It’s over, but Pienaar has no regrets

Pienaar returned to South Africa this weekend for his annual tournament in his home suburb of Westbury, the Steven Pienaar Community Cup.

The 36-year-old landed in the country on Saturday morning after completing a two-week course in Ireland, where he received his Uefa A and B coaching badges.

“My fairy tale worked out, to come back home and finish my career in South Africa,” said Pienaar on his time at the Clever Boys, for whom he made just 11 appearances after joining ahead of the 2017/18 campaign.

“It didn’t all work out the way I wanted, there were a lot of obstacles in the way, but as a person you have to deal with that, and I think I dealt with it quite well. For me a dream came true to start and finish my career here.”

READ: Pienaar reveals why he retired from Bafana

Having spent the better part of his career in Europe, at Ajax Amsterdam, Borussia Dortmund, Everton, Tottenham and Sunderland, Pienaar admitted that the contrast in professionalism between European and South African clubs was bigger than he expected.

“It was totally the opposite of what I had been used to for the last 17 years,” said Pienaar.

“It was a shock to the system, but again as a professional you have to deal with it. There were times when I thought why am I still doing this? I could be spending more time with my kids.

“I kind of expected it, but I didn’t know it would be that extreme.”

When asked if he felt the lack of professionalism at clubs was holding back South African players, Pienaar responded: “It definitely is, as a player you are an investment for a club, not a slave. I think if they can start changing that, if they can see players as an investment, it will change.”

Pienaar, meanwhile, was in the company of some other famous former players in Ireland while doing his badges.

“There were a lot of guys, there was my former team-mate Joeleon Lescott, Ricardo Carvalho, Tiago Mendes, and to sit with these guys with all this knowledge and talk about football, it was a great week,” said Pienaar.

READ: Social media pays tribute to Steven Pienaar following retirement

“It was the Uefa B and A badges all in one go in two long weeks … if I ever want to come back and help with the kids here in Westbury, I need something to say I am an official coach.”

The former Bafana Bafana captain, however, does not, at the moment, want to go into professional coaching.

“I don’t see myself going into (professional) coaching … I have been involved in my community and want to give back to my community. If I have to come back and start coaching clinics here it will be something great. That is why I took the initiative to go for these badges.”

Pienaar, meanwhile, will be a keen observer of the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia, and says he would pick Argentina to win it, though he was speaking before their 1-1 draw with Iceland on Saturday afternoon.

“I have always supported Argentina at all World Cups, so I will go with them again, I think they have a big chance. For Argentina in general it will be great for them if they can win it, and for (Lionel) Messi, it is the only trophy he is missing.”