Where does Ronwen Williams sit among South Africa’s best-ever goalkeepers? Ask Mogamad Allie.
Ronwen Williams’ nomination for the prestigious Ballon D’Or award – the first for a footballer plying his trade on the African continent – and his subsequent listing among the 22 goalkeepers in contention for FIFA’s Best XI has sparked debate about his position among the pantheon of Bafana Bafana goalkeepers.
The Bafana captain also added the 2024 CAF Goalkeeper of the Year award to his burgeoning collection of individual awards which also include the 2023-24 PSL Footballer and Goalkeeper of the Season awards.
“Ronwen’s nomination for the Ballon D’Or and also being shortlisted for FIFA’s Best XI has put not only South African but African goalkeeping on the map,” former Bafana goalkeeper Andre Arendse tells SoccerClub.
Arendse, who was a key component of Bafana’s 1996 Africa Cup of Nations-winning team, is himself regarded as one of the country’s best since a fully representative South Africa’s admission to international football in 1992.
Others in the conversation about the country’s top goalkeeper include Hans Vonk, Brian Baloyi and Itumeleng Khune.
“The world must now take African goalkeeping seriously because Ronwen is serious about what he’s done and how he’s done it. That’s been shown in his performances for the national team specifically at the last Africa Cup of Nations.”
Arendse believes what makes Williams’ continuing upward curve even more impressive is the absence of serious competition for his place in the team.
“The reason why I managed to reach the levels that I did, whatever that looks like, is because of the competitive nature in goalkeeping at the time. That alone kept me on my toes.
“When you’re competing against the likes of Mark Anderson, Roger de Sa, Steve Crowley and John Tlale you have to stay on top of your game. I think that’s the one thing that’s pushed me to greater heights in my own career.”
“And then along comes Hans Vonk and I’ve got to work even harder to retain my place.
Ronwen has had his fair share of competing against others, but with respect to the other goalkeepers, not to that level after Itumeleng Khune’s retirement.”
“The fact that Ronwen has been able to keep a steady kind of performance level without massively being challenged by other goalkeepers for the position speaks volumes for his credibility and also his work ethic.”
“That for me alone puts Ronwen up there with the best Bafana goalkeepers that the country has ever had.
Of course, there are others like Hans, Itumeleng and Brian who come into the equation,” adds the former custodian who won 67 caps for his country.
William Shongwe, the former Kaizer Chiefs and Eswatini national goalkeeper, is hesitant about putting his head on the block about Bafana’s best custodian.
“I think the best is to rather compare within the generations because the game has changed so much over the past three decades since Bafana first played international football,” he said.
“Andre Arendse, Hans Vonk and Brian Baloyi were the best from their generation, Itumeleng Khune was top of the tree when he was at his peak and now Ronwen is obviously top of the lot.
“Each one had their own qualities as well. Itu’s distribution was fantastic and he was a great shot-stopper too.
Brian had great reflexes and was great in one-on-one situations.
“Consistency was Andre’s name. He didn’t do anything flashy but he was just so reliable, especially when it came to handling crosses and organising his defence.
The same applies to Hans who was reliable and consistent. Right now, Ronwen obviously is top of the lot.
“Much of the equation also revolves around sustainability and consistency. Ronwen has been around at the top level for a long time but so was Andre, Hans, and Itu.”
In addition to winning the 1996 AFCON, Arendse also played at the 2002 World Cup in Korea while Vonk, who won 43 caps for Bafana, played at the 1998 World Cup and was understudy to Arendse in Korea.
Khune featured at the 2010 World Cup on home soil while winning 91 caps for his country.
Baloyi won 24 caps for Bafana, was understudy to Hans Vonk at the 1998 World Cup, and played in the Nations Cup final against Egypt in Burkina Faso four months earlier.
Shongwe, who oversaw much of Williams’ formative years as an aspiring young goalkeeper during his time at the SuperSport United academy between 2004 and 2010, says he saw the potential in the current Bafana captain to become a top goalkeeper when he was still a callow teenager.
“As a youngster Ronwen was a bit casual at training and I looked him in the face and screamed: ‘Do you know that one day you can be Bafana Bafana’s number one? But not when you’re going like this.’
“He’s worked hard at his game and I’m really proud of what I see now with Ronwen,” adds Shongwe.
Gavin Hunt who, as SuperSport United coach gave Williams his topflight debut in the African Champions League against Lesotho champions Matlama in 2012, also reasons it is difficult to pick the best Bafana goalkeeper.
“For me one of the big character traits, and this is so important for a goalkeeper, is that if you can find the method by which you make yourself look and feel unbeatable every time you play, that makes you one of the great goalkeepers.
“And Ronwen gives you that. Look at his performances at the 2024 AFCON. When the chips were down and it needed big performances, he was the one that stood up.
“His ability to make himself so unbeatable for the sake of his team just takes the pressure off the rest of them.
The best goalkeepers in the world have their flaws but for me Ronwen is very close to an all-around package.
“He is more of a modern-day goalkeeper. His passing out from the back and playing balls into the striker or playing through into midfield is second to none,” he says.
“Khune was magnificent at kicking a ball out of his hands, he could find players 60-70 meters away, putting the ball on their chest or on their foot. For me his one-on-one goalkeeping was second to none.
“All-round, you could say Ronwen is possibly the best but Khune’s one-on-one saving was on another level. Andre was your real steady goalkeeper. He was very good at dealing with crosses and the same applies to Hans who read the game well,” Hunt added.
