A win for Bucs will guarantee a place in the semis of the CAF Champions League, and with the winners of Africa’s premium club competition getting to play in Fifa’s Club World Cup, De Sa hopes to do battle with Europe’s reigning champions.
“I certainly hope we can reach the semis. The players deserve to be in the next round because they have worked hard; we’ve been in very unfriendly places and we have managed to come through it, and I just hope we can continue,” he says.
“[The CAF Champions League] is a massive competition … there is no doubt about it. If you win the Champions League, you’ve got an opportunity to play in the World Club champs. Can you imagine Orlando Pirates v Bayern Munich? That will be a great experience for all of us.
“It will be great to measure ourselves against one of the best teams in the last decade or ever. You wanna go as high as you can. I hope we can put on a good showing on Sunday. I really hope so.”
Pirates thumped Ahly 3-0 in Cairo in the first clash between the two sides, but De Sa knows it won’t be such smooth sailing again.
“Al-Ahly have some quality players, but so do we. We must make sure we come to the party.”
