Where is former Bafana legend Steven Pienaar?

Few Bafana Bafana stars have had a more eventful career than Steven Pienaar.

Hailing from the City of Gold, Johannesburg, the attacking midfielder flaunted his craft across the globe like any proud jeweller would, from South Africa to Germany to England.

Pienaar has played on the world’s biggest stages – Champions League, Premier League, Bundesliga, World Cup – becoming an ambassador for South African soccer at major clubs like Borussia Dortmund, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.

So, where is the Bafana legend now?

From player to coach

The 42-year-old has taken to the whistle, becoming a youth coach at United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah FC following stints at SV Robinhood and Ajax – Pienaar is also an international ambassador for Merseyside’s Everton.

Former Cape Town City coach Moritz Kossmann paid homage to Pienaar’s brilliance, saying, “What needs to go with it is an ambition to want to go to Europe, because you can earn fantastic money at the highest part of the PSL as well,

“But if we are going to move forward in the global picture, I think we need the next Steven Pienaar, the next Benni McCarthy, the next Shoes Moshoeu, the next Steve Komphela or Sibusiso Zuma in Europe.

“Because for every single one of those guys that does something good at a good level there, the next one becomes so much easier.

“And I think for every single one that does it, the way gets easier for the next one, and the next one and the next one. And we need our players to compete at the highest level that is possible. And taking the emotion out of it, the highest level possible is the big five leagues in Europe and being exposed to European competition.”