Mokwena and Tau’s embrace fuels talk of Sundowns reunion

Rulani Mokwena may not be able to say that he would love to bring back Percy Tau to Mamelodi Sundowns, but all indications suggest that if Tau were to return to the Premier Soccer League anytime soon, Masandawana would be his first choice.

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The Sundowns head coach and Tau shared a long embrace after Sundowns had hammered Tau’s Al Ahly 5-2 in the Caf Champions League on Saturday.

Sundowns supporters gave Tau a marvelous reception, and he showed his respect for the club by not celebrating when he scored.

Tau left the Brazilians in 2018 to join English Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion, but spent the majority of his time in Europe on loan in Belgium, where he turned out for Union St Gilloise, Club Brugge and Anderlecht.

He then signed for Ahly under Pitso Mosimane, and this season, Tau has found a new lease of life with the Cairo giants.

“Percy knows what I think about him. Before the end of the game I whispered it (what I think about his future) and after the game he waited in the tunnel,” said Mokwena, after his Sundowns side had sealed their place in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Doffing his cap

“When Percy is in the country, he comes to my house … he is a person who loves wearing caps.

“(But) the first thing he does is remove his cap, that is a sign of respect. Good footballers have this thing of being good human beings but I don’t want to speak too much about Percy because he is not a Sundowns player and I am very biased,” he added.

Tau and The Red Devils were humbled by a brilliant Sundowns performance on Saturday.

Asked if he imagined that Sundowns would score five goals and beat Al Ahly convincingly, Mokwena referenced the 2019 result where Downs thumped The Red Devils 5-0.

“It has happened before and we have not done anything miraculous or anything out of the ordinary. When you have good football players, any result is possible. I would be the first to quickly remind my players that there is still a very long way to go because one swallow does not make a summer. This result does not deliver any trophy,” said Mokwena.