Bafana Bafana’s all-time top scorer Benni McCarthy has lavished praise on Mamelodi Sundowns striker Percy Tau, saying that he ‘could probably be better than me.’

Sundowns advanced to the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup after seeing off Cape Town City 2-1 on Sunday afternoon, with Tau continuing his fine run of form, netting the first of his side’s two goals.

Tau’s performance saw him garner praise from Bafana legend McCarthy, who believes that the 23-year-old has the talent to go on to surpass his legacy of being arguably the greatest Bafana player.

The Cape Town City coach sounded like an excited fan as he praised the qualities of the Sundowns man, whose own coach Pitso Mosimane has already stated should be an emphatic winner of this year’s Player of the Year award.

‘He could probably be better than me‚’ McCarthy told the media.

‘He is an intelligent striker with all the instincts that a world-class player needs.

‘Hopefully, we can groom that and make use of it and he will go and help the national team qualify for a World Cup.

‘If the national team are to do anything special‚ it’s players like Percy Tau who need to be unleashed.

‘He’s got crazy skill. He’s quick – something that I lost as I got older. His intelligence is obvious‚’ he added.

The Citizens mentor, did, however, say that Tau should be more selfish when it comes to playing up front.

‘He needs to be more selfish. As a No 9‚ a striker‚ he sometimes plays too much like a No 10.

‘He wants to make too many assists. He must be more brutal. He must play like a racehorse; when you are in a certain part of the game‚ you put your blinkers on and you only see the goals in front.

‘His assist rate is good … which is what you want … but as a No 9‚ you are a striker and you get judged on goals. Not assists‚ not how many shots per game or whether you get into the most dangerous area in the box‚ or how many times do you make first or second post runs.

‘But every manager who does analysis of strikers looks at goals scored.

‘If your assist rate is too good‚ they will make you into a No 10. That is what our strikers need to learn‚’ added McCarthy.

‘Percy Tau has got everything but he needs to add more of that selfishness to his game where he wants to be the one to score the goals and nothing else,’ he concluded.

Photo: Gallo Images