Bafana star Ronwen Williams. Image: Caf Online/X
‘80% of the players came to me’ – Bafana star Williams
Bafana Bafana and Ronwen Williams put respect on South Africa’s name again. How is he feeling as the best goalkeeper at Afcon?
Bafana star Ronwen Williams. Image: Caf Online/X
What a goalkeeper. Bafana Bafana’s Ronwen Williams has been named the best goalkeeper at Afcon 2023.
Here’s his reaction to the accolade.
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BAFANA BAFANA GOALKEEPER RONWEN WILLIAMS WINS THE AFCON 2023 GOLDEN GLOVE
After earning three clean sheets against Namibia, Tunisia and Morocco, Williams was not finished.
The 32-year-old from Gqeberha pulled a match-winning save ahead of extra time against Cape Verde, before the Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper saved a record four out of five penalties in the shootouts.
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Williams collected two further clean sheets against Nigeria in the semi-finals, and against DR Congo in the bronze medal game, before saving two penalties in the shootouts to win the game.
“A savior for South Africa when needed 🧤. Ronwen Williams deservedly wins Ecobank Best Goalkeeper with a remarkable presence in #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 🇿🇦,” Caf announced.
Check out the video of the special moment below…
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“It’s not me alone, I give credit to each, and every player, I don’t do it by myself. And it’s so funny that on Sunday maybe 80% of the players came to me and said they [Nigeria] need to concede today so that we can get it [Golden Glove award],” Williams told MSW, as quoted by FARPost.
“I like the fact that they said ‘we’, as much as I’m going to get all the praises and obviously the accolade. But it’s us and it’s not me, I mean how many saves realistically did I have to make during the games in seven games? Maybe average two a game at such a massive tournament.
“It’s props to each and every player, especially the defence as well. They were so solid from the first match up until the last, just to keep going, to keep fighting,” the Bafana number one concluded.
DANNY JORDAAN CONFIRMS BROOS IS STAYING
In other news, Bafana coach Hugo Broos is staying beyond 2024.
Broos had fans and his fair share of critics before Afcon 2023. Does he still have critics? Yes, but very, very few.
New reports say Broos is set to stay until 2026.
According to new reports, South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan has decided that Broos will continue with the job until the end of his contract in 2026.
Chatting to the media on Tuesday before the semi-finals loss to Nigeria, Broos admitted that he is in a phase where he has to consider his future but is still enjoying the job.
“But there is a lot of things going right now; why should I stop? I like my job; I like football.
“So, we will see what the future brings, but I think it’s totally normal that after the career of 36 years as a coach and 18 years of professional football. Little by little, you start thinking about the end of your career,” the Bafana tactician added.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, the Safa big boss said Broos should build on the Afcon 2023 semi-finals, despite the frustrations Broos has felt towards the low support from the Premier Soccer League.
“He’s [been] very frustrated [with] the many unfair criticism against him. I have a meeting with him after the match on Saturday, and we want to encourage him to keep on building the team,” said Jordaan, as quoted by SABC Sport.
“I think we must all support him because we can see what he has put together.
“If you look at what he has done – before he came, we had a national team consisting of players who started, the likes of Itumeleng Khune, Thulani Hlatshwayo, [Bongani] Zungu, Kamohelo [Mokotjo], Kermit Erasmus, and so on,” Jordaan added.
“When he came, his first [squad] announcement, none of those players were in and, of course, the people of our country were shocked.
“But absolutely, we want him to stay on. We have to fix the issues between him and the PSL. I mean, it’s unheard of where a national team coach is put out of a match [Broos’ highly publicised ejection from Orlando Stadium],” the Safa president concluded.
Meanwhile, Bafana will take on DR Congo in the Afcon 2023 third-place match tonight at 22:00.
You can find more articles from Siseko Gwegwe here.
