Sundowns, meanwhile, only have one player still on their books – Surprise Moriri – of all that were used in that same final, which also happened to be a national cup final (then known as the ABSA Cup) played in Durban on May 26, 2007.
Ajax won that final 2-0 and they will now arrive in Port Elizabeth still having five players – all of them now seniors in the team – as part of the cast that will be plotting the downfall of the PSL’s big spenders.
Nazeer Allie, Granwald Scott, Dominic Isaacs, Franklin Cale and Nathan Paulse – all Cape Town-born players – will again all be wearing the Urban Warriors jersey tomorrow just like they did eight years ago.
Since playing in that final Allie has grown in influence playing either at right-back or in central defence and will actually be hoping that the Nedbank Cup provides him with a pre-birthday present as he turns 30 a week from tomorrow.
Just like Allie – Scott has also never left his hometown club and while he has retained much of his teenage looks he has become a veteran at the club with a decade of PSL experience.
For Isaacs since playing in that 2007 final he then moved to Kaizer Chiefs a year later before retreating back on the N1 South to Bloemfontein Celtic for a season after which he then decided to return to Ajax two years ago.
Cale has also been enticed by the financial carrots dangled up north with stints at Sundowns and SuperSport United sandwiched between his two spells with The Urban Warriors, the latest of which came into effect at the beginning of last season.
Then with the towering Paulse – the oldest member of the squad at 33 – he has been to Hammarby IF in Sweden, back at Ajax, then off to Celtic, Platinum Stars, SuperSport and then back again for his fourth stint with Ajax since his last cup final encounter against Sundowns in a red and white jersey.
So will the presence of these five make the difference in this youthful Ajax team that is seeking to end a seven-year wait for silverware?
Ajax last won a cup back in 2008 when they were crowned Telkom Knockout champions.
At the other end Moriri will not be surprised that he has no-one to share his memories from eight years ago. All of his teammates that were on the pitch in his last cup final appearance against Ajax have now left the club or have since retired.