Rowen Fernandez has reminisced about the good old times when he played at the highest level in Mzansi, including achieving success with Kaizer Chiefs where he had won trophies.
At Chiefs, Fernandez arrived in 2001 from Wits University and competed with Brian Baloyi, who was arguably the best goalkeeper in the country in those days, for the number one jersey.
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The Springs-born keeper later on became the number one at Amakhosi after Baloyi moved to Mamelodi Sundowns, and speaking exclusively to the Siya crew, he says joining the Soweto giants was one of the best moments of his career.
"It was good because we all wanted to play. I was still young, and I wanted to play, learn and win things, and it was all good fun. When Brian played, I supported him, and when I played, Brian supported me, and it was good times, and in the end that was good for the team, because we had a great season. My eyes were opened up to professional soccer. Don't get me wrong, at Wits where I started it was good, but Chiefs was next level stuff. You travel the country, and you have fans everywhere. You can't go to a restaurant and have a quiet meal because there's no chance, there are always people looking at this Chiefs player that you are. It was good times and the coaches I worked with were fantastic," said Fernandez.
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Fernandez, who is now a goalkeeper coach although he is currently unattached, is pleased about the rise of Sundowns and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Ronwen Williams who was once his understudy during his playing days. That also includes Thakasani Mbanjwa at SuperSport United.
"I see Thakasani is playing at SuperSport now and that's good and I'm happy for him. I have known him since he was a youngster coming through the ranks at Wits, and he was the third or fourth choice keeper there. It's always nice to see these players coming through, and like Ronwen, he was my third or fourth choice keeper at SuperSport, and he was still coming through the ranks then. With them playing and doing well now, that's great because it shows that there is talent in the country in the goalkeeping department," said Fernandez.
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By Masebe Qina
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