Bafana goalkeeper coach reveals what sets Ronwen Williams apart
Bafana Bafana and SuperSport United goalkeeper coach Grant Johnson has revealed the unique qualities that make Ronwen Williams a cut above the rest, leaving him at the cusp of winning an international award.
This comes after the Mamelodi Sundowns shot-stopper received a nomination for the Ballon d’Or Yashin Trophy a few weeks ago. He is among the 10 best goalkeepers for the award.
The 32-year-old goalkeeper is nominated alongside Diogo Costa [Porto], Gianluigi Donnarumma [PSG], Gregor Kobel [Borussia Dortmund], Andriy Lunin [Real Madrid], Mike Maignan [AC Milan], Giorgi Mamardashvili [Valencia], Emiliano Martinez [Aston Villa], Unai Simon [Athletic Bilbao], and Yann Sommer [Inter Milan].
The Bafana captain became the fourth African goalie to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or Yashin Trophy, following in the footsteps of Yassine Bounou from Morocco, Andre Onana of Cameroon, and Senegal’s Edouard Mendy.
To top it off, Williams is the first SA goalkeeper to be nominated for this prestigious award. The Ballon d’Or awards ceremony will take place on Monday, 28 October 2024.
GRANT JOHNSON ON WHAT MAKES RONWEN WILLIAMS STAND OUT FROM OTHER GOALKEEPERS
Johnson mentioned quite several things that make Williams special, citing his distribution, his ability to start play from the back, and his CAF experience as some of the factors that contribute to his uniqueness.
“There are a few attributes that make him better than anyone else. Firstly, his distribution, it is right up there in world football, I don’t know anybody who distributes as well as he does, that’s a big part of his game,” said Johnson in an interview with FARPost.
“Even when he plays from the back, he is comfortable on the ball, and I think over the years, he has grown in confidence and in stature, and he has taken on the captaincy, and that just made him more confident.
“His CAF experience with Sundowns has helped him to grow in leaps and bounces; he is at the top of his game at the moment. I always say goalkeepers reach their best from the age of 30 because they have learnt from their mistakes, and that’s how you get experience by playing and making mistakes but learning from those mistakes.”
Johnson continued: “I have always told him that a good keeper is a consistent keeper. You can’t have one good season, and then everybody says you are fantastic. You got to have four, five good seasons to be a top goalkeeper, in my view, and that is what he has done over the last couple of years.”
“He has become confident and worked on his weaknesses, and those have now become strengths, so he is just a top goalkeeper.”
His stellar performances for Masandawana and at the 2023 AFCON tournament in Côte d’Ivoire were significant factors in his nomination for the award.
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