'We're not contenders,' says Prandelli

| Wed, 07/30/2008 - 03:29

Fiorentina are not title contenders despite being named as many pundits' top outsiders for the scudetto, coach Cesare Prandelli said Tuesday.

''It's only natural for them to put us into the mix but that's only going to put extra pressure on us,'' Prandelli told reporters ahead of Wednesday night's big pre-season friendly against Barcelona.

''We are not championship material and you can write that in big letters. But we can upset a few teams. We want to have a good run this year and I think we can''.

The Florentines beat AC Milan to Italy's last Champions League berth last year and have been pencilled in as dark horses by many soccer experts, especially now they have retained the services of Romania star Adrian Mutu.

Barcelona will be without Samuel Eto'o for the friendly at the Artemio Franchi stadium.

The Cameroon striker suffered a clash of heads in training Tuesday and was ordered to rest for 48 hours.

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