JOHANNESBURG - Pitso Mosimane has worked with a number of brilliant young players who have evolved to become superstars in their respective careers.
“There are a lot of players (who come to mind) that I’ve spotted from a young age and who went on to do well,” said Mosimane, who was announced as PSL Coach of the Month of February this week.
“Players like (Siboniso) Pa Gaxa and (Daine) Klate, who I signed when they were pretty young (during his stint as SuperSport United head coach).
“There are also the likes of Kermit Erasmus and Kamohelo Mokotjo.”
Mosimane also revealed that he had a crucial influence on Cape Town City star Lebohang Manyama cracking it into the professional scene.
Seeing his protégés, such as Manyama, doing well brings him joy - the CAF Champions League-winning coach says .
But Mosimane argues that his insatiable appetite to see skilful youngsters reach dizzy heights of success drives his passion.
At his Chloorkop side where the 52-year-old coach is blessed with an abundance of talent that most of his coaching colleagues can only dream of, Mosimane is developing another young gem, who, he believes, will attract international attention.
That cub is the young Percy Tau.
“Percy is growing progressively,” Mosimane said of the 22-year-old attacking midfielder. “He’s still young and has a whole lot more to learn. He still makes mistakes (on the field of play) which are expected because he’s still developing. And the only way to aid that is to give him more game time so he can continue learning from his experiences. We need to allow him to go out there and have fun.”
In Wednesday night’s Absa Premiership match against Bloemfontein Celtic at Lucas Moripe Stadium (7.30pm), Tau will hope to do just that, while he also tries to help his side shake off a series of no wins Sundowns have endured in their last three matches in all competitions.
The Brazilians played a goalless draw in a league tie against Polokwane City on March 14 before they travelled to Uganda where they drew 1-1, a result that was enough to see them qualify for the group stages of the CAF Champions League, following a 3-2 aggregate win against Kampala City Authority FC.
At the weekend, they went down 2-1 against Kaizer Chiefs, following an awful own-goal scored by stocky defender Bangaly Soumahoro in the second period of that match.
With fives teams now in contention for the league title, Mosimane is well aware that his side will need to start collecting more three-pointers in their remaining 12 leaguematches as failure to do so might see them eclipsed by either Bidvest Wits, Cape Town City, Kaizer Chiefs or SuperSport United, all in the running for the title.
Mosimane said Tau has the potential of moving abroad, stating that he needed a few more seasons before he can break into the European football scene, just as his former teammates Bongani Zungu and Keagan Dolly did in the past two seasons.
“You know, I’m very conservative in my predictions and so I always like to put an extra year ,” he said.
“With (Bongani) Zungu, I said he must stay one more year before he left, remember? He struggled to make a mark (at his new club) following his arrival there but has now done it. With Keagan (Dolly), I said he should stay one more year as well (before he left). He’s still going through the same process (of adjusting to his new club) as well but he’ll get there in six months time as well.
“When I signed Teko (Modise) from an NFD side, I said he will play for Bafana Bafana in three years time and in one and a half year, he broke into the Bafana set-up.
“As I said, I’m a bit conservative in my predictions but I’m cautious as well.
Percy is going to go places. He’s definitely one of those players who I believe we’re going to lose in the near future,” Mosimane added.