The return of Ernst Middendorp as head coach at Kaizer Chiefs came as an appointment out of left field that drew mostly negative reactions from Amakhosi fans – and rewinds the clock some 12 years.
This time in 2006 Middendorp was coach at Chiefs and Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic was in his first stint at Orlando Pirates‚ but while Sredojevic’s return to the Buccaneers last year was largely hailed as a coup‚ the German coach is unlikely to get the same positive response.
Much has to do with what the pair have achieved since they both left their respective Soweto giants within weeks of each other in early 2007.
While Middendorp has hopped from job to job‚ including at five more teams in the Premier Soccer League‚ Sredojevic found notable success in club football in Ethiopia with St George‚ and then excelled with the Rwanda and Uganda national sides.
He led Uganda to an unexpected Nations Cup finals appearance after a barren run of nearly 40 years. Therein lies the difference. One is viewed as a coach reaching his peak‚ while the other‚ rightly or wrongly‚ has left his best days behind him.
Yet Amakhosi chair Kaizer Motaung hailed Middendorp’s appointment on Friday, saying Kaizer Chiefs needed a new coach who “has an understanding of the club’s footballing culture”.
After a playing career in the lower leagues in Germany‚ Middendorp turned to coaching in 1996 and obtained his Uefa Pro Licence.
By then he was the coach of Arminia Bielefeld‚ who he took from the third-tier to the Bundesliga‚ a feat for which he was later crowned the club’s Coach of the Century.
In 2005/2006 Chiefs won the Absa Cup (now Nedbank Cup) in Middendorp’s first season, but 14 draws from 30 league games meant they finished third in the Premier League.
Statistics like these saw him nicknamed Middendraw.
In between other jobs in various countries, he had three spells with Maritzburg United, but his abrasive style rubbed many up the wrong way too. –