Tau wins third CAF Champions League after Al Ahly clinch title

Bafana Bafana star Percy Tau has become only the second South African, after his former coach Pitso Mosimane, to win the CAF Champions League three times after his Al Ahly clinched the title.

Egyptian giants Al Ahly retained their Champions League title by beating Esperance of Tunisia 1-0 in the second leg of the decider, a game where Tau played 67 minutes in Cairo on Saturday. The first leg had ended goalless in Tunis the previous weekend.

Tau won his first Champions League title with Mosimane at Mamelodi Sundowns in the 2015/16 season, while his second was at Al Ahly last term. Mosimane went on to win two more at Al Ahly in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons. Tau only joined Al Ahly from English Premiership side Brighton & Hove Albion in August 2021, a month after Mosimane had won his second Champions League with the club.

Unlike last season, where he scored five goals and racked up five assists from 12 Champions League games to help the Egyptians win the competition, Tau wasn’t as instrumental this time around, scoring just one goal from the same number of outings in the tournament. 

Tau’s telling role in Al Ahly’s Champions League success of last season saw him win the CAF Inter-Club Player of the Year accolade at the CAF awards in December, becoming the first South African to do so. All in all, Tau has been enduring a torrid time individually, having also struggled for form with Bafana Bafana at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), hosted Ivory Coast early this season.

Tau’s contract at Al Ahly is believed to be lapsing in June next year but he’s already linked to a move away from Cairo before the start of the new season.

Trophies Tau has won at Al Ahly

• 2022: CAF Super Cup, Egyptian Cup and Egyptian Super Cup
• 2023: Champions League, Egyptian league, Egyptian Cup, Egyptian Super Cup
• 2024: Champions League, Egyptian Super Cup