Steven Pienaar pulls the strings

The playmaker wants to improve on a memorable year by helping Everton to a top four finish. Andy Mitten reports

Steven Pienaar, the Everton midfielder, was named the club's Player of the Year last season following a string of impressive performances.

Asked last week which teams other than Chelsea he felt would be a threat this season, Sir Alex Ferguson immediately identified Everton. His opinion surprised many, but Ferguson saw last season how good David Moyes's side can be when they outclassed Manchester United. Steven Pienaar, the South African playmaker, was outstanding that day and deservedly won Everton's Player of the Year award last season.

The 28-year-old from Johannesburg has enjoyed his most memorable year, not only considered Everton's best player but the biggest name for the host nation at the World Cup. Off the field, meanwhile, he recently became a father for the second time. "There's been a lot of speculation about a transfer but I've never once said that I want to leave Everton," Pienaar said softly. "I love playing for Everton. It's a great club with real tradition and history. You can see that at Goodison Park, an old stadium which is always full and where the fans really know their football. And you read about the history of the club too, the trophies and the old stars. We have a good team and the manager is a superb influence.

"I'll be honest. I have a year left on my contract. I'm happy to sign a new one, but at my age it has to be right and fair. The only difference I've had with the club has been over what's right." Everton started poorly last season before finishing very strongly. Pienaar said there was an obvious explanation and is buoyant about the new term. "We had too many injuries to key players. We just don't have the squad to deal with eight or nine important players being out. Which team does? But when players like [Marouane] Felliani, [Tim] Cahill and Mikel Arteta came back, so did the team. We beat Man United. We beat Man City away. And we were very comfortable both times. I know we're not favourites for the league, but we think a top four finish is realistic. I want to be involved in the Champions League again and I know the players are up for the challenge."

An Orlando Pirates fan as a boy, his friends called him "Schillo", a nickname that has stuck with his compatriots and which was inspired by watching Toto Schillaci, the Italian striker, on television at the 1990 World Cup. Pienaar started his professional career at Ajax Cape Town, where he impressed sufficiently to move to the mother club in Amsterdam. He starred in the team which won the Dutch Eredivisie in 2002 and 2004 alongside the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Rafael van der Vaart, Nigel de Jong, Christian Chivu, Wesley Sneijder and his Everton teammate Johnny Heitinga. Pienaar was named runner up to Van der Vaart as the best young player in Holland in 2003.

A move to Borussia Dortmund in 2006 saw him given the No 10 shirt vacated by Tomas Rosicky, the Czech playmaker who had moved to Arsenal, but Pienaar never settled in Germany. "It just didn't work out," he said. "I'm not a difficult person to deal with, but I was never made to feel welcome like at Everton. If a player is happy then he'll play well." A loan move to Everton followed in 2007/08, though Moyes had reservations about how his diminutive frame would cope with the demands of the Premier League. Creative, tireless, versatile and unselfish, such doubts quickly subsided and Pienaar's move was made permanent in a £2 million (Dh11.6m) deal in 2008.

"The tempo of the Premier League is much higher," he said, "and the style is more direct, more physical. But I could adapt." How does he describe himself? "I'm a combination player," he said, meaning he can knit moves together. "I can dribble and pass and I think I'm someone who managers want to get on the ball and make the team play." He was named South African Player of the Year in 2009 and Pienaar's profile rose further after the World Cup.

"I looked back with mixed memories," he said. "It was great for South Africa and my country proved all the doubters wrong by staging a magnificent tournament. The supporters turned up and really got behind us in wonderful stadiums. We appreciated that. "I didn't perform well in the first two group games but then I was played out of position. The team did well though and we were really unlucky not to go through to the last 16."

Off the field, Pienaar is a quiet, unassuming character. "I read the bible twice a day," he said. "That's important to me. I don't get to see my family much in South Africa because I'm away for 11 months of the year and even when I go there with South Africa, I'm in and out. So I hang out with friends in Liverpool, play dominoes or watch South African or Dutch movies. But I thank God for giving me the opportunity and this life."