West Ham United manager David Moyes spared time during the week to mentor up-and-coming South African coach Steven Pienaar.
Pienaar has confirmed that he took his coaching apprenticeship to West Ham to understudy his former Everton boss Moyes.
The former Bafana Bafana ace said he was thrilled to accompany Moyes during training for West Ham, who face Southampton on Saturday.
“Thanks, Gaffer, for allowing me to shadow the training sessions, the advice and knowledge that you shared with me#nextstep#coaching#GodisGreat,” Pienaar said.
The former Bafana Bafana star visited the Hammers a month after adding another feather to his coaching cap following his successful completion of UEFA Pro-Licence.
The soft-spoken former winger works as Ajax Amsterdam’s Under 18 assistant coach.
Ajax is the first team the now 39-year-old played for in Europe after leaving the shores of South Africa.
Pienaar and Moyes have a strong relationship from the South African’s playing days in the Premier League.
The former playmaker enjoyed his best football in the Premier League under Moyes at Everton after signing from Borussia Dortmund.
The former Ajax star used Everton as a springboard for a big-money move to Tottenham Hotspur in the year 2011.
However, he was soon back at Goodison Park after failing to find his spark at White Heart Lane.
Moyes had admitted that he took a gamble to buy back the South African when he was aged 31.
The gaffer said it was also unusual of him to sell a player at a lower fee and buy him back at a higher fee of 4.5 million pounds as he did with Pienaar.
“I was worried about it the second time around. At Everton, we have always tried to do good deals and tried to buy at the right age or certainly at the right price. We had to buy Steven back for more than we sold him, and he was a year older,” Moyes told the Daily Mail edition of 7 December 2012.
“It’s been a great deal for us, and we’ve been delighted to have him, and I’ve done many a worse deal. But at the time, it just felt as if it wasn’t lying well with me.”
The former Bafana Bafana skipper also reunited with Moyes at Sunderland before returning to South Africa for his swansong at Wits.
Pienaar called it time on his career after a stint with Bidvest Wits in 2018, saying he had lost passion for waking up early every morning to train.
RELATED STORY: Benni McCarthy’s prodigy on why he will succeed at Manchester United
