Johannesburg – Steven Pienaar has spent the past six months thinking about his future, not just life after Everton but football in general, as he feels he has “maybe two more years” to get out of his injury-prone 34-year-old body.
Once it became evident that his 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.
Yesterday in Westbury he showed how often the subject had come up 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,” he added, referring to the other two players who have been released, Leon Oman and Tony Hibbert.
“I told myself then that if I get an opportunity to come back home, I will do it.
“It wasn’t a surprise when I heard that they’re 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 Tournament, held where he was born, in Westbury, Joburg, a gang-ridden township that he escaped from 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, as he has been doing in the past three weeks so he can join his new club fit.
“I have been injury-free since October, but 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 looking for his signature. But Pienaar he says there is no truth in this – he hasn’t spoken to any club here.
He has said that one of his dreams is to play in the Soweto Derby, possibly for Orlando Pirates, whom he grew up supporting.
He was coy when asked about the direction in which his heart was leaning, but was clear about the steps he would be following once he hung up his boots.
“I have other things lined up, personal things I do,” Pienaar said.
“I may consider going into coaching. It has been crossing my mind for the past year. But I don’t want to force myself into it. I want to take my time.“You think about life after football every day. You have to have something planned, what you are going to do.
“I have done everything I have 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.”