Johannesburg - Mamelodi Sundowns’ co-coach Rulani Mokwena has asked the masses to be patient with Marcelo Allende and Abubeker Nasir.
Nasir became a fully fledged Sundowns player this winter after returning from a six-month loan with Ethiopian side Ethiopian Coffee.
He hit the ground running in the Brazilians’ colours, scoring his first goal in the 4-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs in just his second appearance for the club.
But he’s not the only new-kid-on-the-block that has hogged headlines, with Chilean Allende also fast becoming a fan-favourite at Sundowns.
Allende is Sundowns’ record-fee signing, having the club reportedly forked out R51 Million to Montevideo City Torque for his services.
Allende scored on his debut for the Brazilians, putting the icing on the cake as they beat Stellenbosch 3-0 in the league on Wednesday night.
The duo were again on song on Sunday night as they came off the bench to help Sundowns beat rivals SuperSport United 2-0 in the MTN8 quarter-final.
Allende scored the first goal from close-range, before Nasir completed the win with another tap in to send Sundowns to the semi-final.
But amid the hype that the duo has received since arriving at Sundowns, Mokwena has called for patience, saying that they are still a work in progress.
“We are still struggling to communicate with Nasir. So, we need to be patient with both him and Allende. They’ll come right,” Mokwena said.
“The way we train and play, they are bound to improve. Everybody improves in our team because of the way we train and play. But patience!”
The MTN8 semi-final draw will be conducted on Monday night, with Downs set to be drawn against AmaZulu, Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates.
@MihlaliBaleka