Former Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar has revealed he has aspirations to one day manage at Goodison Park.
The South African was a huge fan favourite during his time at Goodison Park after arriving from Borussia Dortmund for €2.75m in 2008.
He racked up over 200 appearances over two spells, scoring 26 goals and registering 49 assists, and was a key player during David Moyes later years in charge.
He remains popular among the Everton fan base to this day, with many putting him up there with the club’s best signings in the last 20 years.
After retiring in 2018, he has moved into the coaching side of the game and is currently an assistant coach with Robinhood 1, who play in the Dutch fourth grade E, as well as working with Ajax Under 16s.
The ties to Everton have not been broken, though, as he was named as the Toffees first official International Ambassador nearly two years ago.
The South African, though, has admitted he is eyeing up the top job at Goodison Park in future.
“My dreams are about being the head coach at my favourite clubs Ajax and Everton, but I will always follow these guys from Robinhood,” he told Destenor in a piece about his work at the Dutch side.
And while it’s unlikely to happen any time soon, who’s to say that we couldn’t see Pienaar as Everton manager in future?
There’s definitely been an increase in former players managing their clubs, irrespective of qualifications in recent years, with the likes of Mikel Arteta and Ole Gunnar Solskjær a case in point.
Clubs are increasingly looking for managers who have a connection and understand the club and perhaps at some point in the future, Pienaar will be that man at Everton.
