Santos coach says team not hurt by Copa Americana loss

Santos coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo said on Thursday that the Brazilian team's loss in the knockout phase of the Copa Sudamericana had not demoralized players.

"It is sad, but this will not demoralize our team, which showed their warrior spirit. I liked their spirit," Luxemburgo said.

Santos beat Argentina's San Lorenzo 1-0 at home on Wednesday, but were still knocked out because they had lost 3-0 in the away leg of the tie.

Luxemburgo said that he could only field an under-strength squad in Wednesday's match.

"The Copa is super important, but we need to find a way to improve the playing calendar because it exhausts our players. We also need to review the player criteria... at the moment there is a maximum age of 25," he added.

Copa Americana matches overlap with the Brazilian national championship, where Santos is in second place.

Source: Xinhua