Sundowns’ Williams – ‘Emile Baron was my role model’

Ronwen Williams marked his return from injury with a clean sheet as Mamelodi Sundowns hammered Mbabane Swallows of Eswatini 4-0 in the first leg of the second preliminary round of the Caf Champions League last Saturday.

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Williams is expected to once again take up his place in goal when the Brazilians get their Betway Premiership title defence underway against city rivals SuperSport United in the Tshwane derby on Tuesday. Having spent 18 years at United before moving to Sundowns two years ago, Williams knows this fixture all too well.

Sundowns’ Williams on Baron

As he celebrates his nomination for the 2024 Ballon D’or awards, the 32-year-old revealed in an interview with Phakaaathi who he looked up to as a role model before making his name at SuperSport.

“Emile Baron was my role model because when I saw him when South Africa beat Brazil in the U-23s (at the Sydney Olympics in 2000), I thought he must be really good if he’s playing overseas,” Williams said. 

“He stood out in the Brazil game and I followed his career until he came back and it was a massive privilege for me to work with him at SuperSport. In the beginning stages at SuperSport, they used to call me Milo because of Emile and some people still call me Milo. Internationally, it was Peter Schmeichel (he looked up to) because I was a Manchester United supporter in the beginning.”

Sundowns’ Williams’ highs and lows

The Bafana Bafana captain might be in the upper echelon of world football after being named as a contender for the prestigious Yashin Trophy award alongside nine other top goalkeepers around the world. However, his international career has had its share of low moments with the most notable one being the 5-0 loss to Brazil on his debut on home soil.

“I’m just glad and happy that a fellow South African can be inspired. They must believe now that their dreams are valid. Here’s a local boy whose name is now in the top 10 of goalkeepers in the world,” Williams concluded.

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“They need to use my story from the time I had to preserve when things were not going my way. The Brazil game and the France game stand out the most and all the mistakes I’ve made but I had to keep going.” 

Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi rested the majority of his key players against Swallows. Expect him to recall some of his big names for the United game at Loftus Versveld. The last fixture between the two teams ended in a 1-1 draw earlier this year while Sundowns registered a 2-0 victory against United last November.