Williams: It would be amazing to captain SuperSport

JOHANNESBURG - SuperSport United goalkeeper Ronwen Williams admits it would be an honour to captain the club if Dean Furman was to leave at the end of the season.

Having spent four-and-a-half seasons at SuperSport, Furman, the current skipper, is in the last six months of his contract with the club, and the Bafana hardman is tossed between renewing his deal with the Pretoria-based outfit or returning to the United Kingdom, where he cut his football teeth and where his family are currently based.

The 31-year-old though was not hesitant to name his potential successor, tipping Williams to lead SuperSport with aplomb in the future, having been colossal between the sticks over the years.

You see, Furman is on to something. There’s no player that knows the ins and out of SuperSport like Williams after joining the club as a 12-year-old.

Fast forward 15 years later and Wiliams has almost done it all at SuperSport, playing an integral part as the team won the Nedbank Cup in 2016 and 2017, and the MTN8 in October.

Williams also won the PSL Goalkeeper of the Season award after inspiring Matsantsantsa to a sixth-place finish on the league standings.

Dean Furman is set to leave at the end of the season. Photo: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix

“I’ve spent all my life at this club. I know the ins and out, including everyone. It would be an amazing personal achievement for me,” Williams said.

“There’s a lot of experience in the team, but if the responsibility is given to me then I’ll gladly accept it. It’s something that I would look forward to and treasure.”

Captaining SuperSport on a fulltime basis would grow Williams’ confidence even more, for both club and country.

The fact that Williams is now Bafana Bafana’s No 1 is something that didn’t come overnight. At first, the 27-year-old keeper was rarely seen as an international player, especially after conceding five goals for the national team against Brazil in 2014.

However, the Port Elizabeth-born shot-stopper dusted himself off this year, and made a sterling contribution as Bafana reached the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.

“I’ve waited years and years for this break. I will make mistakes. This past year alone, I’ve made mistakes but the coach (Stuart Baxter) kept faith in me to improve and get better,” Williams said.

“I can see a bright future for Bafana. We’ve got a structure as a team. We are much more solid.”