FILE: Itumeleng Khune offered a young Ronwen Williams plenty of advice during his early years with Bafana Bafana.
Being captain of your club and country while minding the posts is not for the faint of heart. It requires an individual who is not only blessed with an abundance of skill, but also the mental fortitude to deal with all the intense pressures associated with leadership.
For many years, that heavy triple responsibility belonged to Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs legendary goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, who earned 91 national team caps during a glittering international career between 2008 and 2020.
However, it was towards the end of his celebrated tenure that Khune came into close contact with the current Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns captain, and the nation’s incumbent No. 1, Ronwen Williams. Even during those early years, Khune identified that Williams possessed both the talent and maturity to be his long-term successor, utilising a tough-love approach to get the best out of the Gqeberha-born shot-stopper.
“I remember when we used to share a room at Bafana, I once told him that we are not here to nurse each other's feelings; we are not here to be friends,” Khune told the media at the Carling Black Label Fifa World Cup ‘We Are The Champions’ launch in Johannesburg.
