Ultimate Barclaysmen: Steven Pienaar - the tricky South African winger who fly-kicked burglars in his underwear & became an Everton cult hero

Raised in Westbury on the outskirts of Johannesburg, Pienaar turned to football to escape the horrors that surrounded him in a notorious crime-riddled area. Even watching television was a potentially deadly scenario for him.

"There were some rough areas in and around Johannesburg, but it had to be one of the roughest. It is hard to describe just how bad it was, because gang violence, drug dealing and shootings were everywhere," he said of Westbury. "One thing that sticks in my mind is watching television sitting on the floor. We had a couch, but I wasn’t allowed on it, because you never knew when a bullet was going to come flying in through the window. If you were on the floor, you were below the level of the glass and safe. If you were on the couch, you were taking your life in your hands, and there were stories of people who had been hit by stray bullets."

Luckily, he had the talent to escape, earning a professional contract with Ajax Cape Town. He spent just two years there as a fledgling winger before Dutch giants Ajax snapped him up in January 2001. It was a whole year before he made his Eredivisie debut for the Amsterdam side, less than a month before his 20th birthday. Pienaar made just eight appearances as Ajax went on to lift the Eredivisie crown that season, but he impressed enough to become a first-team regular the following year. He went on to make 133 appearances overall for the Dutch side, going on to win a second league title and the KNVB Beker before Borussia Dortmund signed him in 2006.

Life at Dortmund under Bert van Marwijk - and latterly Thomas Doll - was hardly smooth sailing. The club were far from the days of challenging for Bundesliga and Champions League crowns under Jurgen Klopp, who wouldn't take charge for another two years. Pienaar was hardly a failure at the German club but found himself surplus to requirements after Van Marwijk's sacking and was loaned to Everton after one season, starting the winger's Barclays career before he joined on a long-term deal.

It took a few weeks for the new Everton signing to earn his place in David Moyes' starting XI, but he announced himself properly to the Toffees faithful in his third Premier League start against Middlesbrough. The South African received a pass on the edge of the box and flicked it wide to Mikel Arteta before drifting into space to receive the ball back and diverting into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.

Once up and running on Merseyside, Pienaar became a standout in the Premier League for his cute skills, neat goals and dancing celebrations. His rhythmic style made him tricky for defenders to stop and a delight for fans to watch, while his smart movement off the ball allowed him to get into dangerous positions to create plenty of highlights in his long Premier League career.

"I liked Goodison Park, even though I always felt so nervous driving there that I played gospel music in my car... I had a good partnership with Leighton Baines on the left," he said years later. "We were two honest players on one side who worked hard for each other. We’d do the dirty work, the hard work."

After his first season at Goodison Park, he continued to develop into a proper fan favourite. He set up and scored winning goals against Bolton and Tottenham respectively in the 2008-09 campaign and masterminded a 2-0 win against Sunderland by netting one and assisting the other after earning a draw with another strike in a 3-3 draw with Aston Villa. He ended the campaign with three goals and seven assists, helping Everton to a second consecutive fifth-placed finish in the Premier League.

“Before I came to England I was a bit of a ‘lazy’ player," he said later. "I was at Ajax six years and just played in an attacking way, but once I got to Everton I had to change my work ethic, learn to track back, and it has made me a better player."

Eventually, it was clear Pienaar was worthy of a step up and there was plenty of interest further south. Chelsea were keen, but Tottenham came calling, too, and after some prayer and reflection, he joined Spurs for as little as £3 million in January 2011, teaming up with the likes of Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, William Gallas, Jermain Defoe and former Ajax team-mate Rafael van der Vaart in Harry Redknapp's team.

"It wasn't about the money, it was about ambition," he said. "We want to fight and to play every game at the highest level and play in the Champions League and that's what I want every season, and that's why I made the decision to join Spurs."

He added: "Looking from the outside, you can see the attacking football Spurs play, it is in a different class, making you sit on the edge of your seat. Everyone can see they are a club on the up, always fighting for a place in the top four and the Champions League... I asked a lot of people, and some were telling me to join Chelsea or go to Spain, but I prayed and followed my heart. Time will tell if it is the best decision, and if I fail, I will take the responsibility."

In hindsight, it was not the best decision. His time at White Hart Lane was a disaster as he made just 10 Premier League appearances and was loaned back to Everton just a year after his departure before returning on a permanent deal.

Some say that in football you should never go back, but it worked out well for the South African. He enjoyed his most prolific season in the Premier League in 2012-13, netting six goals and setting up six more - including a late equaliser as they beat Tottenham 2-1. A few weeks later, he got a goal and assist in a 2-1 win against West Ham and Everton finished sixth in the table.

Pienaar may not be one of the first names that come to mind when considering heroes of that Premier League era, but he made quite an impression, most notably on many of his fellow professionals. Indeed, ex-Manchester United and Sunderland full-back Phil Bardsley was wowed by him.

“Obviously the game changed and formations changed and typically, when I first started playing probably towards halfway through my career, you were up against a rigid 4-4-2 and you were up against a left winger," Bardsley said.

