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Percy Tau

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Percy Tau
Personal information
Full name Percy Tau
Date of birth (1994-05-13) 13 May 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Witbank, Mpumalanga, South Africa
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Union SG
(on loan from Brighton)
Number 19
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2018 Mamelodi Sundowns 65 (18)
2015–2016 →Witbank Spurs (loan) 11 (3)
2018– Brighton & Hove Albion 0 (0)
2018 – → Union SG (loan) 2 (1)
International career‡
2015– South Africa 12 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:03, 29 August 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2018

Percy Tau (born 13 May 1994) is a South African professional footballer who plays for Union SG, on loan from Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion, and the South African national team.

Tau began his footballing career with Premier Soccer League side Mamelodi Sundowns where he made 100 appearances either side of a loan to Witbank Spurs. During his time with Sundowns, Tau won the league title twice and the CAF Champions League once and was named Footballer of the Year and joint-top-goalscorer in his final season with the club.

Club career

Mamelodi Sundowns

Born in South Africa, Tau began his career with Mamelodi Sundowns in the Premier Soccer League. He made his professional debut for the club on 25 February 2014 in the league against Orlando Pirates. He came on as a 85th-minute substitute for Domingues as Sundowns lost 1–0.[1] Tau then scored his first professional goal for the club during a Nedbank Cup match on 22 March 2014 against Golden Arrows. His 90th-minute goal was the fourth and final goal for Sundowns as they won 4–1 against the Arrows.[2] He then scored his first goal in international club competition on 5 April 2015 in a CAF Champions League match against TP Mazembe. He scored the Sundown's one and only goal of the match in the 84th minute as Mamelodi Sundowns fell 3–1.[3]

Loan to Witbank Spurs

After two seasons and rarely appearing for Mamelodi Sundowns, Tau was placed on the club's release list for the 2014–15 season. However, on the advice of then-youth coach Rhulani Mokwena, he was loaned to National First Division side Witbank Spurs instead.[4] He made his debut for the club on 6 February 2016 in a 3–1 win over African Warriors and went on to score 3 goals in 11 appearances during his loan spell.[5]

Return to Sundowns

After a season with Witbank Spurs, Tau rejoined Mamelodi Sundowns and was included in the squad for the club's CAF Champions League campaign. He featured throughout and played every minute of both legs of a 3–1 aggregate win over Egyptian side Zamalek in the CAF Champions League Final. The victory was Sundowns' first ever triumph in a continental competition.[6] He then scored his first goal in the league for the club on 2 November 2016 against Polokwane City. He scored the first of two goals for the side as they went on to win 2–0.[7] Tau then made his debut for the side in the FIFA Club World Cup on 11 December 2016 against Kashima Antlers. Sundowns were knocked-out of the competition after losing to the Japanese side 2–0.[8] During the fifth place match, Tau scored the only goal for Sundowns as they fell 4–1 to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of South Korea.[9]

During the 2017–18 season, Tau scored 11 goals to help Mamelodi Sundowns to the league title. His form throughout the season saw him share the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot with Rodney Ramagalela and earned him the Footballer of the Season and Players' Player of the Season awards.[10] As a result of his achievements, Tau was courted by a number of European clubs during the off-season. Amidst the speculation surrounding his future, he refused to join Sundowns in the pre-season preparations in an attempt to force through a move.[11][12]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 20 July 2018, Tau transferred to English team Brighton & Hove Albion on a four-year contract.[13] His transfer was reported to be a figure R50m (₤2.8m) which is a South African record for the sale of a domestic player.[11] Upon signing for the club, manager Chris Hughton confirmed that Tau would be sent out on loan for the season due to the player failing to receive a UK work permit visa.[14]

Loan to Union SG

On 15 August 2018, Tau joined Belgian second division side Union SG on a season-long loan.[15]

International career

Tau made his debut for South Africa on 17 October 2015 in a 0–2 loss to Angola in a 2016 African Nations Championship qualification match.[16]

On Saturday, 25 March 2017, Tau scored his first international goal in the 69th minute against Guinea-Bissau after receiving a yellow card two minutes earlier.

Career statistics

As of 30 July 2018[17]
Club Season League Cup1 League Cup2 Continental3 Other4 Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Mamelodi Sundowns 2013–14 PSL 1 0 1 1 0 0 — — 0 0 2 1
2014–15 PSL 5 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 8 1
2016–17 PSL 29 7 1 0 2 0 7 2 4 0 43 11
2017–18 PSL 30 11 3 2 1 0 10 0 3 1 47 14
Total 65 18 6 3 3 0 18 3 8 1 100 25
Witbank Spurs (loan) 2015–16 NFD 11 3 0 0 — — — — – – 11 3
Career total 76 21 6 3 3 0 18 3 8 1 111 28

1 Includes Nedbank Cup matches.
2 Includes Telkom Knockout matches.
3 Includes CAF Champions League & CAF Super Cup matches.
4 Includes MTN 8 & Club World Cup matches.

International goals

Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first.[16]
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 25 March 2017 Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa  Guinea-Bissau 2–0 3–1 Friendly
2. 10 June 2017 Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Nigeria  Nigeria 2–0 2–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3. 7 October 2017 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa  Burkina Faso 1–0 3–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4. 14 November 2017 Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar, Senegal  Senegal 1–1 1–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5. 24 March 2018 Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia  Zambia 1–0 2–0 2018 Four Nations Tournament

Honours

Club

Mamelodi Sundowns

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Sundowns 0–1 Orlando Pirates". Soccerway.
  2. ^ "Golden Arrows 1–4 Sundowns". Soccerway.
  3. ^ "TP Mazembe 3–1 Sundowns". Soccerway.
  4. ^ Molefe, Mazola (4 May 2018). "How Percy Tau went from slacker to superstar at Mamelodi Sundowns". Independent Online. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  5. ^ "African Warriors 1–3 Witbank Spurs". Soccerway.
  6. ^ "Zamalek 1–0 Sundowns". Soccerway.
  7. ^ "Polokwane City 0–2 Sundowns". Soccerway.
  8. ^ "Sundowns 0–2 Kashima Antlers". Soccerway.
  9. ^ "Jeonbuk Motors 4–1 Sundowns". Soccerway.
  10. ^ a b c d Ntloko, Mninwa (29 May 2018). "Sundowns' Percy Tau walks away with top honours at glittering PSL awards". Times Live. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  11. ^ a b Bekker, Liam (24 July 2018). "Percy Tau is a star in waiting for Brighton". FanSided. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  12. ^ Motshwane, Gomolemo (24 July 2018). "Percy Tau's agent thrilled move finally happened". Sowetan Live. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Albion complete striker signing". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  14. ^ "Tau excited to make loan impact". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  15. ^ "BREAKING: Percy Tau joins Belgian second division side". News 24. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Tau, Percy". National Football Teams. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  17. ^ a b c Percy Tau at Soccerway
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