Percy Tau will become the first South African to compete in three African Champions League finals when his Egyptian club Al Ahly go up against holders Wydad Casablanca over the next week to decide the top club crown on the continent.
Tau has already won with Mamelodi Sundowns in 2016 and return to the final with coach Pitso Mosimane last year when Al Ahly lost in Casablanca to the Moroccans.
Now the two clubs reprise their rivalry in a second successive final, but this time with the format back to the old-style home-and-away two legs.
The first is in Cairo on Sunday where Tau is expected to be key to the Egyptian giants’ hopes of taking an advantage into the return leg one week later at the Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca.
Tau has made a major contribution to Ahly’s march to yet another final. The Cairo club are looking to extend their record number of Champions League titles to 11, making it more than double that of their nearest challenger.
It is Tau’s second season in Egypt since Mosimane persuaded the club to sign him from Brighton & Hove Albion, where his adventure in the Premier League was all too brief and somewhat disappointing.
In this campaign, where Tau struggled through the first months with a range of different muscular injuries, he has more goals in the Champions League for Al Ahly than in the league but only played half of his club’s domestic commitments.
He scored against his old club Sundowns and then Coton Sport of Cameroon in the group phase as Al Ahly finished behind the South African champions in their group but still went through to the quarterfinals. But it was Tau’s double in the first leg of the semifinal against Esperance that reminded everyone of how key he can be in important matches. Al Ahly swept aside their Tunisian hosts in a devastating 3-0 victory, with the Bafana Bafana striker leading the way with an early goal.
Victory in Tunis effectively sealed Al Ahly’s place in the final, even though they still had the second leg of the semifinal in Cairo to complete.
Tau, who turned 29 last month, brings vast experience to the game, having moved from Sundowns to Belgium, where he won plaudits at both Club Brugge and then again in a spell under Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht. “I moved to Europe when I was 24. During my time there, I learned a lot of things that helped me develop as a player and as a person,” he said.
He has a four-year contract at Ahly, which he said when he signed was a dream move.
''I think when we play in South Africa and get the opportunity to represent Al Ahly; it’s a dream come true for many of us. I cherish this moment especially that I come from Witbank, South Africa," Tau told the club's website.
"My ambition here is always to win. This club is a club of history, and I want to be part of that history."
"Coming to Al Ahly, means you’ve got the chance to try to win the league, Champions League and to try to win the Super Cup. You also have the chance to play in the Club World Cup. It all made more sense to me," Tau added.