Durban - Al Ahly legend Taha Ismail has called on the Egyptian giants to offload coach Pitso Mosimane and Percy Tau, branding the latter to be “not a high-quality player”.
Ismail’s comments come on the back of Al Ahly falling to a 2-0 defeat against Wydad AC in the final of the CAF Champions League at the Stade Mohammed V in Morocco on Monday. Bafana Bafana international Tau appeared to be having an off day in the game. He had a couple of chances to potentially score but was ineffective in front of goal on the day.
“Al Ahly should sell Ali Maaloul, he’s a big name and the club can financially benefit from him,” Ismail said as reported by Egyptian source Kingfut.
“Aliou Dieng should also be sold and after that, they should buy other high-quality players. Percy Tau is not a high-quality player as well, he should be replaced. We need to bring better players to Al Ahly,” said Ismail.
The 83-year-old also believes that coach Mosimane should not be spared.
"Mosimane must leave the club. it's over. He shouldn't keep his position until the end of the season. Last season he lost the league to Zamalek despite being ahead and this season, the team is losing points again," he said.
If stats are to go by, Tau has been a success for Al Ahly this season, suggesting that Ismail who spent his entire career with Al Ahly may have made his comments out of emotion rather than based on what has transpired on the field.
Tau joined Al Ahly in August last year from English club Brighton & Hove Albion. The 28-year-old is currently the second highest scorer in the Al Ahly side this season having so far netted eight goals in all competitions, three fewer than top scorer Mohamed Sherif.
In terms of assists provided, Tau has provided the joint most for Al Ahly this season (6) along with left-back Ali Maâloul.
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By winning the game, Wydad prevented Al Ahly and Mosimane from winning a third consecutive Champions League crown. The result would have only heaped pressure on Mosimane amidst calls for Al Ahly to bring in a new coach.
Mosimane can still restore pride to his team’s season by leading them to Egyptian Cup and Premier League glory. Mosimane’s team will return to action on Sunday, 12 June in an Egypt Cup Round of 32 clash against Masry Salloum at the Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo.
They are currently third on the Egyptian Premier League log and seven points adrift of first place Zamalek, albeit having played four games less than the pole position sitters.
@EshlinV