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On an afternoon in the FNB Stadium auditorium in November last year, Percy Tau politely asked Stuart Baxter if he could answer a media question on behalf of the Bafana Bafana coach.
This was the level of confidence and a display of leadership from Tau shortly after his man of the match performance in the 1-1 draw against Nigeria.
The question was related to Baxter’s tactics in the game in which South Africa failed to break the Super Eagles, who defended as a block on the day.
Tau – who later earned plaudits from Nigeria’s coach Gernot Rohr – provided the assist to Lebogang Mothiba to bury the equaliser that kept South Africa’s dream alive in the Afcon qualifiers.
Read: Safa bends over backwards for Baxter
Last Sunday, the 24-year-old former Mamelodi Sundowns talisman proved his value again, when his brace against Libya secured South Africa a ticket to the continental championships that start in Egypt in June.
Upon the team’s return from Libya on Tuesday, Baxter raved: “We need to look at the development of Percy. I think Percy is going to be an important player for South Africa for a long time.”
Expectations are that Belgium-based Tau should carry Bafana at the 24-nation tournament in Egypt, but it would be refreshing to see him surrounded by a few young faces from the junior national teams.
That Safa announced last week that the coach did not have the mandate to win the Afcon should somehow hand him the licence to blood future prospects.
Baxter should complement his selection for Afcon with the young brigade to give them the feel of a major championship as he works towards the 2022 World Cup, as per Safa’s much-vaunted Vision 2022 goal.
Baxter already has the likes of Sundowns’ Lebohang Maboe (24), Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma (23) and France-based Lebogang Phiri (24) in his database.
Read: Afcon 2019: politics is SA’s only worry
An added advantage about the trio is that they have been part of the Bafana set-up at various intervals in a competitive environment under the former Kaizer Chiefs coach.
The other group is already part of the South African Under-23 team that is bidding to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games.
The nucleus of coach David Notoane’s squad consists of Teboho Mokoena (22), Phakamani Mahlambi (21) and Luther Singh (21), who also worked with Baxter before.
A snag could be the upcoming phase of the Olympic qualifiers, which resume in June. This falls within the same period that Bafana will be in training camp for Afcon.
The South African youth team will face Zimbabwe over two leagues, on June 5 and 9.
Singh said his dream was to link up with Tau in the senior national team.
“I look up to players like Percy, Keagan Dolly and Lebo Mothiba, who are playing abroad at a young age and are already doing well for Bafana,” said Portugal-based Singh after he helped the Under-23s to a 6-1 aggregate win over Angola in the second round of the Olympic qualifiers.
“When the president [Safa boss Danny Jordaan] and the coach [Notoane] tell us about Vision 2022, it inspires us. It gives us something to work for. The majority of this team should be representing Bafana in 2022,” he said.
Singh, who went abroad as a teenager via the Stars of Africa Academy in Mayfair, Johannesburg, is enjoying regular game time and valuable first-team experience at GD Chaves.
He is on loan from Braga in the Portuguese top league.
Likewise, Tau is also plying his trade in the Belgian equivalent of the ABC Motsepe League, and his game has been boosted by regular game time.
Baxter can only spruce up the Bafana team whose foundation has already been built on the likes of Thulani Hlatshwayo, Darren Keet, Thulani Serero and Kamohelo Mokotjo.
The quartet graduated to Bafana after they represented South Africa at the 2009 Under-20 World Cup.
