Saturday, Ernst Middendorp, head coach of Swallows FC, snubbed his former club Kaizer Chiefs when asked which team he enjoyed coaching the most. Middendorp holds the record of the highest number of matches in the PSL for a foreign coach, having first arrived in South Africa to coach Chiefs in 2005.
The German tactician has had stints at various clubs in the DStv Premiership, including Golden Arrows, Maritzburg United, Free State Stars and Chippa United. When asked which club treated him the best as a coach, Middendorp said that his time at Free State Stars was the most rewarding.
“Definitely, the biggest happiness in terms of implementing ideas fully, even if it was a short time was definitely Free State Stars,” Middendorp said on Marawa Sports Worldwide. “You will be surprised but everyone was thinking, ‘No, this Mike Mokoena is interfering, he’s telling you what to do’ and so on. The opposite was the case. He made it very clear what he expected, ja that was definitely a fantastic time,” he added.
Middendorp came close to winning two major trophies in his second spell at Amakhosi, narrowly losing the Nedbank Cup final 1-0 to then second-tier side TS Galaxy in 2019 and losing the Premiership title on the final matchday the following season.
The coach went on to say that when it comes to the running of the club Chiefs are at “the highest level” but suggested that it is in the technical matters where they lack. “Professionally of course, there are a team like Kaizer Chiefs has a professional (side), of course I was not really happy at the end of the time with certain circumstances, no doubt about it,” he said. “But the professionalism on the club side is on the highest level, there’s no doubt about it. I wish they can indicate a certain development, a certain direction. And use the resources that they have to the maximum. It’s what I’m always talking about
