Weekly Football News, May 21, 2012
Unhappy Torres lashes Chelsea
Fernando Torres has threatened to quit Chelsea after failing to secure a place in Roberto di Matteo’s starting XI for the club's remarkable penalty shootout win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Saturday.
The Spaniard, who will now wait to see if he has done enough this season to earn a position in Spain’s Euro 2012 squad, also hit out at his treatment by Chelsea this year and claimed that he was told that he would not be allowed to take a penalty during the shootout.
“This season I have felt things I had never felt,” said the club’s £50 million record signing, who has scored only seven times in the Premier League since joining from Liverpool in January 2011.
“I felt they have treated me in a way I was not expecting, not the manner for which the club brought me here.
“We have had many conversations and now the season’s finished we will have more talks to see what happens in the future because this is not the role for which I came and I’m not happy.
“The truth is I’ve gone through … the worst moments of my career during the season and I am not willing to relive those moments.”
Hazard undecided on Premier League move
Lille playmaker Eden Hazard might not be heading to Manchester after all after admitting that Chelsea’s Champions League triumph has given him further food for thought on his switch away from Ligue 1.
The 21-year-old Belgium international signed off with a hat-trick in what’s expected to be his last match for the disposed French champions.
However, although Hazard recently admitted that the battle for his signature was between Premier League champions Manchester City and runners-up Manchester United, Lille officials have now revealed that as many as four clubs remain in the hunt for his services.
“I don't think Eden knows where he wants to go, so for the moment we do not yet know," Lille's managing director Frederic Paquet told Sky Sports News.
“To my knowledge there are four teams interested in Eden. As yet we do not know and I don't think he has made a decision yet."
Montpellier clinch maiden title in France
Elsewhere in France, Montpellier have defied the odds by clinching their maiden Ligue 1 title with a 2-1 win at Auxerre.
The southern side’s dramatic rise to French champions has taken everyone by surprise, not least the Qatari-owned PSG, who could only finish the season in second place despite a last day victory over Lorient.
Montpellier finished just three points above the relegation zone in 14th place and scored a paltry 32 goals last season.
However, they have barely been outside the top two in France all season with a team based almost wholly on home-grown talent and bargain buys.
"I think it's deserved," said Montpellier coach Rene Girard. "It was a huge fight right until the end. Looking at the number of points, you have to say that the three teams at the top have had extraordinary seasons."
Galaxy sink to bottom
LA Galaxy sank to the bottom of the Western Conference after the Portland Timbers claimed a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Sunday.
Bruce Arena’s side lifted an MLS trophy just six months ago, but they have made the worst start to an MLS defence with just 11 points from 11 games after losing to Chivas USA.
Adding to their woes is the fact that Robbie Keane will now link up with the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2012 squad, while Landon Donovan joins the US camp in Orlando on Monday.
The Galaxy's next match is against San Jose, currently second place in the West and enjoying their best campaign in years.
Compiled by Marc Fox
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