Rulani Mokwena may not be able to say whether he would be happy to bring Percy Tau to Mamelodi Sundowns, but all indications are that if Tau returns to the Premier Soccer League anytime soon, Masandawana will be his first choice.
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The head coach of Sundowns and Tau shared a long hug after Sundowns had hammered Tau’s Al Ahly 5-2 in the Caf Champions League on Saturday.
Sundowns supporters gave Tau a warm reception, and he showed his respect for the club by not celebrating when he scored.
Tau left Brazil in 2018 to join English Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion, but spent most of his time in Europe on loan in Belgium, where he moved to Union St Gilloise, Club Brugge and Anderlecht.
He then joined Ahly under Pitso Mosimane, and this season, Tau found new life with the Cairo giants.
“Percy knows what I think about him. Before the end of the game, I whispered (what I think about his future) and after the game he was waiting in the tunnel,” said Mokwena, after the Sundowns team booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Doffing his cap
“When Percy is in the country, he comes to my house…he’s a man who likes to wear hats.
“(But) the first thing he did was take off his cap, it’s a sign of respect. A good footballer is a good human being, but I don’t want to say much about Percy because he’s not a Sundowns player and I’m very biased,” he said.
Tau and The Red Devils were humbled by Sundowns’ brilliant performance on Saturday.
Asked if he imagined that Sundowns would score five goals and beat Al Ahly convincingly, Mokwena referred to the 2019 result where Downs beat The Red Devils 5-0.
“This has happened before and we have not done anything miraculous or unusual. If you have good footballers, any result is possible. I will be the first to remind my players that there is still a long way to go because one swallowing does not make summer. This result does not give a trophy,” said Mokwena.