By Sizwe Umjaka
The combination of Percy Tau and Mbaye Diagne will give Club Brugge a fighting chance of opening their Champions League campaign with victory against Galatasaray on Wednesday, according to ex-Kaizer Chiefs coach Muhsin Ertugral.
South Africa international Tau is in contention to make his debut in the tournament proper when the Belgian giants host the Turkish heavyweights at the Jan Breydel Stadium, although they face a tricky test against a Gala team who bolstered their ranks by recruiting Radamel Falcao in the offseason.
Ex-Manchester United and Chelsea striker Falcao arrives as a replacement for Diagne, who was offloaded to Club Brugge despite finishing as the Turkish Super Lig’s top scorer last term.
Ertugral believes that Gala’s loss could be Brugge—and Tau’s—gain.
"With Falcao in the team, the quality of Galatasaray has obviously gone up,” Ertugral told Goal. “He has just played one game so far, but scored already on debut, so his qualities are still there.
"Galatasaray have a really strong midfield, but are weaker at the back and that is where Brugge can hurt them.
"Mbaye was maybe not valued much,” he added, “but he proved he can score goals while he was [in Turkey] and if he combines well with Percy they could surprise Galatasaray."
depophotosErtugral, who recently celebrated his 60th birthday, is currently based in Istanbul where he works as a television and radio pundit, offering insight into the African stars in the Turkish game among other themes.
The former Chiefs and Orlando Pirates boss added that he’s excited about seeing Tau test himself in the Champions League, and is confident that the Bafana Bafana wideman can enjoy himself against Gala.
"I hope he starts, because these are the games he needs to test himself,” Ertugral continued. "The stress levels and pressure are different at this level.
“He will face Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, which is obviously exciting, but Galatasaray fans at home will give him a whole new experience. This game will help him adjust to Champions League and I have no doubt he will adapt quickly.
"He might face the right-back Mariano, they are the same height and the Brazilian likes to go forward a lot. It could be an interesting battle because Tau is a very smart player, who is always looking for gaps to exploit.
"So there will be space between Mariano and the Congolese centre-back Christian Luyindama and that is where Tau could hurt them,” Ertugral concluded. “Percy is very good at determining the spaces between defenders."
