I vividly remember the day Ronwen Williams made his Bafana Bafana debut exactly 10 years ago.
It may not have been a day to behold and remember for the then-22-year-old, but it had a huge significance on how his career turned out.
At that time, Williams had just broken into the SuperSport United first team, and after pulling a couple of acrobatic saves, he was called up to Bafana.
On the eve of the match, a friendly international against Brazil, which included Neymar and others, coach Gordon Igesund hauled Williams into the starting XI after Itumeleng Khune got injured.
Bafana were hammered 5-0 and the snot-nosed Williams had the worst game of his life, after Neymar and company toyed around with him as if he were a rag doll.
Williams wanted to forget quickly about that game – but he has not; he mentions it all the time – that instead of being broken down, that routing played a massive role in getting him to where he is today.
Tomorrow, just tomorrow, the Bafana skipper will be wining and dining with the who is who of world football at the Ballon d’Or Awards at the breathtaking Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
Williams, now 32, has been nominated for the Yashin Trophy for Goalkeeper of the Year.
God works in mysterious ways and after a night of horror a decade ago, Williams has redeemed himself so much so that tomorrow he will be nibbling gourmet salmon, langoustine and washing it down with a Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac with world superstars such as Kylan Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Vinicious Junior, Lamile Yamal, Rodri and Jude Bellingham, to mention but a few.
This is what dreams are made of. If this story does not titillate you or move you, then you must be colder than a witch’s tit.
“You need perseverance, and you can’t give up. You need to have a strong mentality. I didn’t have the perfect start. I conceded five [goals] against Brazil,” Williams was quoted by Citizen.
“I obviously got hammered for years after that and it was stuck there in my head because people kept on reminding me about it.
“I couldn’t let it out of my mind and play freely, so you need to be strong mentally, and you only get a stronger mentality with experience, good or bad. Lots of lessons were learnt,” he added.
Last month, as soon as Mzansi soccer followers were told to vote for Williams, they jammed the networks and went all out, only to be informed that there was a misconception and that the winner was not going to be judged by the number of public votes but by a judging panel.
They were not going to allow the situation of 2017 to repeat itself when Baroka FC goalkeeper Oscarine Masuleke was outvoted by Olivier Giroud fans in the 2017 Fifa Puscas Award (Goal of the Year).
“I’m speechless; I’ve got no words to describe how I’m feeling at the moment,” Williams said after his nomination. “It’s a surreal feeling. I’m still in shock. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m just proud, excited, and happy — not for myself, but more for South Africa as a whole. And I hope this will inspire the next generation. Inspire the players that they can just believe and chase their dreams,” he added.
To win, Williams has to beat the likes of Diego Costa Diogo Costa (Portugal, Porto), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy, Paris Saint-Germain) and Argenrina and Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez. It is a tough ask.
But we are fully behind our laaitie. We hope that the judges will recognise that it takes a real talent to save four penalties in one match at a major continental competition.
The nation will be keeping fingers crossed that Williams is announced as the best goalkeeper in the world!
Go get them, sonny!
