Tuesday 20 May 2014

BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRO-SOUTH AFRICAN " STEVEN JEROME PIENAAR " IS A SOUTH AFRICAN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER WHO PLAYED FOR ENGLISH PREMIER CLUBS AND WAS CAPTAIN OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL TEAM UNTIL OCTOBER 2012 : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                            BLACK               SOCIAL              HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Steven Jerome Pienaar (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈsti.vən ˈpi.nɑːr]; born 17 March 1982) is a South African professionalfootballer who plays for English club Everton and was captain of the South African national team until October 2012. He primarily plays as a winger. He can play on either the right or left wing and as an attacking midfielder. Pienaar has previously played forAjax Cape Town, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur.

Career

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 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.
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."[4] "I was fortunate to work with the Dutch coachLeo 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."[4]
At Ajax Cape Town he won the Rothman's Cup beating Orlando Pirates 4–1 in the final on 13 December 2000, in what was to be his final game for the club.[5]

Pienaar with Ajax

Ajax

Aged 18, he was brought over to the Netherlands in January 2001 but did not make hisEredivisie 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. Pienaar shone as one of Ajax's best players alongside stars such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Maxwell,Cristian Chivu, Mido, Nigel de Jong, Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and future Everton team-mate John Heitinga. Andy van der Meyde, who had a forgettable stint at Goodison Park, was also in that squad.

Pienaar with Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund

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.[6]

Everton

Pienaar 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.[7] Pienaar made his debut for Everton in a 2–1 home victory over Wigan Athletic on 11 August 2007, replacing Leon Osman in the 73rd minute as a substitute.[8] Pienaar scored his first Everton goal in a 2–0 home victory over Middlesbrough on 30 September.[9] He produced some stand out performances and this led to many clubs showing interest in him.
Despite missing eleven games through injury, Pienaar was named Everton's Player of the Season for 2009–10.[2]

Tottenham Hotspur

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.[10] He made his Tottenham debut in a 1–1 draw away to Newcastle United.[11] In August 2011, Pienaar suffered a groin injury, which ruled him out for six weeks.[12] Pienaar scored his first goal for Tottenham in a 4–0 victory over Shamrock Rovers in the Europa League on 15 December.[13]
Pienaar's spell at Tottenham was characterised by persistent injuries and not much impact in games which resulted him rarely featuring in the team.[14]

Return to Everton

Late on transfer deadline day in January 2012, Pienaar completed a return to Everton on a six-month loan deal.[15] He made his second debut for the club in a 1–1 draw away toWigan Athletic,[16] and scored his first goal of his loan spell with opener in a 2–0 win over Chelsea a week later.[17] Pienaar finished the season by scoring against Newcastle United, stating in a post-match interview his wish to rejoin Everton. Despite only playing in 14 games, and being cup-tied from the FA Cup, Pienaar finished his spell with six assists, the most of anyone at Everton for the season.[18] He also scored four goals, which is his joint-best tally in the league out of his five seasons with the club.[19]
A permanent transfer was agreed in July 2012, with Everton paying Tottenham Hotspur a fee of £4.5 million.[20] On 25 August 2012, he scored his first goal since signing permanently, opening the scoring in a 3–1 away win against Aston Villa.[21] On 9 December, Pienaar scored a powerful header against former club Tottenham Hotspur, Everton's 1,000th goal in the Premier League, as they came from a goal down to win 2–1 at Goodison.[22] Pienaar was sent off for two bookable offences twice during the season, againstQueens Park Rangers and Manchester City. Everton drew 1–1 against QPR and beat City 2–0.[23][24] Pienaar finished the season with seven goals, the joint most he has ever scored in a season with Everton. In October, Pienaar returned from a hamstring injury suffered two months earlier as he came on as a substitute against Hull City and scored the winning goal just 10 seconds later.[25][26]

International career

A former under-17 international,[3] he made his international debut for South African national side in a 2–0 win against Turkey in 2002 and has since accumulated 61 caps and scored three goals. He participated at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups.[27]
On 2 October 2012, he announced his retirement from international duties.[28][29]

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
13 July 2004Johannesburg, South Africa Burkina Faso1–02–02006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
226 March 2005Johannesburg, South Africa Uganda2–12–12006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
39 February 2011Rustenburg, South Africa Kenya2–02–0International friendly

Career statistics

As of match played 11 May 2014.
ClubSeasonLeagueCupLeague CupContinentalOther[30]Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ajax Cape Town1999–20001350000––135
2000–011110000––111
Total2460000––246
Ajax2001–028100–000081
2002–0331520–12200457
2003–0416300–5000213
2004–0524420–4011315
2005–0615200–9020262
Total941540–3023113118
Borussia Dortmund2006–0725020000000270
Total25020000000270
Everton (loan)2007–0828210308000402
Everton2008–0928260001000352
2009–1030420006300387
2010–1118100200000201
Total104990501530013312
Tottenham Hotspur2010–118010002000110
2011–12202000310071
Total10030005100181
Everton (loan)2011–12144––––144
Everton2012–1335641100000407
2013–1423120000000251
Total7211611000007912
Career total32941241605063141249

Personal life

Pienaar is a Christian. He grew up with his mother Denise and two sisters and one brother in Westbury, a township on the outskirts of Johannesburg during the apartheid era. He was once beaten up in a neighbouring white Township of Triomf and also lost a childhood friend, who was killed by a bullet. Both incidents were because of one's colour. Pienaar was also shot with daisy guns.[31]
As a child, Pienaar watched TV while sitting on the floor at his home in Westbury, where he was not allowed to sit on the couch for his mother's fear of him being shot.[31]
Pienaar's home was broken into while he was playing for Everton in Europe. Police were called to the mansion on Woolton Road, in the early hours of the morning.[citation needed]
Pienaar is commonly referred to by his nickname "Schillo"[32] in South Africa, a childhood nickname given to him by friends after the exploits of Totò Schillaci during the 1990 World Cup.[33]

Controversy

Pienaar's ex-girlfriend Danielle Steeneveld attempted to sue Pienaar for ZAR10.8million in August 2009 for not marrying her.[34][35] Steeneveld, the mother of Pienaar's daughter Skyla, claimed that Pienaar broke a promise to wed and ended their two-year relationship "without just cause", she also claimed that Pienaar took away her contraception so she would become pregnant and that her reputation has been tarnished as she is an unmarried mother and "emotionally traumatised".[35][36][36][37] The case was later dismissed.[31]
Of the claims, Pienaar said: "My faith is really strong and helps me in difficult times, like when my little girl Skyla’s mother started making up these stories about me after we broke up. If people wanted to believe them, fine. I kept quiet, because it was someone looking for attention, and I was not going to get drawn into her games."[31]
Pienaar was charged with drunk-driving and failure to comply with a traffic sign in central Liverpool during February 2010.[38] He was subsequently found guilty of driving whilst under the influence of alcohol, and banned from driving for 12 months.[39]
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.[40]

Advertising

In the run up to the 2010 World Cup, Pienaar was involved in a high-profile adidas sportswear advertising campaign.[41]

Honours

Club

Ajax Cape Town
Ajax Amsterdam

Individual

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