Former defender now logistics officer at IT company

The Windhoek-born star bounced back from what looked like a career-ending leg injury, to go on and captain the Brave Warriors.Pienaar, who played for Ramblers at the time, was attending trials overseas at FC Winterthur in the Swiss Super League, when he was called up by the national team after former Kaizer Chiefs star Mohammed 'Slice' Ouseb was injured during training and a replacement was urgently needed for their crunch match away to Swaziland.Ramblers initially refused to call him back, resulting in threats by the Namibia Football Association's hierarchy that failure to fly the defender back would mean that he wouldn't play for Namibia again.“I didn't have any choice but to take the 11-hour flight back to Johannesburg from Switzerland. I spent a further two hours in transit at the O. R. Tambo International Airport before I finally flew to Swaziland. I was told on my arrival that I wouldn't be in the starting 11.“However, I was shocked back to reality when my name was called in the starting line-up. I didn't enjoy sufficient rest because of my overnight flight and, to make matters worse, I broke my leg only 24 minutes into the match.”Pienaar started playing street football while still at MH Greeff Primary School in Khomasdal, before he joined his childhood friends from Damara location in Katutura to form a team they dubbed Charlton Forrest.Forrest played most of their matches on the gravel football field behind Auas Primary School, but soon the team joined the Khomas third division, under the auspices of the NFA, playing against the likes of SKW and NamPol.“Playing for Charlton Forrest was a very interesting period in my development as a footballer. I even became a very prominent player of my school team at Augustineum Secondary School, who were a force to be reckoned with in the Coca-Cola Schools Championships.“I can say that I am a born leader because I have been captain of my team, as well as the school team and I would later captain Ramblers, Orlando Pirates as well as the national team. I started off as a winger before I was converted into a defender at the national team.”Pienaar was soon recruited by Mario Carrera to join the now-defunct Portuguese outfit, African Latinos, together with other talented young players like the late Lucas Orr, Nico Nicodemus and Patrick Mokotwane, who went on to star for Civics in the Namibia Premier League.He soon found himself in Rambler's colours while still at high school but later decided to join Pirates, the team for which his father, Michael Pienaar, scored a lot of goals during his heyday, after he finished Grade 12 in 1999.He admits that his father played a role in his decision to join the Katutura Sea Robbers.His time with Pirates was, however, short-lived when he returned to Ramblers out of frustration after they refused to clear him to join South African first division club FC Fortune.His wish to play in South Africa finally came true after he and former Black Africa striker George 'Bizzah' Dlamini were signed to play in South Africa for one season in 1998.“Unfortunately, our time with Fortune FC was short-lived but I certainly learnt a lot from coach Collin Gie, who was a star player with Hellenic during his exceptional playing career in the South African premier soccer league.“Returning to Ramblers turned out to be good omen because it presented me with the opportunity to win my only silverware in Namibian football, after we defeated Black Africa in the final of the NFA Cup in 2005.”Pienaar, who was also a formidable sprinter during his school days, also excelled in long jump and high-jump, and soon attracted the attention of another South African club.He was in South Africa with the Brave Warriors for the Cosafa Cup when PSL outfit Free State Stars convinced him and fellow defender Steven 'Power' Goagab to sign on the dotted line for the Bethlehem-based outfit.The two were immediately loaned out to National first division outfit Carara Kicks, who served as a feeder team for Free State Stars, when they were in the PSL.Carara did well, with Pienaar wearing the captain's armband to reach the promotion play-offs against Jomo Cosmos, only to be ousted by Jomo Sono's team after the second-leg.The retired star married Jacqueline Pienaar, the mother of two of his three children (a boy and a girl), his third child (a boy) is from a previous relationship. He is employed as a logistics officer at Silnam IT Solutions, which specialises in providing ICT solutions, services and building capacity of local resources.“I am now working at this company for 10 years, and I am still enjoying every single moment of my time here.“My duties entail listing every car or computer the company buys on the system, and I also assist the finance administrator. I work under the finance lady, and I have to deliver the invoices to some of our clients that we can't reach via email, while I am also responsible for the maintenance of the cars. I must see to it that all the company cars are serviced on time.”Apart from delivering orders to clients, he is also the link between his colleagues and the office, after many have been working from home since the start of the Covid-19.The former-flying winger says although he has the reassurance of a salary every month, he does not rely solely on his salary “because things have become expensive and I always make sure to do something extra to earn those few extra cents.”He admits that he misses the packed stadiums, especially the passionate singing of Pirates supporters, which was morale boosting.Pienaar advises today's footballers to learn from the past mistakes of their predecessors with regard to securing a comfortable life after their playing days.“As for me, I am absolutely in my element at how my life panned out. The current crop of players have the best opportunities to make a very decent living out of football. Their chances to go play in the professional leagues abroad are much bigger.“They can also enhance their income by attending life skills programmes and also learning about financial literacy, which teaches how to best invest your money for the dry days when you will no longer be playing. Vocational training is also good.”

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.