At the age of 18, Pienaar was brought over to the Netherlands in January 2001 but did not make his Eredivisie debut until 24 February 2002, 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, shining as one of Ajax's best players alongside Zlatan Ibrahimović, Maxwell, Cristian Chivu, Mido, Nigel de Jong, Rafael van der Vaart, and Wesley Sneijder, as well as future Everton teammates John Heitinga and Andy van der Meyde.
At the age of 18, Pienaar was brought over to the Netherlands in January 2001 but did not make his Eredivisie debut until 24 February 2002, 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, shining as one of Ajax's best players alongside Zlatan Ibrahimović, Maxwell, Cristian Chivu, Mido, Nigel de Jong, Rafael van der Vaart, and Wesley Sneijder, as well as future Everton teammates John Heitinga and Andy van der Meyde.
Steven Pienaar