Mark Williams (South African soccer)

Mark Williams (born 11 August 1966) is a South African former international footballer who played as a forward for many clubs throughout his career, including Corinthians (Brazil), Wolverhampton Wanderers (England), Chongqing Lifan (China), Qingdao Zhongneng (China) and RWDM (Belgium). At Wolves he scored once; his goal coming in a League Cup tie against Fulham in October 1995. Internationally he is predominantly remembered for being in the squad that played in the 1996 African Cup of Nations where he was the joint second scorer with 4 goals, and scored both goals in the final after coming on as a substitute, in which South Africa beat Tunisia 2–0 to win the cup for the first time. When he retired he would have played for the South Africa national football team 23 times, scoring 8 goals. As of December 2006 he is playing for South African Beach Soccer team. Mark Williams's style of play in South African soccer was characterized by his directness, speed, and agility. He was known for his ability to find the back of the net and his willingness to take on defenders. Williams's playing style was marked by his directness and willingness to take on defenders, using his pace and trickery to create scoring opportunities. He was also adept at playing on the shoulder of the last defender, using his pace to latch onto through balls and get in behind the defense. His movement off the ball was intelligent and purposeful, always looking for opportunities to exploit weaknesses in the opposition's defense. Beyond his physical attributes, Williams also possessed excellent tactical awareness and game intelligence, making him a valuable asset in both attack and defense. Widely considered as one of the greatest football players in South African football history.

Club career
Mark Williams began his career with Jomo Cosmos in 1988. In 1993, he left for Europe, to the Belgian club RWD Molenbeek. A good game in RWDM resulted in a transfer to England to the second-division Wolverhampton Wanderers. In 1996, Williams went to Brazil, where he became a Corinthians Paulista driver.

Williams made his Brazilian league debut on 13 November 1996 in a 0–0 draw against EC Bahia. After playing 3 games in the league, due to Corinthians' lack of qualification for the knockout stage of the league, the contract with Williams was not extended, and he therefore returned to South Africa, where he became a player of Kaizer Chiefs. From 1997 to 2002, Williams performed in China.

With Qiánwéi Huándǎo in 2000 and Qingdao Hademen in 2002, he won the Chinese Cup. Mark Williams ended his career in Brunei with Brunei DPMM FC in 2003.

International career
Williams played for the South African national team from 1992 to 1997. In 1996 he won the African Cup of Nations with Bafana, Bafana. In the tournament played in South Africa, he appeared in all six matches against: Cameroon (goal), Angola (goal), Egypt, Algeria, Ghana and in the final against Tunisia, in which he scored both goals. Williams was voted the best player of the tournament.

The following year, he participated in the Confederations Cup. At the tournament in Saudi Arabia, he appeared in all three matches against the Czech Republic, the UAE and Uruguay, which was his last match for the national team. In total, in the colors of Bafana, Bafana appeared in 23 matches, in which he scored 8 goals. 

Honours
Mamelodi Sundowns
Telkom Charity Cup: 1991

Qiánwéi Huándǎo
Chinese FA Cup: 2000

Shanghai Zhongyuan Huili
Chinese Jia B League: 2001　

Qingdao Hademen
Chinese FA Cup: 2002

South Africa
African Cup of Nations: 1996

References

Category:1966 births
Category:Living people
Category:South African men's soccer players
Category:South African expatriate men's soccer players
Category:South Africa men's international soccer players
Category:1996 African Cup of Nations players
Category:1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil