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Al Ahly come knocking | 'Pirates are a lot better now'

Hot on the heels of the CAF Champions League group stage draw, Orlando Pirates have received advice from the man who came within a whisker of bringing a second star above the Buccaneers' badge, Roger De Sa.

On Monday, the in-form Pirates were drawn into Group C of the competition alongside Egyptian and African giants Al Ahly, Stade d'Abidjan from Ivory Coast and Algerian champions CR Belouizdad.

De Sa was in charge of the man clad in the famous Black and White colours when they lost to Al Ahly 3-1 on aggregate in the two-legged final back in 2013.

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The first leg had ended 1-all thanks to a last-gasp equaliser from Thabo Matlaba after Mohamed Aboutreika had put the visitors ahead at Orlando Stadium, with the second leg ending 2-0 in favour of the Club of the Century in Cairo.

"It's a tough group," says De Sa, sighing heavily. 

"I mean, Champions League is always gonna be difficult, especially the away games, as they are always very, very challenging. But I think Pirates have come a long way, and they know the competition a lot better now than what they knew 10 years ago.

"I think the local clubs are a lot better prepared for the Champions League. We used to go in blindly, really. We didn't have to even watch the footage of the opposition, but now it's pretty open. It's easy to get footage of everybody.

"But it's still a difficult group. Al Ahly are always going to be difficult. They are a good team, and going to Egypt is going to be tough as well.

"But Pirates are a lot better now than what they were a couple of years ago when we went to this competition with a very inexperienced young team ... But ja, we managed to reach the final," adds the veteran coach.

De Sa, a goalkeeper in his heyday, believes the Red Devils are not much of a powerhouse in African football as they used to be a decade or so ago.

"Now, there's more money involved, and there are more teams that are taking this competition seriously.

"The other two teams might be banana skins for Pirates. those are the matches that are going to decide it for them.

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"Pirates vs Al Ahly is gonna be a tight, very cagey game, but games in Ivory Coast and Algeria are gonna be tough.

"The home fixtures are going to play a big part in influencing the standings. Pirates do have a team to compete, and now they have a style of play.

"So, Pirates do have a realistic chance."

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