Is Percy Tau still Bafana Bafana’s main man? The experienced forward has had a tough time but could rise again, writes Nick Said.

There was a time a few years ago when Percy Tau seemed to have the weight of the country on his shoulders as he virtually carried the national team through a difficult period before the arrival of coach Hugo Broos.

It was Tau’s artistry, creativity and goals that kept Bafana afloat in matches, as he seemed to be a lone attacking threat and player with star quality in the squad.

But a difficult 2024 – despite another African Champions League winners’ medal and Egyptian Premier League title – has brought some questions about his place in the side with the emergence of others.

Tau had a poor Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast, where he seemed out of sorts and not his usual clinical self.

That form, in a national team jersey at least, had not improved by the start of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, for which he was dropped, while his club future was also in the air as relations with Al Ahly became strained, but now look healthier and see him back in action.

As ever, Tau remains positive in his own abilities and that he can keep producing in a national team jersey, no matter the circumstances.

He also respects his role as a senior player in bringing through the next generation of forwards for the side. But he also says it is not down to him alone to get the goals.

“I think we all share the same responsibilities. I’ve been here for some time. But then when I was also earning my first few caps, the older guys shared the knowledge that they had,” Tau tells SoccerClub.

“It helped me and I’ll try to do the same and say we all have a part to play. We are confident with the group that we have.

“Of course, I’m one of the senior players. I try and see with the training how we can form partnerships. But like I said, the responsibility is not solely on me. I think the other guys also have to come to play and I will also try and put in good work to help the team.” Tau’s mentor and former coach at both Mamelodi Sundowns and Ahly, Pitso Mosimane, believes there are ways that the forward can help the team with his experience, over and above just scoring goals.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that because he missed an opportunity, then it means he cannot help,” Mosimane said.

“But Percy is Percy, he’s got a strong mentality, and he must also accept criticism when it is there, because criticism makes you stronger and better.”

Owen da Gama, who selected Tau in his brief tenure as interim Bafana Bafana coach in 2017, believes he has not always been used in the correct position in the national team under Broos and perhaps a change might reignite his fortunes.

Tau has mostly been used out wide, but Da Gama feels he could be better utilised in a central position, or even as an impact substitute.

“Percy is a very good player, he is a quality striker and he’s got a lot of achievements, and he is a very intelligent boy,” Da Gama told Kick Off.

“But if a position doesn’t work for him within a set-up, then he should be changed. Give him a free role as a second striker and not too wide all the time. Give Tau a fresh role.

“All these teams we’re playing against know for a fact that he is playing in the Champions League and he’s won it. So, they plan against a player like Percy.

“I think the opposition is planning much better against him, it’s becoming very predictable, so bringing him as a second striker can confuse the opposition.

“Sometimes you should bring him on and not start him with the game,” Da Gama added. “He is a star player, he’s got pace, he’s very quick. He should not hold back, he should try to push it a little bit harder.

“Sometimes you feel he is a little bit too relaxed, but he is a star player, there is no doubt about that.”

One thing Tau does have is great knowledge, there is no other player in the team with his array of experience.

He has played in Europe, including the English Premier League, several times at the Club World Cup, and in top level African competitions with Sundowns and Ahly.

That is hard to buy and cannot be discounted. Sometimes you need players who have ‘been there, done that’ in critical matches, and there is no more shining example than Tau.