Sadness drops for Sundowns superstar
Mamelodi Sundowns midfield kingpin Marcelo Allende has found himself without any luck yet again on the international stage.
Allende has worked his socks off at Sundowns since arriving from Uruguayan club Montevideo City Torque in the hope of getting back into the Chilean national team.
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His displays in midfield for The Brazilians have been the admiration of many and he already has 10 goal contributions this season.
The 25-year-old won two league titles and the African Football League at Sundowns, where his market value has also increased.
There had been hopes that new Chilean coach Ricardo Gareca – who took over from Eduardo Berrizzo in January – will consider Allende for the Copa America running from June 20 to July 14 in the USA, especially with Sundowns having qualified for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Berrizzo ignored Allende throughout his 18-month reign after taking over from Martin Lasarte, who gave the former Chile U20 captain his senior debut just over two years ago.
Unfortunately, Gareca has also not included Allende in his provisional squad of 55 players that he will name his final 23 for the Copa America from.
La Roja will play Argentina, Peru and Canada in Group A.
As many as 20 players from the Chilean league have been included in the squad which has Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal, Gary Medel and Claudio Bravo as leaders.
For now, the little maestro will keep all his focus on his club, where he has another shot at silverware on June 1 in the Nedbank Cup.
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Based on Allende’s situation, the DStv Premiership and CAF Champions League remain of no interest in Chile.
Allende captained Chile at the 2019 South American U20
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