Ajax travel to Angola to face GD Sagrada Esperança in their preliminary round tie on Saturday with a relatively young squad, yet with a number of players who have recently travelled the continent in national team colours.
Rivaldo Coetzee, Jody February, Abbubaker Mobara and Riyaad Norodien were all part of South Africa’s team that took part in the Under-23 Afcon tournament in Senegal last year, where the side finished third and secured their spot at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
De Sa feels the quartet’s experience on the continent bodes well for his side in continental competition.
“The Under-23 Afcon was a massive experience for all these players,” De Sa says. “To go away and play in Africa is very different and very difficult, so the fact they’ve already been there now, and had that experience, will help us as we go to Angola. So it will be good for us.”
The Ajax coach feels playing in Africa is a taste of what it is like to play at senior national level, and believes his side can no longer be seen as a team of inexperienced youngsters.
“The closest you will get to playing for your national team is what we are going to do in this CAF competition,” he says. “After that it’s just playing Under-20, Under-23 and then obviously senior level. So some of these guys are already ahead and hopefully we can feed off them, and their experience will help us.
“So no longer are we going with a lot of youngsters, but with a few youngsters that are going with some experience at international level.”
Ajax take on Esperanca at the Estadio Sagrada Esperança on Saturday afternoon, with kick-off at 15:00.