Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs legend Doctor Khumalo has questioned whether it was the right call to exclude Percy Tau from the Bafana Bafana squad after everything he’s done for the country.
Tau, 30, has not made Broos’ final 23-man squad for the current international break, with the Belgian tactician explaining that he felt Tau wasn’t in the right head-space for the match due to the constant criticism he has been receiving during previous Bafana appearances and his uncertain future at Al Ahly.
The winger, though, insisted that he has no mental issues and stated that he was disappointed to be left out, which in return caused Broos to praise his attitude but he didn’t change the stance on his reasoning.
However, Khumalo has questioned whether Broos really made the right call and also whether it could’ve been communicated better between the player and the coach.
“Percy has done so much for the national team but doing so much shouldn’t guarantee him a place in the national team when he’s not doing well,” he said on the DnA podcast.
“But he’s going to come back and how many youngsters do we have in the team to replace Percy and his status? Percy can make a difference by just being there.
“If they’re not calling him, he could like everything he’s done for the national team has gone unnoticed.
“Now, there’s a dirty laundry that me and you and the rest of South Africa, we don’t know. He just telling us a bit I used to play the left wing, which it’s not my position, but he was sacrificing himself in terms of making sure we create there and there.
“At the end of the day, I don’t want to sound as if Hugo Broos is wrong, he’s the man that has to make the decision and choose players that he feels will be able to adapt to the system that he wants to play.
“Because I need to educate people that a system doesn’t make players. Players make the system, yes, so the kind of players are the ones that will determine what kind of system you want to play.
“So you can’t have a system, maybe say 4-5-1, but we have only wing players, so we need to understand some of the dynamics in terms of coaching and understanding also where Hugo Broos comes from.
“It doesn’t mean if it’s Percy he’s guaranteed to be called up.”
Khumalo suggested that maybe assistant coach Helman Mkhalele could’ve spoken to Tau about his head space and the issues at Al Ahly.
“Percy is one of the strong senior players. He plays a major role in that national team,”
“But I understand the coach, maybe,even if it’s not him, maybe he should have asked Helman to talk to Percy, because you don’t just drop a figure like that without an explanation.”
