Bafana Bafana striker Percy Tau tried this week to convince all the sceptics that his loan move to Belgian second division club Royal Union Saint-Gilloise is not a bad one and could prove to be a catalyst to better things in his career.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns star‚ the PSL’s reining Footballer of the Year‚ was signed for R50 million by English Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion in July. Due to his limited amount of matches in the Bafana jersey he was loaned to Gilloise‚ where he has scored two goals and provided four assists in eight games.
“Personally I don’t think I will be able to justify everyone’s opinion [on his move] because we live in a society where everyone has a view on things‚” said Tau.
“It’s just a different path that I have taken and I’ve done it before. I went to Witbank Spurs [in SA’s National First Division‚ on loan from Sundowns]‚ so I never have doubts in making the decisions that a lot of people won’t see or agree to.
“It’s always good to have the personal belief that you will get better and improve. Right now the world is very small. When you are in Belgium you are one hour away from France. So there’s no problem there.”
Tau also spoke of adjusting to European football and life in Belgium‚ saying there’s not much difference in the role he is playing to the one he played at Sundowns.
“Everything is ok there‚ we are getting wins‚” said the 24-year-old striker.
“We are top of the log at the moment. We’ve had good performances in the cup and in the league. So we are confident and the group is getting stronger.”
Tau was instrumental in setting his side on their way to a famous 3-0 win over Belgian First Division giants Anderlecht in the Croky Cup Last-32 tie last month. He set up the first goal in his team’s amazing 3-0 victory.
On whether there’s been a slight change in his role at Gilloise‚ Tau said there’s been small emphasis on helping the team get the ball back when they’ve lost it.
“We play 4-4-2 – we play with two strikers playing the same roles‚” he explained.
“We [he and his striking partner] share the same roles and we both have to share defending‚ but I still play my similar position‚ it’s just that there’s some defending that one has to do. We defend a lot.”
Tau will be expected to partner with Lebo Mothiba‚ another European-based Bafana player who is on top form‚ whey they play Seychelles in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the FNB Stadium at 3pm.
A win will be vital for Bafana before they play the Indian Ocean islanders in the return leg at the Stade Linite on Tuesday.
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