Palmeiras tired but not disadvantaged

BRASILIA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Vanderlei Luxemburgo, the head coach of the Palmeiras soccer club, said Friday that his team is tired but it will not inhibit the team in the Sao Paulo state championship this weekend.

Playing against Ponte Preta, who has not played for nearly a week, the team of Palmeiras will battle in the state finals on Sunday. Palmeiras was on the field on Thursday, playing in the Cup of Brazil, tying Sport with a score of 0-0. Due to their competitions rest, the coach believes that his team is a little more tired than then Ponte Preta.

"I don't see this as a disadvantage. Sao Paulo traveled to Chile to play in the Libertadores on April 10, and then came back and beat us in the first round of the semifinals. If they can play tired and win, so can we," said the coach.

He added that Sunday's first game of the finals will be a spectacle. We have to concentrate in order to come out with a good result while playing in Campinas.