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Mokwena: Marcelo can be better than Nascimento

Cape Town - Orlando Pirates assistant coach Rhulani Mokwena has tipped Caio Marcelo to become a better player than compatriot Ricardo Nascimento of Mamelodi Sundowns.

Mokwena worked with Nascimento during his time as Pitso Mosimane's assistant at Chloorkop and feels the new Pirates signing has the potential to be even more influential.

The 20-year-old Marcelo has impressed in the few games that he has played for the Buccaneers since his arrival during the off-season.

"We knew that we needed a centre-back that allowed us to play from the back and that was left-footed and had the Brazilian element with regards to the technical comfort and ability to read and gauge situations," Mokwena was quoted as saying by KickOff.

"I think from that perspective you could possibly do a comparison with Nascimento. (Marcelo) is slightly younger, with a little bit more potential to be a hell of a lot better, and possibly even be exported to Europe, because of the Brazilian tag attached to him.

"So, we know what we've brought in; we know the work he still needs to do, we are not oblivious to that. There's still a lot of hard work that needs to be invested into his game.

"We do a lot of work with him individually to try and assist so that he's at his best for the club, and that's the most important thing. But he's got a lot more potential, in my opinion, than Nascimento.

"Technically you can compare the two from an offensive perspective - both comfortable on the ball, passing range, can play for possession and penetration, and can play diagonal.

"He's got the qualities - strong in the air, but there's also a few other qualities that we need to work on and sharpen and try to improve on."

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