Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has leapt to the defence of Percy Tau after the attacker endured a lacklustre Africa Cup of Nations campaign.
Tau had a quiet Afcon campaign that invited some criticism on him, but Broos leaps to his defence.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Tau arrived in Ivory Coast with so many expectations on him as one of South Africa’s senior players.
But he had a quiet tournament, managing just one goal in six starts as he struggled to make a huge impact on the team as expected of him.
That included missing a penalty in the opening Afcon match against Mali before shying away from taking penalties during shootouts in the knockouts.
But Broos has come in to defend the Al Ahly star while watering down expectations on the forward.
WHAT BROOS SAID
“I still have confidence in Percy Tau,” Broos told Sunday World.
“I think people expect too much from Percy. For me personally, he is a very good player. But all South Africans think that Percy is a man who can decide the game, and no, Percy cannot decide the game all alone.
“Percy, when he plays with full confidence, the level of the team is high because he is a good player. But he will not be the player that will decide the game. He is not Mohamed Salah from Egypt or Victor Osimhen from Nigeria; he is not that kind of player,” he continued.
“In SA, when you talk about Tau, people get excited. I once said in the media that your best player [Tau] does not play at Al Ahly. Think about it. Again, I am going to repeat, Percy is a good player, and I always wanted him on my team. He played against Namibia, and he played a great game.
“He also had a good game against Morocco, but he was not decisive; he had chances, but he did not score. So, do not make him the guy who must win all the games for Bafana Bafana. People expect miracles from him,” he explained.
“When he is not in good shape, everybody is complaining, but for me, I still have confidence in Percy Tau. I know he can take us a level higher.”
“If you are going to judge him, you have to be fair. South Africans just want miracles from him; he cannot give you miracles all the time.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Bafana are facing the more demanding challenge of qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup and there will still be expectations on Tau to rise and help Broos’ side.
After an uninspiring outing at Afcon, Tau is now under pressure to make up for that during the bid to return to the quadrennial global tournament.
South Africa resume their World Cup bid with a trip to Nigeria in June and this is a match in which senior or key players are expected to rise.
WHAT NEXT FOR TAU?
The former Mamelodi Sundowns star will be hoping to stay injury-free at his club, Al Ahly, with the 2026 World Cup qualifiers looming.
With Broos defending him, Tau is almost certain to be part of the Bafana squad for March international friendly matches against Andorra and Algeria, before the World Cup qualifiers in June.
Goal.com
