Chelsea’s sister clubs once celebrated having a partnership with the Blues – as the owner of Welsh football champions can attest to.Mike Harris took over The New Saints in 1997 and, within five years, brought the stars of Stamford Bridge to their 2,000-capacity home.Zola is one of Chelsea’s greatest-ever playersGettyIn 2002, the small village of Llansantffraidd gleefully lined the streets in support of a unique partnership with Chelsea, ironically the antithesis of the protest marches from Strasbourg ultras against the Blues’ current ownership model.Harris, who has attempted to expand his own football portfolio with a Shrewsbury Town takeover bid, remains ‘great mates’ with ex-Chelsea owner Ken Bates, who offered to bring his west London superstars to the Welsh border.Gianfranco Zola, Eidur Gudjohnsen, and Jesper Grønkjær headlined an all-star friendly against TNS at Treflan Recreation Ground in Powys.When Chelsea’s Zola starred on Welsh border“With Chelsea coming to our then village club, there were no safety barriers, there was no enclosure,” TNS owner Harris told talkSPORT. “I think we had about 2,000 people there on the touchline. “It probably demonstrates what football was probably about 50 to 100 years ago, where the players were very close to the spectators, and probably that was what they performed for – It brought a real treat to the local community.”TNS, then known as Total Network Solutions, boasted a side with future Wales international Steve Evans, whose brother Ricky was presented with his Welsh semi-Pro cap by Zola before kick-off.However, that was far from the only present the Italian dished out, going on to score a stunning hat-trick in a 6-1 win for Chelsea.Harris added: “I think the worst thing we did was score, because the first half, we put up a very good performance against them; in fact, against the run of play, they scored. They were 1-0 up at half-time.”A plaque showing TNS’s ‘twinning’ with Chelsea FC, and one to commemorate the opening of the stand by Ian Rush at The Recreation GroundGettyThe Blues have an identical sign posted at the Shed End outside Stamford BridgeGettyThe subtle plaque serves as a constant reminder of the unique partnershipTIKTOC‘Gentleman’ Zola showed his classTNS rallied after the break and scored a sensational equaliser through a Scott Ruscoe free-kick before ‘Magic Box’ took over.“Started the second half, we sort of continued to play very well, and we scored the equaliser,” Harris reminisced to talkSPORT.com.“But that seemed to turn a little switch on in the gentleman Zola, and he just showed his class. He was absolutely different.“He was still there 10 minutes after the final whistle, and the kids mobbed him. “About 600 kids mobbed him, and he wasn’t going to leave them until he’d signed everybody’s piece of paper with his autograph, so what a gentleman.TNS used the Recreation Ground as their home ground from 1959 to the mid 2000sGettyZola is still remembered fondly for his experience in the humble Welsh venueGetty“That’s why I think the game sometimes does become a bit sterile when you start going up to the very elite leagues.“The players are very, very distant from the fan bases, which obviously makes them the heroes they are.”Zola, having come off the pitch late on, had been signing autographs and taking photos before full-time until long after the final whistle.Yet Harris revealed the 59-year-old’s gracious nature extended even further to show off his skills with his hands as well as his dazzling feet.“He came and played piano in the clubhouse afterwards, and you know what, if he wasn’t a footballer, he could have been a pianist.He was [that good[], and what a gentleman. You’ve gotta say he’s one of the most humble gentlemen I’ve ever met!”Bates owned Chelsea from 1982 to 2003GettyWeeks later, TNS announced a partnership with Chelsea to send their young players in either direction to enhance their development.It was ratified with a plaque marking the ‘twinning’ that was placed, and still remains, in the Shed End at Stamford Bridge.But the arrival of Roman Abramovich in SW6 the next summer meant the unique relationship wasn’t afforded the opportunity to grow.“Ken and I, great mates,” TNS owner Harris continued. “We met through some business reasons, and when they redeveloped Stamford Bridge, we had a mutual friend, David Mellor, who we got talking and encouraged me to take our office space there and use their facilities. “And part of that package was for the home and away games and one of their suites.“So he agreed to do the sort of twinning of the two clubs, which sadly ended when Abramovich took over.”The Road to Europe – The Mike Harris Story is available to buy or rent now on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.