South African football talisman Steven Pienaar has come a long way since cowering on the floor of his childhood home to ensure he was not hit by a stray bullet.

He was voted Everton Player of the Year last week, testimony to accurate passing and a high work rate that triggered media speculation of a move to a Champions League club.

And after a short end-of-season break to recharge batteries drained by a punishing English season, Pienaar will join his international team-mates and Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira at their Johannesburg base.

The first World Cup hosted by Africa kicks off on June 11 with South Africa facing Mexico at the 90,000-capacity Soccer City Stadium.

Victory is vital if they are to survive a pool completed by ex-champions France and Uruguay.

And on the slender shoulders of left-side midfielder Pienaar lies a massive weight of national expectation as he is the sole South African performing regularly in a major European league.

A 20-minute drive from Soccer City lies Westbury, formerly a low-income, mixed-race suburb where gang violence, drug dealing and shooting were the order of the day.

Amid this mayhem in apartheid South Africa, Pienaar was warned by his single-parent mother never to sit on the couch when watching TV because she feared he might be shot.

"You never knew when a bullet might fly through the window. On the floor you were below the level of the glass and safe," he told reporters during one of many visits for Bafana duty.

"Sitting on the couch meant risking your life. There were many stories in Westbury of people being hit by stray bullets. It is calmer there now than when I was growing up."

Pienaar credits his mother for a journey that took him from the narrow, mean streets of the western Johannesburg suburb to Goodison Park via a Johannesburg football academy, Ajax Cape Town, Ajax Amsterdam and Borussia Dortmund.

She persuaded her son to enrol at the School of Excellence near Johannesburg airport and once his football talent became obvious, the sky was the limit for a star many believe will captain the national team one day.

After successful spells in Cape Town and Amsterdam, media-shy Pienaar could not settle in Dortmund and joined Everton, first on loan then permanently two seasons ago.

Although far from home, Pienaar knows that while Bafana supporters dream of a place among the last 16 for the first time in three attempts, many fear the bookmakers are on the money in rating them group outsiders.

Much media criticism has been heaped on goal-shy South Africa, who have managed a paltry seven goals in seven matches against largely modest rivals since Parreira assumed control a second time last November.

But the problem runs deeper with Bafana failing to create chances and the return of quick, inventive Pienaar cannot come too soon for Parreira, who will create history next month by handling a World Cup team for the sixth time.

"Pienaar is a class act and has improved consistently at Everton," said Parreira.

"I am eager for his return as he will make a huge difference to the squad."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP