Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena says Marcelo Allende has the ability to make his teammates look better and they are privileged to have him.
Allende, 24, has picked up where he left off last season with several dynamic displays in midfield as the heartbeat of Masandawana.
The diminutive midfielder, who reportedly joined the club in a R50-million deal from Montevideo City Torque, has evidently been overlooked for widespread praise but continues to put in important performances for the club.
And Mokwena feels he’s the type of player that raises the level of the squad, as he predicts Lucas Ribeiro Costa will also do in his debut season after his arrival from SK Beveren.
“Marcelo makes others look good, [he] really, really makes the team look good, I’m so proud of the performances of Tebza, Modiba, Mshishi, Lucas, but if you watch them very closely you will see Marcelo makes them look very good,” Mokwena said when asked about the influence of the Chile international midfielder.
“He makes the ball move faster, he arrives in the spaces faster, he drags opponents out… with not just second but also third movements, very intelligent footballer, I’m not surprised he flirted with the European space, like Arsenal, really top-tier Europe.”
“We’re very privileged as a club to have a footballer like Marcelo, he’s as I compared Lucas… Marcelo is a ceiling raiser, these types of players, make you not only play better but also function better,” Mokwena continued.
“You are able to solve a lot of problems on the pitch with their presence, but of course without other intelligent footballers around him, it’s not possible, it’s iron sharpening iron – he’s surrounded by such good players.”
Allende has scored four goals and registered two assists in 36 games for Masandawana since his arrival from the Uruguayan club in July 2022.
