Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has opened up on Percy Tau’s future after Pitso Mosimane left Al Ahly last week.
South Africa’s attacking talisman was lured from Premier League outfit Brighton and Hove Albion with a mixed reception from supporters with some believing he took a step down in his career while others suggested it might get it back on track to work with Mosimane again.
Tau has since won the CAF Super Cup and was not part of their squad that secured a third-place medal at the FIFA Club World Cup due to an injury and so far his reception in Cairo has also been indifferent as he;’s yet to find consistent form.
And with Mosimane leaving after 20 months and five trophies, into the 28-year-old’s first season at the club, there are concerns about his long-term future which Broos feels are valid.
“This is not good, I think you agree, Percy Tau is one of the best South African players at the moment and he can’t succeed in Al Ahly, this is not good,” he said at SAFA House on Tuesday afternoon.
“I don’t blame the player for that, I just see what happens, he has a coach who took him to Al Ahly, so the support is 100 percent, if there should be an Egyptian coach maybe he doesn’t like Percy, but here I think Pitso did everything to make him succeed.
“They pushed him out now, he will not stay in Al Ahly, why? Because he’s South African? No, because his performance wasn’t enough. And I quote someone [that he’s not good enough for Ahly.] That is the opinion of Percy Tau in Egypt – we don’t talk about AC Milan, Sevilla, PSG, Manchester United and all those other big teams.”
While there have been suggestions that Tau will remain an important part of the Club of the Century moving forward as they challenge for the Egyptian Premier League and domestic cup, he was a notable absentee on Wednesday evening, after only arriving on the day with a reported injury.
Broos feels these issues speak to the long-running concern over why there aren’t many South African talents thriving at the highest level of football abroad as Tau moved back to Africa after three years in Europe.
“We’re talking about Al Ahly, a big team in Africa and our best player can’t succeed there. So then we have a problem, not a problem of coaches… no we don’t have enough quality, the level is not high enough in our competition [PSL]. We are too easy, ask the guys going to Europe, ask them what they have to do there,” he continued.
“It’s not only playing football… it’s your profession and you need to do everything to succeed! And if you don’t succeed, out, OUT!
“I’m not God, I don’t know everything but please sit together, be positive and face the problem, don’t cover it every time. I see okay, we shoot the coach, then it’s easy and we take another one and maybe he’s the miracle man.”
Tau has scored eight goals and registered assists in 28 games across all competitions since making his high-profile move to the record ten-time African champions.
