Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia reunite as Chelsea visit Johor

Chelsea's final stop on their pre-season tour will carry a personal subplot as new manager Xabi Alonso prepares to reunite with former Liverpool team-mate Luis Garcia in Malaysia.

Alonso's side are due to face Johor Darul Ta'zim at the 40,000-capacity Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Sunday, with Garcia now serving as chief executive of the Malaysian club. For both men, it is a meeting that reaches back more than two decades to the day they arrived together at Liverpool.

A Liverpool connection renewed

Garcia and Alonso spent three seasons together at Anfield between 2004 and 2007 after signing for Rafael Benitez's side on the same day in 2004. Although they had crossed paths previously in Spanish football, Garcia said that was the first time they properly met.

Recalling their unveiling, Garcia told BBC Sport that Alonso had suggested beforehand that his English was not especially strong. Garcia then answered the first question in Spanish because a translator was present, only for Alonso to respond fluently in English.

The pair went on to share some of the most memorable moments of that Liverpool era. Both started in the club's dramatic Champions League final victory over AC Milan at the end of their first season, and they later also played together for Spain.

From team-mates to opponents

While their careers have taken them in different directions, Garcia said the friendship has endured. He described the two as still being very close and said they have remained in touch, even as Alonso begins a new chapter in charge of Chelsea.

This time, however, they will be on opposite sides. Chelsea's visit to Johor is the final leg of a pre-season schedule that has already taken them to Australia and other parts of Asia, where they have faced high-level European opposition including Tottenham, Juventus and AC Milan.

Garcia believes the meeting with Chelsea represents a major challenge for Johor Darul Ta'zim, but also a significant occasion for the club and the wider game in Malaysia.

A landmark occasion for Johor

Garcia said Chelsea would be the biggest test Johor Darul Ta'zim face this season and made clear how much the fixture means locally. He said he was delighted to welcome the Premier League club to Johor and expects a full stadium for the occasion.

That sense of scale is central to the event. For Johor Darul Ta'zim, hosting Chelsea is presented as a landmark moment in the club's history. More broadly, the game is being framed as an important occasion for Malaysian football, with one of England's biggest clubs arriving to conclude their overseas preparations.

There is also an added layer of intrigue in Garcia's loyalties. As one of Liverpool's former favourites, he said he hopes Alonso's Chelsea finish behind their old club in the Premier League. But before domestic competition begins, the focus is on a reunion between two former team-mates whose careers first aligned at Anfield and now intersect again on the other side of the world.