Portal:Football in Africa/Selected biography/12

Steven Pienaar is a retired South African professional footballer. He was a captain of the South African national team. He primarily played as a winger, but also played as an attacking midfielder. Pienaar played at club level in South Africa, the Netherlands, Germany, and England for Ajax Cape Town, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland and Bidvest Wits. Pienaar is currently serving as an international ambassador at former club Everton.

Pienaar began his professional career at Ajax Cape Town, some 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) away from his home in Johannesburg. He was brought to the attention of Ajax CT whilst playing for the School of Excellence and was asked to join their youth academy. At the age 18, he moved to the Netherlands to join Ajax in January 2001 but did not make his Eredivisie début until 24 February 2002 – in 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.

In January 2006, German club Borussia Dortmund signed Pienaar on a three-year contract from Ajax. Seen as a replacement for Arsenal-bound Tomáš Rosický, Pienaar's first year with Borussia Dortmund saw him receive the number 10 shirt vacated by the Czech playmaker. Pienaar struggled at Dortmund and never felt truly accepted by the other players at the club. He then joined Everton on loan for 2007–08 and later signed a three-year contract from Dortmund for a pre-agreed fee of £2 million after payment of an initial loan fee of £350,000 in April 2008.

In January 2011, both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur had bids accepted to buy Pienaar from Everton before the South African joined Spurs for a fee of £3 million on a four-year contract. His spell at Tottenham was characterised by persistent injuries and not much impact in games which resulted him rarely featuring in the team. Late on transfer deadline day in January 2012, Pienaar completed a return to Everton on a six-month loan deal. A permanent transfer was agreed in July 2012, with Everton paying Tottenham Hotspur a fee of £4.5 million. On 19 August 2016, Pienaar signed a one-year contract with Sunderland before returning to South Africa, signing a one-year deal with Bidvest Wits in July 2017. He was released six months later and retired from professional football in March 2018.