Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams might not have won the Yashin Trophy at the Ballon d'Or awards but he has made history by finishing among the top 10 goalkeepers in the world for the 2023/24 season.
During the prestigious event held in Paris on Monday night, it was announced that the Yashin Trophy was won by Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, with Williams positioned ninth in the final voting.
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Going to France for the event, Williams had already made history by becoming the first goalkeeper playing for an African club to be nominated for the award.
In February this year, the 32-year-old Gqeberha-born star was named as the Africa Cup of Nations Goalkeeper of the Tournament.
As the 2024 CAF Awards nominees were announced last Thursday, Williams also learnt that he has been nominated in the Player of the Year (Men) category, Goalkeeper of the Year (Men) and Inter-club Player of the Year (Men) for the outstanding year he has enjoyed for both club and country.
Former Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez has commended Williams for his huge achievements.
"I was like, 'Wow! This is awesome man.' It's good for him, good for Sundowns and good for the country. It takes the limelight to us all in South Africa to show that we can do something. Ronwen has done really well! He's done really well at SuperSport, Sundowns and Bafana Bafana. One thinks back to when he played for Bafana against Brazil and conceded in the 5-0 loss. He's showed good character to come back from that. He's taken the criticism on the chin. He proved his critics wrong, which is good. He is mentally very strong, which is what you want from a goalkeeper and to be the captain of the national team and captain of Sundowns, playing week in and week out in top level games is not easy," said Fernandez, speaking exclusively to the Siya crew.
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"It's really good for him and I must say it's an awesome achievement for Ronwen and I think credit must go to his keeper coaches from his days at SuperSport and now at Sundowns. Grant (Johnson) and Andre (Arendse) at SuperSport and he's got Wendell (Robinson) at Sundowns, and I think we must give credit to them because they are the ones who pushed him to the next level," added Fernandez.
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By Masebe Qina
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