On the sidelines of the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, I found myself engaging in a fierce argument with a fellow journalist from Uganda, writes FARPost editor Mthokozisi Dube.
After meeting for the first time outside the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium and exchanging pleasantries, I made what I thought was a nice remark about Denis Onyango.
These were my exact words: “Oh, you’re from Uganda – you guys gifted us Denis Onyango, thank you. He’s been an incredible servant at Mamelodi Sundowns.”
My Ugandan colleague’s response threw me into a mini-rage: “Yeah, but Sundowns is frustrating, Denis. You must call him and ask him [why must I call him and ask him when I’ve watched Ronwen Williams excel for Sundowns]. They just want to get rid of him.”
Ha, ha, ha, I was totally baffled, and my mind raced quite a lot before I responded.
HERE’S WHAT I WAS THINKING
Ngiyalingwa s’tru [I’m being tempted]. This over-patriotic fellow was implying that Ronwen Williams, who has undoubtedly fit in like a glove at Sundowns, was not deserving to play ahead of Onyango. No way.
The gentleman from Kampala, later joined by his compatriot, even went as far as saying Ronwen Williams is too inexperienced to bench Onyango. Inexperienced? Did I hear you right?
And I’m like: “So, you want Dennis to play until 40 years? And then Sundowns will start scrapping around trying to find a new goalkeeper when Onyango finally retires?”
Besides the so-called experience and Onyango’s achievements, which no one can dispute, Sundowns plays possession football.
I’m pretty sure Rulani Mokwena and his technical team want Sundowns to be a dominant team with a lot of possession and ball circulation. That needs a goalkeeper who is very good at playing with his feet, communicating with the defensive line, controlling spaces and freeing players offensively.
WHY RONWEN WILLIAMS IS BETTER THAN DENIS ONYANGO?
Come on, who does that better? The Bafana Bafana number one goalkeeper is miles ahead of the slow and technically limited Onyango. Miles ahead, sorry to say.
Williams just had to find a ball-playing team to realise his full potential. Now, and only now, he has found one, and we see a different element to his game.
I’ve said to fellow journos in South Africa that I’m surprised at how good Williams is with the ball at his feet.
Unfortunately, at SuperSport United, it was catch and kick, and we never really saw his ability to play out from the back.
With a touch of arrogance, I said, ‘come, I educate you, young man,’ in goalkeeping, there has been an evolution from lone shot-stopping duties into a more well-rounded player on the pitch.
The popularity of a possession-based football style means teams want as much time on the ball as possible, and of course, the best way to do this is, more or less, to start from the goalkeeper.
Manchester City’s Ederson, Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich, Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen perfectly exemplify the ball-playing keepers of the game, and their importance to their team’s style of play cannot be overstated.
Ronwen Williams, with 16 clean sheets this season in all competitions, possesses technical ability with the ball on his feet in addition to his shot-stopping capabilities.
Against the opponent press, Williams will comfortably play short or medium-range passes accurately to aid the progression of his team’s build-up into the next phase.
ARE THEY BOTH LEADERS?
Yes, Onyango does it, but the propensity for Sundowns to keep the ball is slightly lessened with him in goals.
The poor chap then said: “But Onyango is a leader and has taken Uganda to the AFCON and won the CAF Champions League.”
I didn’t dispute. I’ll never deny it. However, Williams is equally a leader who has captained the national team and SuperSport United. He has done exceptionally well both for club and country.
The AFCON argument is futile. It’s not entirely dependent on the goalkeeper. In any case, Williams has a chance to lead Bafana to the next edition of the AFCON, which I think he will.
Again, winning Champions League is not solely dependent on the goalkeeper. It is a team effort.
I got a bit extreme and concluded by saying Erik ten Hag, Manchester United’s manager, would lick his lips at the sight of ‘Ronza’ because David de Gea comes nowhere near the Bafana goalie when it comes to distribution.
In my not-so-humble opinion, Ronwen Williams may well be the most well-rounded keeper in the PSL today.
Besides his shot-stopping ability, the South African international has developed his ball-playing skills to a very high level.
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