Steven Pienaar "still our boy'

From growing up in a violent neighbourhood, playing soccer on dusty streets and in dark parking lots until late at night, to living large in Liverpool, Bafana Bafana player Steven Pienaar has not changed one bit.

His friends in the Johannesburg township of Westbury spoke yesterday about how they are still mates with the Everton player who remains a "humble guy".

The Times visited 28-year-old Pienaar's mother, Denise, yesterday.

She said she was excited to have him back in South Africa. It was a chance to spend time with the son she doesn't get to see as often as she would like.

"I never thought he was going to be a superstar. He always used to play soccer in the streets with friends and have all these matches. One day he invited me to a match and I found myself screaming when he scored a goal," she said.

"Now it's all like a dream for me, seeing him on TV playing for big teams. I am so proud of him."

When The Times arrived at the house, Pienaar's youngest brother, Kelvin, was washing his mother's car - fully kitted in Bafana gear.

The unemployed 22-year-old lived with Pienaar in Liverpool, where he was studying music, until September, when his student visa expired.

"My brother and I are very close. We talk all the time, but it was nice seeing him again," said Kelvin.

Tuesday was the first time Pienaar had a chance to visit his family since returning from England.

The family home is decorated with posters, photographs and awards that Pienaar has received since he started playing soccer at the School of Excellence at the age of 12. The house, in the Roodepoort suburb of Florida Park, was his gift to his mother six years ago. Before then, he had moved his mother and three siblings from Westbury to Triomf.

Denise said: "I miss him so much when he is not here. I pray for him to be well always. I'm glad we have him for this World Cup, plus I get to see his other baby and his girlfriend."

Pienaar has a two-year-old daughter, Skyla, by his first girlfriend, Danielle Steeneveld. Whenever he is in South Africa he spends as much time as he can with her.

His Dutch girlfriend, whom his mother would not name, recently gave birth to his second child.

Pienaar is spoiling his mother and other relatives, who live in the family's old Westbury flat, with tickets to the opening match.

Denise said she will be there to support him during most matches.

His cousin, Michelle, 15, said it was a privilege to be related to the famous footballer: "My friends ask me about him all the time."

Denise, whose church is praying for her son on Sunday, dispatched Kelvin to take The Times on a tour of their old neighbourhood.

In Westbury, infamous for its violent gangs, one of Pienaar's old friends, Kevin Jacobs, reminisced about the times when they "chilled" with Pienaar at the corner shop, "talking about boys' stuff, and girls, and playing soccer all the time".

"I want him to do the nation proud," Jacobs said.

Another old friend, Shannon Martins, said: "He's still our boy."

Martins said the group of old friends will watch all the Bafana matches on TV at their old hangout - a house nearby.

"We are a community that is always behind him," he said.

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