During a stellar 12 months of domestic and international football, South Africa captain Ronwen Williams has been winning awards with regularity – but his latest nomination left him “numb” with disbelief.
The Mamelodi Sundowns stopper has been shortlisted for the Yashin Trophy, which recognises the world’s best goalkeepers as part of the annual Ballon d’Or ceremony.
“I can’t recall if I dropped the phone. I got a knot in my stomach. I literally went numb,” he told BBC Sport Africa, struggling to describe his feelings.
“When I saw the Ballon d’Or page, I couldn’t believe it.
“I don’t know if I was excited, happy or crying. It was so surreal.
“I have so many feelings and I try not to think about it because it gets me emotional.”
The 32-year-old is the first African-based player to be nominated for the trophy named after former Soviet Union legend Lev Yashin.
Given that South Africa’s men’s team has largely underachieved on the international stage over the past two decades, Williams hopes his recognition will provide motivation for his compatriots.
“I’ve achieved so much in my career but I don’t think this will ever be replaced,” he said.
“It’s going to open doors for South Africans to start thinking and dreaming bigger. We’ve got the talent and ability but we pull ourselves down.
“I feel like I’ve already won even if I don’t make the top three.”
Williams’ place on the shortlist came on the back of him spearheading Bafana Bafana’s third-placed finish at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Ivory Coast.
Former national team captain Lucas Radebe, who spent a decade playing in the English Premier League for Leeds United, believes the landmark can change the mindset of South African footballers.
“It shows the talent we have in the country,” Radebe told BBC Sport Africa.
“Ronwen is going to be an example. I want to hear people saying ‘I want to be like Ronwen Williams’, not like [Lionel] Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
“As a football community, we need to celebrate that and appreciate our own people.”
Williams has another month to wait to find out whether he will take home the trophy on 28 October in Paris.
Should he triumph, he would become the first African to win the Yashin Trophy since it was first awarded in 2019.
However, he faces stiff competition from the likes of Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez and Spain’s Unai Simon, who both helped their countries to continental titles this year.
Penalty-saving master
Williams’ standout performance during the 2023 Afcon finals was during South Africa’s quarter-final penalty shootout win over Cape Verde when he saved four spot kicks.
He credits “a lot of studying” and input from goalkeeper coach Grant Johnson as being drivers of his success.
“If you look at my phone gallery, it is full of penalty shootouts of all the teams we play,” Williams explained.
“I try and study and make notes. I study so that my mind is clear when I face penalties.
“Grant reminded me before the shootout about which player will go in what direction.”
Williams could not repeat those heroics in the semi-finals as Nigeria won 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, but he did save two more efforts from 12 yards against DR Congo in the third-place play-off as Bafana Bafana secured their best Afcon placing since 2000.
Now that he is in the prime of his powers, Williams has big ambitions for the national team and is hoping to lead his country to the 2026 World Cup.
“We’ve got the talent, experience and the players who can take us to the World Cup,” he said.
“It’s going to be tough but we’ve gained enough experience to go.”
South Africa are currently second in their group after four games, with qualifiers set to resume next March and the table-toppers at the end of the 10-match campaign guaranteed a place at the finals in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
Staying in South Africa
Now regarded as arguably Bafana Bafana’s most important player and one of the best goalkeepers on the continent, it is arguable that Williams, were he an outfield player, could have followed in the footsteps of South Africa legends such as Radebe, Benni McCarthy and Steven Pienaar in sealing a move overseas.
However, African-based goalkeepers tend to get overlooked by clubs in Europe’s top leagues.
African success stories such as Senegal’s Edouard Mendy and Cameroon’s Andre Onana have never played professionally in their home countries or even on the continent itself.
Williams thinks concerns over height are a factor but believes things could change in future.
“We are not the tallest,” he said.
“When we look at keepers in Europe, they are usually 1.9 metres or above.
“It could take one of us going over for the floodgates to open for others.”
Ruling the continent
Although he has won everything there is to win in his homeland, the one major trophy that has proved elusive has been the African Champions League.
Sundowns won their sole continental title in 2016, before Williams joined from SuperSport United, and have not been back to the final since.
The Pretoria-based outfit did win the inaugural African Football League last year, but Williams believes Sundowns need to improve their mindset to seriously compete with record Champions League winners Al Ahly.
“A team like Al Ahly has got the know-how and experience to win,” he said.
“They’ve shown over the past few years that they are probably not the best team but they know how to get the job done.
“In Europe, Real Madrid are not the best team but end up winning the Champions League year in, year out. It’s because they’ve got the know-how.”
