Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has explained why he wanted Percy Tau to leave Egyptian giants Al Ahly a few months ago.
The straight-talking Belgian tactician urged Tau to quit the Red Devils to regain his place in the national team a while back.
This was back when Tau was struggling to break into the Ahly team because of injury setbacks which subsequently affected his form for Bafana.
Broos left the former Mamelodi Sundowns star out of his squad at some point as he battled for fitness during a tough period.
Tau, however, has since turned the corner and revived his Ahly career of late. He played a starring role as Ahly bagged a record 11th CAF Champions League title.
WHY HUGO BROOS URGED TAU TO LEAVE AL AHLY
And with his club form improving drastically over the past few months, Tau has since returned to the Bafana setup and assumed his role as a star player.
Broos, who was delighted to witness Tau make history as the first South African player to win two Champions League titles, wants to see the same player for Bafana.
“What I know about Percy is that when he comes to the national team he wants to perform,” said Broos.
“But he wasn’t ready to perform one year ago with all the injuries he had.
“First of all, he had not been playing in Al Ahly a year or so ago because of injuries and every-time he came to the national team he wasn’t ready.
“And I said it all the time that I hope that he can leave Al Ahly and go to a team where he can play because a fit Percy Tau is very important for Bafana Bafana.
“And what i see in the last few months is that he is a standard player in his team now. He is always playing, and he plays good. You can see that he is fresh and in good shape and thats good for us.”
Broos is hoping that Tau will replicate his brilliant club form for the national team when they face Morocco in an Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON] qualifier.
The clash between Bafana and the Atlas Lions is scheduled to take place on Saturday at FNB Stadium with kick off at 17:00.
BROOS HOPING TAU WILL REPLICATE CLUB FORM FOR BAFANA
Tau will be one of the last players to join the squad after his participation in the final where Ahly beat Wydad Casablanca 3-2 to clinch the Champions League title.
“He will be ready when he arrives and he will perform for Bafana Bafana,” insisted Broos.
“He knows that what we saw from him against Liberia was not his level, I’m very happy now with his form for Al Ahly and i’m looking forward to his arrival.”
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