Bafana Bafana captain and Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams concedes he is still over the moon after his latest achievements.
On Monday night, the 32-year-old South African was crowned the Inter-club Men’s Player of the Year as well as the Goalkeeper of the year in the 2024 Caf Awards Gala held in Morocco.
It was a massive achievement for the custodian who had a great year that saw him help Bafana Bafana win a Bronze in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. He also successfully defended the Premier Soccer League crown with Masandawana and won the inaugural African Football League.
Too good to be true? Williams opens up
After beating the likes of Manchester United’s Andre Onana to the Awards, Williams has revealed how it felt.
“Yeah, it's an amazing achievement, I still get goosebumps just thinking about it. It's such a surreal moment. Honestly speaking I've never even dreamt about being part of the conversation you know yet alone winning it,” he told the media.
“So, it's a proud moment for me, it's a proud moment for my family and all my loved ones that have been there through the journey with me, through the good and the bad times. I'm just proud of myself for not giving up when things were tough, I had to dig deep, I had to keep going and today I'm a champion in CAF and on the continent so yeah, proud moment.”
What made Williams good?
By saving four penalties en-route to helping South Africa finish third in the 2023 Afcon held in Ivory Coast, Williams set unprecedented record. He has since explained how he managed to stop Equatorial Guinea from advancing to the semi-final before eventually falling to finalists Nigeria.
“It's years and years of experience that's why they always say goalkeepers mature with age. You pick up trends, you get experience and you get to know how to deal but I think the main thing of a goalkeeper is the mentality because if you make a mistake, it's in the back of the net,” he continued.
“Whereas you have to save the 10 other players in front of you and it's just for you to remain solid, remain strong and stay in the game as much as possible.
“I've developed a strong mindset throughout my career over the last few years, it's become even stronger. I think that has helped me reach the level that I'm reaching at the moment.”
