Arendse Hails Bafana Captain Williams

Photo by Luke Hales/FIFA via Getty Images

Bafana Bafana skipper Ronwen Williams is now a couple of games away from becoming South Africa’s second most capped goalkeeper after the retired Itumeleng Khune.

Williams will draw level with Andre Arendse on 67 caps each should the former retain his position against Canada on Sunday, when the two nations meet in the round 32 of the FIFA World Cup.

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Currently, Williams is on 66 caps, which is one behind Arendse, but Khune is far ahead on 91.

Arendse says he always knew that Williams would play many games for Bafana Bafana.

“Ronwen and I go way, way back,” Arendse tells Soccer Laduma.

“Obviously, a lot of people do know that. And, you know, I always say to people when I speak about Ronwen that I saw something in him that speaks to leadership in the game. Even when he was a young kid coming through in the development ranks (at SuperSport United).

“I always describe Ronwen’s leadership qualities as being fed by actions. When you watch Ronwen, especially now in his career, the last five years or so, when he’s been a big part of the national team, his leadership style is about actions. And people follow that. Teammates follow that,” stated Arendse.

“It’s easy to talk. It’s easy to tell people what to do. But when they see you doing it, they do it as well.

“And that for me is something that he became very good at. You can see it paying off now with the whole team dynamic and the way he’s leading the team as the last line of defence. That plays a big part in the success of our national team over the last three, four years or so.

“That’s what Ronwen has become very, very good at. Speaking about the 67 caps, in the modern game, it’s not a very difficult number to beat that. I only got my first cap at the age of 28 and went on to get 67. You know, our current crop of Bafana players are cementing themselves in the team at way, way, way younger ages than that.

“They give themselves longevity in our national team, and those kinds of numbers are easily beatable. But it takes consistency of performance; it takes consistency of form, you know, and Ronwen has shown that. I think Ronwen will go on to beat many more records in the goalkeeping department of our national team. That is something that, you know, we as supporters of the team can’t wait to see.”

The 34-year-old Williams made his national team debut in the 5-0 defeat to Brazil in 2014, but he’s turned it all around and featured prominently for Bafana Bafana over the years.

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Arendse added, “I officially retired at 42. I do believe that Ronwen can get close to that. I definitely believe that because of two things for me: Ronwen has a consistency of hard work, and he looks after himself physically. In a goalkeeping position, you have to look after yourself physically. Because the body takes a lot of pressure.

“It takes a lot of strain and stress with all the diving and the knocks. So you have to look after yourself. You have to rest well when you do get the time to rest. Ronwen is a professional and I think if he continues to do that, he’ll get there. What’s most important for me is that he remains in love with the game; then we may see Ronwen breaking records until his 40s.”

Arendse and Williams are the only goalkeepers to keep a clean sheet for Bafana Bafana in the World Cup.

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