Marcelo Allende’s knock on the Chilean national door is louder than ever after playing an influential role in getting Mamelodi Sundowns to the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League.
Allende is in his third season at Sundowns and in all those three years has been to the last four of the Champions League.
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What will spice up the season for the pint-sized midfielder is that there is the FIFA Club World Cup coming up in June, giving him an opportunity to play before a global audience.
The morning after putting in a full shift in midfield in Tunis after turning 26 earlier in the week, there was mention of Allende’s name from Chile.
“I see Allende is through to the Copa Libertadores (Champions League) of Africa,” noted a former PSL player of Latin American origin in the early hours of time in that part of the world.
“It will become difficult for Chile to keep on ignoring him now if Sundowns wins this trophy.
“He is one of a few Chileans going to the Club World Cup, so ignoring him will be difficult.
“It is time the Chilean selectors get notifications about him again regardless of how lowly they think about football in Africa.
“I saw his name mentioned in the media as one of the Latin Americans playing for exotic teams heading to the Club World Cup, so that is encouraging for him and I hope he will earn the respect while playing for Sundowns,” he says.
Allende captained Chile’s U20 team but only has a single cap in the senior team.
He joined Sundowns from Uruguayan club Montevideo City Torque in a transfer estimated to be in the region of R51 million and has been worth it.
The little maestro needed no time to settle, scoring twice in his first two matches, before going on to pile up 33 appearances in his first season, while lifting the league title.
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His second campaign came with 44 matches played plus winners’ medals in the domestic league and the African Football League.
This term, he is on 36 appearances and counting.
