SANTA CLARA — Whenever Wrexham AFC is in town, people will be watching – especially when facing an English Premier League titan like Chelsea, which Wrexham will do on Wednesday night during an exhibition match at Levi’s Stadium.
That wasn’t the case less than four years ago, when the Red Dragons were a lowly Welsh soccer team toiling away in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football pyramid. But everything has changed since then.
Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchased the club in November 2020 and got to work resuscitating the down-on-its-luck squad. An acclaimed and globally watched documentary series, “Welcome to Wrexham,” followed and introduced the world to the tiny town and team nestled in the countryside of north Wales.
New fans eagerly followed Wrexham’s promotion near-miss in 2021-22 and its successful promotion runs in 2022-23 and 2023-24. This season, Wrexham will play in League One, the third tier, for the first time since 2005.
Ryan Reynolds, Co-Owner of Wrexham, and Rob McElhenney, Co-Owner of Wrexham, celebrate with players of Wrexham Men and Women during a Wrexham FC Bus Parade following their respective Title Winning Seasons in the Vanarama National League and Genero Adran North on May 02, 2023 in Wrexham, Wales. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Nowadays in the United States, Wrexham is a comparable draw to top English Premier League clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
For Wrexham manger Phil Parkinson, his second straight summer tour of the U.S. is another opportunity for the Red Dragons to prepare for the improved competition they’ll face in a higher-level league.
“It’s a surreal experience for us really,” Parkinson said, “because it’s unheard of for a team at our level to have this kind of exposure and the tour we’re having. But it’s very important — I say to the players and the staff that you’ve got to enjoy every single minute of it, because these kinds of experiences don’t come along very often.
Wrexham Football Club Men’s and Women’s sides celebrate with fans during a Wrexham FC bus parade following their respective title winning seasons in the Vanarama National League and Genero Adran North on May 02, 2023 in Wrexham, Wales. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
“We had a great tour last year. So far, this one, I think it’s surpassed that with the first week or so. And we’ve got two more games to go, starting with a great game tomorrow night.”
On the other side of the pitch, Chelsea has attained success at the highest level very recently. The Blues won the UEFA Champions League, the top club competition in Europe, in 2021. Chelsea last won the Premier League in 2016 and finished sixth last season.
This year, Chelsea is breaking in a new manager, Enzo Maresca. The Italian national most recently managed second-tier Leicester City to promotion in 2023-24, and Chelsea’s U.S. tour gives him an extended look at his players on and off the field.
“It’s always important to have a connection with the fans,” Maresca said. “The fans that are here in the USA, the fans in England, the fans everywhere.
“The philosophy, it’s quite clear. We try to dominate the game. We try to keep the ball as much as we can. Sometimes, the opposite also is there. It’s difficult, it’s not easy. But overall, this is the idea, try to be aggressive on the ball and off the ball.”
Liverpool’s goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher saves a shot by Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, top, during the English League Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium in London, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
But Chelsea hasn’t been immune to the Wrexham phenomenon either. Former goalkeeper and club advisor Carlo Cudicini thinks the new interest in soccer from viewers of the documentary can pay dividends for the sport at large down the road.
“It’s a great story,” Cudicini said. “The owners are doing a fantastic job. We all know how difficult it is to progress through the different tiers in England and in Europe in general. So what they’re doing is an amazing job. They definitely have done great work in putting the right people in the right position to make sure that the team is performing. Great recruitment, and the results are just amazing. Even here, we are following the Wrexham story with great interest and passion.”
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On the pitch, Wrexham defender Max Cleworth knows his side will have a formidable challenge ahead of them against Chelsea on Wednesday night.
“It’s probably slightly above the level — well, maybe a fair bit above the level we’re going to play this year week in, week out,” Cleworth said. “So it’s nice to have that experience. The test is slightly different in League One in terms of week in, week out, it’s maybe more. But to be able to play against these Premier League players, it should have us in a good position going into the league.”
For Cleworth, who graduated from Wrexham’s youth academy before Reynolds and McElhenney’s purchase of the club, the experience of a U.S. tour facing Premier League opposition in an NFL stadium is one he never could have imagined as a member of the Red Dragons.
“The support over here has been unbelievable,” he said. “Before the takeover, if you told the ones who were here, you’d never have believed it. And I count myself lucky to have been able to experience that growth, not only as a player, but with the club as well.”
