Pienaar set to retire in blaze of glory

STEVEN Pienaar has spent the last six months thinking about his future, not just life after Everton, but football in general, as he feels that he has “maybe two more years” to get out of his injury-prone 34-year-old body. Once it was evident that an almost decade-long love affair with Everton and the city of Liverpool would end this month, Pienaar started thinking about his next chapter. Something he has been asked about a lot.

He showed how often the subject has come up yesterday in Westbury, when he answered every question about his future with caution, as if rehearsed, regardless of how it was fielded.

The former Bafana Bafana captain has three options – get one last big pay cheque in China, where there was interest in February, go to his second home in the Netherlands, where he made his big European break in 2001, or end it where it all started – in South Africa.

“I knew from January what was going to happen (regarding my time at Everton),” Pienaar said.

“That’s why I haven’t complained (like the other two players who were also released, Leon Osman and Tony Hibbert).

“I told myself then that if I got an opportunity to come back home, I would do it. It wasn’t a surprise when I heard that they were releasing me. I am not looking for much in my next club. I just want to play football. I’ve got maybe two years left in me. If I can play week in, week out, then that’s something I would be happy about.

‘But there are a lot of things to consider before I choose my next club, mainly my family. If they want to move or not, that’s the most important thing. If they say no, then it’s no. Holland is my second home, but my mom is here.

“I would love to finish my career in South Africa, but I haven’t received any offers. I am just enjoying my holiday.”

Part of his holiday includes organising the annual Steven Pienaar Community Tourna- ment held where he was born, in Westbury, a gang-ridden township that he managed to escape through football when he joined the School of Excellence. The winners will be crowned today, giving Pienaar more free time to continue training on his own, like he has done in the last three weeks, so he can join his new club fit.

“I have been injury-free since October. In the game sometimes bad stuff happens. You don’t get along with some people; they say I am injured when I am not,” Pienaar said.

It has been reported that Mamelodi Sundowns are among the clubs after Pienaar’s signature, which he says there is no truth to, because he hasn’t spoken to any club in the country.

He said in the past that one of his dreams was to play in the Soweto Derby, possible for Orlando Pirates, whom he grew up supporting. The 34-year-old was coy when asked about where his heart was leaning, but spoke clearly about the steps he would take after he hangs up his boots.

“I have other things lined up, personal things that I do,” Pienaar said. “I might consider going into coaching. It has been crossing my mind for the last year.

“But I don’t want to force myself into it. I want to take my time. That’s how I want to do things. You think about life after football every day. You have to have something planned, what you are going to do.

“I have done everything that I had to do in my career. I have played in different countries and in big leagues. When I look back, I am happy with what I have achieved. I don’t have any regrets. A PSL league medal would be nice to add to my cabinet. I lost in the semi-finals of the FA Cup in England. That’s the only disappointment.”