Steven Pienaar

Ajax Cape Town

Pienaar was born in Johannesburg. He started his professional career at Ajax Cape Town, some 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) away from his hometown. He was brought to the attention of Ajax CT whilst playing for the School of Excellence and was asked to join their youth academy. Pienaar said, "I was very fortunate to go to the School of Excellence 2000, to be able to polish the technique and the talent that God gave me and to learn how to use it in the way that God had wanted me to." "I was fortunate to work with the Dutch coach Leo van Veen, who helped me at Ajax Cape Town... He appreciated the way I played but at the same time he changed my mentality. He taught me how to prepare for games, not just playing to please the crowd but also how to play for the team." At Ajax Cape Town, he won the Rothman's Cup after beating Orlando Pirates 4–1 in the final on 13 December 2000, his final game for the club.

Ajax

At the age of 18, Pienaar was brought over to the Netherlands in January 2001 but did not make his Eredivisie debut until 24 February 2002, a 1–0 victory over NAC Breda. He became a pivotal member of the Ajax team that won the Dutch League in 2002 and 2004, shining as one of Ajax's best players alongside Zlatan Ibrahimović, Maxwell, Cristian Chivu, Mido, Nigel de Jong, Rafael van der Vaart, and Wesley Sneijder, as well as future Everton teammates John Heitinga and Andy van der Meyde.

Borussia Dortmund

In January 2006, German club…

A former under-17 international, Pienaar made his international debut for South Africa in a 2–0 win against Turkey in 2002. He earned 61 caps and scored three goals over the course of his international career. Pienaar participated at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups, the latter on home soil. On 2 October 2012, Pienaar announced his retirement from international duties.

After retiring, Pienaar began coaching at Dutch amateur club SV Robinhood under head coach Nana Tutu, who formerly worked for AFC Ajax to help African players in the club. In September 2019, he completed his UEFA A Licence and in December 2019, Pienaar returned to AFC Ajax as a Trainee Coach.

Pienaar is from the mixed-race South African community known as Coloureds. He is commonly referred to by his nickname "Schillo" in South Africa, a childhood nickname given to him by friends after the exploits of Totò Schillaci during the 1990 World Cup.

Controversy

Pienaar's ex-girlfriend Danielle Steeneveld attempted to sue Pienaar for ZAR10.8million in August 2009 for not marrying her. Pienaar was charged with drunk-driving and failure to comply with a traffic sign in central Liverpool in February 2010. He was subsequently found guilty of driving whilst under the influence of alcohol and was banned from driving for 12 months. In April 2012, a warrant was issued for Pienaar's arrest after he failed to appear before Chelmsford Magistrate's court on two counts of speeding.

Advertising

In the run up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Pienaar was involved in a high-profile Adidas sportswear advertising campaign.