We’re not underdogs, says Tau

Mamelodi Sundowns man-of-themoment Percy Tau says his side are not going into Sunday’s opening Fifa Club World Cup game as underdogs.

Sundowns will face either Japan’s Kashima Antlers or New Zealand’s Auckland City, who meet in a play-off today, in their quarterfinal in Osaka.

“In each and every tournament, every team can win it. It is always about that belief. If you believe that you can win it, then go and do your best and prove it,” said Tau.

“To be underdogs, I don’t know about that. How can we be underdogs when we just won the Champions League? All the teams there will be representing their continents so there are no underdogs.

“You can’t go into a tournament just to participate. Especially for me, I think of winning all the time. The first thing is to win the first game, go to the semifinals, and from there, go to the final”.

Before winning the Champions League, which enabled

Masandawana to participate in the global spectacle, Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane’s message to his players was to “have fun”. But, this time around, the dressing room message from “Jingles” to his players is to bring the trophy home.

The talented 22-year-old Tau believes this tournament will change the way global counterparts view South African football, and he hopes it will lead to greener pastures.

‘’There are certain things that we need to change about SA football when going to these major tournaments. The Under-23s went to the Olympics, they should have also made us more proud, but that’s all they could do. We need to go out there and do more.

“I am a player, I also have other interests to try and represent who I am, so with this opportunity I have a good platform to showcase my talent, but I would be really happy if we were to win. I am a bit cautious, I don’t want to be too confident, I am excited; it might be the start of bigger things, who knows,” he added.