"And that changed with Steven Pienaar at Everton and Leighton Baines down the left-hand side. People talk about opponents, but Pienaar was one of the hardest opponents I've ever had. He’d just drag you into places. He was, like, a No.10 playing in off the left. He’d drag you into places where you think ‘should I go tight, should have stayed in a position’. People like Pienaar and [Eden] Hazard."

It's easy to forget just how good his partnership with Baines down Everton's left wing was, but for Moyes it was pivotal in his team's ability to upset the big boys as they challenged for a place in European football despite their small budget in comparison to their rivals.

"We found that we always wanted Pienaar to lock on and encourage the full-back to follow him in," Moyes said. "If the full-back chose not to come, we were happy for the combination between Baines and Pienaar to get on the ball. Quite often we sucked a full-back out, and as I said earlier these two had an incredible ability to get the ball back to each other."

He was a silent leader, too, with then-team-mate Phil Jagielka explaining how Everton players would look to him, and Baines, for a spark when things weren't going to plan. He said: "You can maybe count on the fingers on one hand how many bad games Steven's had, or not being up to scratch for his standard.

"We rely so heavily on him and [Baines], it's the first place you look to when we don't play well... He doesn't hide, so sometimes that off-day can become worse because he keeps getting the ball, but that shows what kind of character he is."

Pienaar's second spell at Everton lasted four-and-a-half years, ending in 2016 at the age of 34 when he then reunited with Moyes for one season at Sunderland. It was a dismal campaign as they finished bottom of the Premier League.

His deal was not extended and Pienaar went back to his homeland to spend a campaign with Bidvest Wits, where he won the South African Cup before finally hanging up his boots.

The winger bowed out of the game as a 62-time South Africa international, a two-time Eredivisie champion and a beloved hero in the hearts and minds of Everton supporters.

Even the way he ended his career was unorthodox, as it came the day after he had to tackle a burglar in his house.

"I actually announced my retirement on live TV. I don’t know if I made the right decision," he told The Athletic. "I went to Bidvest because it was close to my family in Johannesburg. I wanted to play without pressure but things didn’t work out the way I wanted.

"The hunger wasn’t there anymore. I regret the move to Bidvest – I think the other players enjoyed it more than me. After, I could have gone to Ajax Cape Town and helped the younger players there. I was talking to the manager, Benni McCarthy, but I was unsure about moving away from Johannesburg. I was asked about my future on TV and announced that I was quitting. My head wasn’t in the best place.

"Maybe because, the night before, I tackled a robber in my house. We had been robbed a few months before when the alarm had gone off with my family in the house — I didn’t realise we had been broken into until I noticed the television was missing. The kids were in shock. We decided to move to Holland and were in the process of packing. Then, the night before I went on TV, the alarm went off again. I jumped out of bed in my underwear and saw a man walking off with my new TV.

"I thought: 'Are you taking the piss, walking off with my TV as if it’s a normal thing to do?' I fly-kicked him and the TV fell on the floor. Me and him wrestled and exchanged blows. He was getting nervous. Now it was his time to be in shock at 2am. I was tired of getting robbed and put him down. The man shouted: 'I’ll shoot you!' and I thought: 'What if he does have a gun?' He ran off outside. I tried to follow but went back to my house, got into my car and drove around trying to find him again but he had disappeared."

Pienaar later returned to Netherlands and started coaching at amateur level before joining Ajax's youth academy as a coach. He spent a total of six years in the club's world famous academy and went on to become the Under-18s assistant manager but left in 2024 to take up a role as a youth coach with a club in the United Arab Emirates.

Despite admitting that he didn't like coaching when he first started because of the long hours, Pienaar seems to see his long-term future in the game, though it remains to be seen if he will go on to become a head coach or take on another background role at senior level.

Having grown up in poverty, Pienaar was heavily involved in social matters during his career and that continued after his retirement as he organised football tournaments for children in his home neighbourhood.

He also kept close ties with Everton as the Merseyside team named him an international ambassador, a role that saw him lead coaching sessions for refugees and asylum seekers.

"Football is a special sport which brings people together – whatever problems you are having in your life they all seem to go away when you get on to the pitch," Pienaar explained in 2018.

"I was born in apartheid South Africa and I know how sport, including football, can help to bring people together and break down barriers. I’ve been in that situation and I’ve always wanted to get involved with the community."

His career may not have been filled with trophies and glamour, but the attacker won many fans over with his excellent spells in Netherlands and England.

Everton fans continue to cherish the exciting winger who made 229 appearances and scored 26 times in all competitions for the Toffees, helping them to the FA Cup final in 2009. He was South Africa's Player of the Year that campaign and was then named Everton's best player the following season.

His time with Tottenham and Sunderland may have been forgettable, but the Bafana Bafana favourite did enough in the Premier League to earn his place as a hero to many.

And he remains fondly remembered in his homeland, having represented his national team in an Africa Cup of Nations, Confederations Cup and then the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.