It was the summer of 2009 and there was a new man in town: Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian had left his post in charge of AC Milan after eight years, one Scudetto and a pair of Champions Leagues.

As per his unveiling statement, he was ‘the outstanding candidate for the job’ and possessed ‘unparalleled all-round experience’.

It had been a turbulent couple of years at Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Guus Hiddink had all spent time in the hotseat. The appointment of Ancelotti was aimed at bringing stability in addition to silverware to SW6.

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Those Champions League victories with Milan, in 2003 and 2007, stood out. Chelsea were still reeling from two traumatic defeats in the competition: first on penalties to Manchester United in Moscow, and then on away goals to Barcelona in the final seconds of a controversial semi-final tie in 2009.

So the chance to test ourselves against one of Europe’s best was a welcome challenge early in our pre-season calendar.

Ancelotti’s first game in charge had ended in a comfortable 2-0 victory against Seattle Sounders at Qwest Field, the major talking point being his deployment of a 4-diamond-2 shape.

The Blues flew down the West Coast in fine spirits for our inaugural World Football Challenge contest. Inter, managed by Jose Mourinho and the current Italian champions, had been beaten on penalties by Club America in their first game of the competition, Patrick Vieira skying the decisive spot-kick.

For Ancelotti, it was an immediate reunion with his old arch rivals Inter. He knew what to expect.

'They are a very good team and it is good for us to play against a great team because we want to improve in this period and do something more to play,' he said. 'I think it will be a very good match, and Mourinho is a very good trainer, he worked very well in Chelsea.'

Ancelotti would have to do without Michael Ballack, who flew home for treatment on his injured toe, but his African contingent were all fit to play having returned to training late after featuring in World Cup qualifiers in late June.

New signing Yuri Zhirkov’s first appearance would have to wait as his work permit had not yet come through while Ricardo Carvalho was selected despite rumours Inter and Mourinho were trying to lure him to Italy.

This was Mourinho’s first game managing against Chelsea since he left the club in September 2007. Understandably, the build-up was dominated by this renewal of acquaintances.

Frank Lampard, who had enjoyed such success under Mourinho, was one of those asked for his thoughts.

‘It'll be nice to see him again, it's been a while since we've all seen him,’ Lampard said on the eve of the game.

‘I loved him as a man and a manager and he's a superb figure for me which I'll never forget so personally I'll love to see him again. As a team it adds a little spice to a pre-season game, it will be interesting to play them and have a little chat and link up again.

‘Everyone knows how competitive he is, that's part of what makes him who he is. He's a great man manager and tactician. We're the same, we've got a winning mentality here and we want to get ourselves fit and win the game.'

The famous Rose Bowl in Pasadena was a fitting venue for such a heavyweight clash. A huge crowd of 81,224 were in attendance at the stadium that hosted the World Cup final 15 years prior, a then-record crowd for a Chelsea game in America.

This being LA, there were plenty of famous faces among them. Actresses Charlize Theron and Alyssa Milano were pitchside before the game while Anchorman comedy legend Will Ferrell chatted with Chelsea staff before taking on his role of honorary captain in an old Blues kit.

Another famous actor, Ashton Kutcher, was also in the thick of things while upstairs in the hospitality boxes, Jordan Farmar, an NBA champion with the LA Lakers, watched on.

Ancelotti selected Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba for their first pre-season action, while Branislav Ivanovic and Carvalho also started having been brought off the bench in Seattle.

John Mikel Obi was deployed in a defensive midfield role, Lampard at the tip of the diamond and alongside Essien was Florent Malouda, who signed a new three-year deal earlier in the day.

The Chelsea starting XI was: Cech; Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry (c), Cole; Mikel; Essien, Malouda; Lampard; Kalou, Drogba.

Inter lined up: Belec; Santon, Cordoba, Burdisso, Chivu; Zanetti, Cambiasso; Motta, Vieira, Obi; Balotelli.

In steamy Californian conditions, Chelsea were in control from the very start, dominating both possession and chances in a slow-paced game.

Goals arrived early in each half, with Drogba scoring a deflected effort from range in the tenth minute, and Lampard converting a penalty three minutes after the restart. Nicolas Burdisso had handled a cross from sub Daniel Sturridge.

Two other subs, Nicolas Anelka and Deco, had chances well saved. Inter were toothless until the introduction of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who had their best two efforts late on.

Ross Turnbull saved those having been handed his first minutes in a Chelsea shirt, and there was also time on the pitch for youngsters Michael Mancienne, Franco Di Santo, and Sam Hutchinson.

It meant everyone on tour had now featured at some stage in our first two games.

Mourinho, in a not-unfamiliar tale, refused to speak to any media after the game. Ancelotti was happy to.

'I like very much the mental attitude of the team,’ he said. ‘They work very well and it is not so far from the team I have in my mind.

I am satisfied not only for the win; all the team played well, we took good control, defended very well all the team and we improved from the last game against Seattle.’

Our first goalscorer Drogba was equally satisfied.

‘It's a good start for my first game and my first shot on target, although it was deflected,' he said.

'I turned quickly because I had space and time to turn and this is what happens when you play with two strikers, you have time for your movement, so it was good.’

As it turned out, diamonds weren’t forever. Ancelotti did use it at the start of the season but by the new year, he preferred a 4-3-3 shape, one that brought about a glut of goals in so many of our games.

Those attacking instincts proved decisive as the Blues roared to the title and the FA Cup, too. It wasn’t a bad season for Inter, either: they became the first and to date only Italian team to win the Treble of Scudetto, Coppa Italia and Champions League.

• General admission tickets for our friendly against Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge on Sunday 11 August are running low so grab yours now!