Baring his teeth Can Ernst ‘Mazinyo’ Middendorp survive his bite on Khama Billiat?
Ernst Middendorp dealing with a problem created by predecessor Solinas
● Three coaches lost their jobs in the Premier Soccer League this week. Their fault was to fail to produce the desired results in the first five league matches for their respective clubs — Chippa United, AmaZulu FC and Black Leopards.
Another, Ernst “Mazinyo” Middendorp, may soon follow the trio for a reason completely different — his volatile temperament and the never-ending feud between himself and one of the best-paid players in SA football, Khama Billiat.
Kaizer Chiefs management have tried their best to sugar-coat the fragile relationship between Middendorp and their star attacker Billiat. But last week’s events, which culminated in Amakhosi losing their first league game of the season, may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Mess(i) created by Solinas
That there’s no love lost between the two is no secret, and the acrimony may well have started two months after Middendorp returned for his second stint at Chiefs towards the end of last season. He made it clear then and fairly so, that no one player was guaranteed a place in his starting XI.
What Middendorp may find sickening could be the fact that he is dealing with a headache that is not of his own making, but that of his predecessor, Giovanni Solinas. The Italian not only pronounced Billiat as the Lionel Messi of Chiefs, but went as far as bowing to him when he pulled him off.
“Where is it written that a player who is in the team has a guarantee to start,” Middendorp asked reporters after they queried him about benching Billiat in Chiefs’ 3-2 away league victory against AmaZulu FC in February last season.
Middendorp believes in collective sharing of the glory, something that may have rubbed Billiat the wrong way.
If the Italian coach was disingenuous in publicly kowtowing to the Zimbabwe international, the German mentor committed the same crime by chastising him in public, as witnessed last week.
The latest installment of the clash was sparked by Billiat’s release by the club to represent his country in the second leg of a World Cup preliminary qualifier against Somalia.
Don’t talk to me, talk to the player
Middendorp was adamant that his star player was resting at home “nursing his injury”.
“You should talk to the player. I actually have my own idea in this direction and the player makes a decision, that’s it,” fumed the Chiefs coach when asked of Billiat’s participation in a crucial match in which he helped his country qualify for the next round after scoring the last-gasp winner for The Warriors in Harare.
To further illustrate his disdain with Billiat, Middendorp decided to start him on the bench in their 1-0 loss at home against Polokwane City last Saturday, a move which pleased Polokwane coach Zlatko Krmpotic but infuriated everyone associated with Amakhosi.
Middendorp only introduced Billiat after the break when Chiefs were already trailing 1-0. His performance and body language might well be at Chiefs but his mind is certainly elsewhere. Mamelodi Sundowns, perhaps?
Bobby Motaung, the Chiefs football manager, questioned Middendorp’s outburst over Billiat’s release to play for Zimbabwe, saying: “I don’t know why he raised that issue because rules are rules and even if the player is injured, he has got to report to the national team camp.”
While Motaung explained that Middendorp was not in trouble for his acerbic tongue, in the eyes of some sections of Chiefs fans, the man is on borrowed time. They were not chuffed to lose the Nedbank Cup final to National First Division club TS Galaxy in May. The humiliation of finishing outside the top eight last season added insult to injury.
Krmpotic was also quite happy to see Middendorp continuing to play Zambian striker Lazalous Kambole out of the No 9 position.
The Serbian coach knows Kambole too well, having coached him at Zesco United between May and October in 2017.
Making things worse
Playing as a striker floating in and around Samir Nurkovic, Kambole is yet to score for Chiefs despite coming to SA with a big reputation of free scoring at Zesco where he was the main striker. Chiefs tackle AmaZulu at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Tuesday. Anything less than three points against the basement team will further worsen matters for Middendorp.
One question rattling Middendorp’s mind: to start or not to start with Billiat.
I actually have my own idea in this direction and the player makes a decision
Ernst Middendorp
Kaizer Chiefs coach