Percy Tau set for Sundowns reunion

Percy Tau shot to international fame and earned a move to the English Premier League on the back of his performances for Mamelodi Sundowns, but now he will be plotting the downfall of his former side when he turns out for Al Ahly on Saturday.

The Bafana Bafana international has recently returned from injury and looks to have re-established himself in the Ahly side, having netted against Auckland City in the Club World Cup.

The spotlight will inevitably be on him in the home and away matches against Sundowns over the next few weeks, though it will not be the first time he has faced The Brazilians.

He came off the bench for the second half when Ahly slipped to a 1-0 home defeat to his former side in the pool stages last season, while he was a starter in the reverse fixture but taken off just past the hour mark with Sundowns going on to claim another 1-0 victory.

Pitso Mosimane was the Ahly coach on both those occasions, but he has since been replaced by the Swiss tactician Marcel Koller, who was perhaps a little slow to warm to Tau, but now sees him as an important part of the side.

Adding intrigue is the fact that there had been plenty of talk that Tau may return to Chloorkop in both of the last two transfer windows, and that may well be the case come the end of the season.

Tau has managed just two Egyptian Premier League starts this season to go with five substitute appearances, with Ahly having made an unbeaten start in their 16 games to date (W12 D4).

He has two further substitute appearances in domestic cup competitions and featured in all four games at the Club World Cup (two starts, two subs). Tau also played 75 minutes as Ahly lost their first Champions League group stage game at Al Hilal last weekend.

But, fully fit again, there is no better stage for him to re-assert himself than against Sundowns, a side with coaches he knows so well and who play a style that he understands inside out.

He had many great memories in a Sundowns shirt playing in this competition, the most obvious being lifting the trophy in 2016 as they beat Ahly’s hated rivals Zamalek in the two-legged final.

Tau missed out on the chance for a second title when Ahly lost 2-0 to Wydad Casablanca in last year’s decider, a result that cost Mosimane his job.

Although the 28-year-old left for England, via several loans in Belgium, just as Sundowns were beginning to exert their absolute dominance on the domestic scene, he did pick up silverware with them.

He was a bit-part squad player when they won the DStv Premiership title in 2013-14, playing only five minutes of that league campaign, but was then an ever-present as they repeated that feat in 2017/18.

Tau had established himself in the side after asking for a six-month loan deal at second-tier hometown club Witbank Spurs in 2015-16, after which he came back a player full of confidence.

He cleaned up at the 2017-18 end of season awards, winning the PSL Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year and the Golden Boot.

He also lifted the CAF Super Cup with Sundowns and made the first of his two appearances at the Club World Cup for The Brazilians, where his goal against South Korean side Jeonbuk Motors was one of the best of the competition.

There is no doubt that when many South African football fans think of Tau, they see him in Sundowns colours, scoring goals and providing some incredible assists.

This weekend it will be roles reversed, and whether he can hurt his former side will be one of the great talking points ahead of the game.