Maybe it’s time Percy Tau left Al Ahly, says Bafana coach Broos
National boss 'can only speculate' on reasons for player's scarcity after Afcon
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has suggested Percy Tau might want to consider leaving Egyptian giants Al Ahly for a club where the strikerwill be happier.
Tau has been somewhat off the boil over the past few months for both club and country, leading to intense pressure by South African fans that Broos has labelled as unfair on the attacker.
He has been in and out of Bafana since the team returned from the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Ivory Coast and Tau has again been omitted from the squad to take on Congo in back-to-back qualifiers next week.
Broos, naming his 23-man squad at the SABC studios in Auckland Park for this month’s crucial 2025 Afcon qualifiers against Congo, said Tau was not included because the striker indicated he has “ personal issues” to attend to.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos on the exclusion of Percy Tau.
— Mahlatse Mphahlele (@BraMahlatse) October 3, 2024
WATCH full interview ➡️ ➡️ ➡️https://t.co/Gh6rVGLeW6 pic.twitter.com/6df5WpHBPW
Asked what is happening with Tau, Broos admitted: “I don't know.”
The coach went on to speculate that the uncertainty in the past few months over his future with Al Ahly might have played a part in Tau not being fully committed to Bafana right now.
“I see things happening, and I will repeat that after Afcon they [football supporters] killed him, and it was not fair. He was not really the deciding player or fantastic [at Afcon] but he did his job. I didn’t call him up for [the March Fifa Series in] Algeria, he told me it is part of the game to be criticised.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos happy with Kaizer Chiefs' start to the #BetwayPrem campaign. pic.twitter.com/aJkO0lJUcd
— Mahlatse Mphahlele (@BraMahlatse) October 3, 2024
“But it stays in your mind, and don’t tell me it’s not in your mind. Then he came back [in the World Cup qualifiers] against Zimbabwe and Nigeria and again the criticism started. And then there were the problems at Al Ahly — he didn't play at certain moments. There was talk that would leave, then that he would not leave. Now I hear they want him to stay. So it’s always yes or no, yes or no.
Broos said Tau asked not to be considered for the qualifiers against Congo. “That he is not here with us is due to personal reasons. He asked me not to call him because he is not ready to come due to personal issues. I can’t force him to come when he is not ready.
“It is something that has happened with him and maybe he has to look for another team where maybe he will more happy. A club where there will be less problems and at least we have the well-known Percy Tau from a few years ago.
“We know the qualities of Percy and he can help us a lot, but we also have to be honest. When we evaluate his performances for the national team, they can’t be compared with the qualities he has as a player. He can do more for the national team and I am sure of that, but there’s always something, and it’s not easy to have big performances.”
Bafana, who are second in Group K on goal difference from leaders Uganda on four points, meet Congo at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on October 11 (7pm) and in Brazzaville on October 15 (6pm SA time).
Six or four points will put South Africa in a strong position to reach the next Afcon in Morocco. The top two sides in each group progress.