Percy Tau: Sundowns hidden gem

Mamelodi Sundowns have unearthed another rising star, Percy Tau, who is highly rated by his teammates, writes MAZOLA MOLEFE in SoccerClub magazine.

While there’s always room for improvement, 22-year-old Percy Tau is already a special talent, according to his teammates and coach.

‘Zero to hero’ is the perfect description of his journey at Mamelodi Sundowns over the past year, which included a six-month loan spell at NFD side Witbank Spurs.

‘I think going on loan helped him a lot,’ Sundowns captain Hlompho Kekana tells SoccerClub. ‘I remember being his age at Black Leopards, and being told to go somewhere else for game time. It helped me a lot and I can see, with the kind of progress he’s made, he’s benefited greatly.’

Tau struggled to break into a star-studded team and was shipped off to a side with ambitions to gain promotion to the elite league. Pitso Mosimane, the Sundowns coach, had been keeping tabs on him and a glowing progress report earned him a recall – just as the club was thrown a lifeline with re-entry into the Caf Champions League after the disqualification of AS Vita Club for fielding an ineligible player. With striker Leonardo Castro out injured for several weeks and missing key matches, Tau helped spearhead the Brazilians’ attack – scoring two goals in seven matches – all the way to winning the continental title.

‘He is now an important part of our team,’ says Kekana. ‘I think he enjoyed his experience in the Champions League and I am convinced he will play for Bafana Bafana one day, although he will need to be a lot more clinical in the position he
is playing.’

Tau’s return to Sundowns was under the spotlight when he took the place of Castro – a member of the deadly CBD with Khama Billiat and Keagan Dolly. Dolly argues Tau never looked out of place.

‘I’ve known him for a long time because we played in the Sundowns development group together,’ says Dolly.

‘Since that time I could see he is a special talent and he just needed some game time to get the experience and feel of what it’s like to play competitive football. I think he came back from his loan a changed player. Most of us struggle with our decision-making in the final third and it’s the same for Percy. With more composure in the box, he will score a lot more goals.’

Mosimane is perhaps the hardest on Tau, but the coach says, like wine, he will mature as he grows older. ‘Players like Dolly and Percy are having fun up front. They do make many mistakes; some of their last-third decisions are wrong. But you have to accept and build them up because the only way to learn is through experience,’ the coach explains.

‘They torment everybody, You have to work when you play against them. But they are young. If you have a guy like Anthony Laffor in that position, you know it’s a goal. But we are in this for the long haul.’