IT WAS the game Steven Pienaar dreamed about.

Instead, the Bafana Bafana captain will be sitting in the grandstand at Goodison Park on Saturday when Everton entertain Tottenham Hotspur in an intriguing English Premier League fixture.

The reason? Pienaar is on loan from Tottenham to his former club, Everton, and a condition of the contract that runs until the end of the season is that the diminutive, articulate midfielder does not play against Tottenham.

This was confirmed yesterday by a Spurs official, who said that while everything had been done to help Pienaar revive his career in the Premiership by allowing him to return temporarily to the team where he had enjoyed so much success, it was inconceivable that he performed against the club that still held his contract.

"It's a game I would have loved to play in for obvious reasons," said Pienaar, "but I fully understand Spurs' reasoning and I have no recriminations about that."

The Goodison Park clash, nevertheless, will contain special significance for the Bafana captain, with his career during the past five years - and his immediate future - entwined in the two clubs.

The 29-year-old Pienaar's career struck a low point in 2007 when he was released by German Bundesliga club Dortmund, only to make an immediate impact when he joined Everton. But the decision to seek greener pastures with a transfer to Tottenham in January last year backfired, with injuries and the fierce competition for places at the White Hart Lane club resulting in Pienaar spending most of the current season on the bench.

So much so that Pienaar was not selected in the starting line-up for a single Premier League fixture by manager Harry Redknapp during the current season, prompting him to ask for a transfer or a loan move.