni Madueke, while the non-internationals of the club came in Cobham in Cobham on Tuesday to start their preparation for the States. The idea that was projected was that if they are in it, they might as well try to win it, and that was the same mentality they had for the Conference League.
The Chelsea team was able to see the opener of the World Cup, between Inter Miami and Egyptian side Al Ahly, from their hotel in Philadelphia, and the recording of the Lionel Messi team brought Postsport back to last summer's pre-season.
During lunch with an MLS contact in Charlotte, North Carolina on that journey that the conversation focused on the club World Cup, then a year away and it did not confirm who would complete the 32 sides.
But my friend had a theory about how Infantino, the Don of FIFA, would settle for which American side earned an invitation for his shimmering spectacle, regardless of how their season ended.
“Something tells me that it will be purely based on who wears the rose shirts,” he said, and it was not a shock that Inter Miami arrived properly, although they were less than beautiful in pink in a aimless opening game.
If Chelsea can win their group, they will fly to Miami, and the side of Maresca was one of those who used the special transfer window of FIFA between 1 and 10 June to bring Liam Delap for £ 30 million from Ipswich. He will make his debut for Chelsea here in the United States.
They also looked at bringing in AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, although the figures never matched, because the Italians wanted about £ 25 million for a 29-year-old with less than 12 months about his contract.
It is still to be seen whether they will return for him, although in the end no official offer was made.
The same cannot be said for Borussia Dortmund -Vleugel player Jamie Gittens, who is said to be angry after Chelsea's £ 42 million bid had been rejected on him.
Instead, Gittens is mentioned in Dortmund's Club World Cup team and could now stand against the blues in the semi-final.
Chelsea not only has no maignan or gittens, but is again without a front-of-shirt sponsor.
They announced Dubai headquarters Damac property for the end of the 2024-25 season, but that deal only dealt with the last few games of the Premier League and Conference League.
They may have proven a happy charm when they finished in the top four and won their first trophy among their Blueco owners.
Mail Sport was told that Club World Cup rules made it difficult for clubs such as Chelsea to find a sponsor purely for this tournament, because they should also be contracted for the upcoming 2025-26 campaign.
Moreover, FIFA has told the participants that every shirt with which they start, they have to end up, which means that a logo could not suddenly appear on their fronts in the halfway through the stage.
Despite those limitations, Chelsea are determined to take this competition seriously as a club.
For comparison: Bayern Munich opted for the broad world of sports complex – within the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida – for their training basis for Kane and Co.
Unfortunately for Palmer it would take him closer to 10 hours than 10 minutes before he would reach Magic Kingdom if that tour through the cockpit did not meet his sensation.
But then Chelsea is out to show that this is not a Mickey Mouse competition for them.