Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has never hidden his adoration for Bafana Bafana star Percy Tau.
Understandably, the Al Ahly forward was under Mokwena at the Sundowns youth development side as his star blossomed.
The two formed a bond, which they have both publicly professed, and it has gotten stronger by the year.
Even distance, as Tau has moved to Belgium, England and then back to Africa – in Egypt – did not affect the relationship.
RULANI MOKWENA AND PERCY TAU’S RELATIONSHIP
In January, with Mokwena now at the helm of Sundowns as sole head coach, the club made frantic efforts to bring Tau back home to Chloorkop.
However, it was not to be, with Ahly reportedly refusing to part with a player they paid a fortune to bring from Brighton.
And on 11 March 2023, when Tau returned to Tshwane with Ahly, this time to inflict pain on a support base that backed him as a teenager and the coach who sharpened his skills, it was a mini-reunion between the two.
Of course, his former club were too strong, handing the Cairo giants a 5-2 drubbing at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. The Witbank-born Tau struck a beauty for Ahly’s second, but that was not enough.
The two were seen embracing fondly while Mokwena would not reveal what he whispered to the 28-year-old attacker. This was after ‘respectful’ Tau patiently waited for him even after the game.
Mokwena had some interesting words to say about Tau to his players afterwards.
According to a Sundowns official, Mokwena said: ‘I developed a monster to come and hurt me.’
Of course, the one goal Tau scored and his marauding runs on the right never really hurt Masandawana or Mokwena.
SUNDOWNS WILL PLAY TO WIN
After the result, Sundowns were all but through to the knockout stages of the CAF Champions League.
In fact, it was the monster whose team was hurt as they remained third in Group B and risk missing out on the knockout stages. That would be treason for the 10-time African champions.
Tau and his Swiss mentor at Ahly, Marcel Koller, will take solace in Mokwena’s assurance that they will play the remaining two games ‘fairly’.
The current Group B standings mean Ahly must win both their remaining games and hope Al Hilal lose to Sundowns in Khartoum.
Should Al Hilal win against Sundowns, it will spell the end of Ahly’s journey in the current edition.
“We are honest, believe me, we are honest, we will do the best we can, we want to win football matches, and it’s important that we continue to win football matches,” Mokwena told journalists.
“And if my colleague thinks we will not, he can 100% be guaranteed that we will give everything to win the next couple of matches, every single game we try to win, we play to win, we work to win every single day.
“We will play even more fairly. If he has any doubts, he can be 100% guaranteed.”
Mokwena watched Sundowns eliminated in the knockout stages of the last two editions of the competition. While a sixth successive DStv Premiership title is in the bag, Mokwena knows the big prize for him is the CAF Champions League.
Sundowns have previously tasted it – in 2016 under Pitso Mosimane – with Tau in their yellow kit.
Perhaps that is why Mokwena wanted Tau in his dressing room.
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