Captain of his own ship Ernst Middendorp is set in his ways, from his dour style of play to his demeanour
Ernst Middendorp, the man nicknamed Mazinyo, is set in his ways. His style of play is in stark contrast to the attacking philosophy which attracted millions of fans of Amakhosi to the brand Kaizer Motaung built. But that’s not something to give him sleepless nights. For him, it’s his way or the highway
His long-cherished dream of adding championship-winning coach to this CV went up in smoke when the final curtain fell on the 2019-20 Absa Premiership campaign yesterday.
That accolade is a yearning which, for 33 years, Ernst Middendorp has craved like a crack junkie does his next fix. His Kaizer Chiefs have been chasing a league title for five years. Plonker. Bottler.
The man nicknamed Mazinyo cut his coaching teeth at Eintracht Nordhorn, a now-defunct outfit which played in a 7,500capacity stadium and ceased to exist in 2015. It is no exaggeration stating that yesterday’s fixture against Baroka FC amounted to the most important 90 minutes of the coaching career of the German, which has taken him to China, Ghana, Cyprus, Iran and SA, where he has saved Maritzburg United and Free State Stars from relegation.
It is his speciality, seeing that he achieved a similar feat with Armenia Bielefeld in his native Germany. Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak are the couple of Ghana teams Middendorp coached without much fanfare.
The man born in the municipality of Freren 61 years ago is one of the least favourite coaches to ever take charge of the club celebrating a golden jubilee.
The chief charge on the list of his crimes? A style of play that cannot be said to be as slick as some of the suits he adorns while gesticulating on the touchline.
How Chiefs play stands in stark contrast to the attacking philosophy which attracted millions of fans to the Amakhosi brand Kaizer Motaung built.
So unappetising is the football fare cooked by chef Middendorp, its lack of appeal is on par with Tito Mboweni’s mishmash of pilchards and countless cloves of garlic stewing in a pool of tomato water.
It is nothing that gives Middendorp sleepless nights, though. He is a captain of his ship. In his world, it is his way or the highway. A master of concealing his emotion, Middendorp, doesn’t behave excitably.
He is a stereotypical old-school German coach. Stern face? Wears it like a mask. Smile? Sometimes, flash of the false teeth is a rare sight. Unlike the current breed of a generation of German mentors such as Thomas Tuchel, the 47-year-old who led Paris Saint Germain to the Uefa Champions League final, and Julian Nagelsmann, 33, whose RB Leipzig fell in the semifinal of Europe’s premier club competition won by Bayern Munich last month.
Those two, like Jurgen Klopp — who ended Liverpool’s three-decade wait to don the champions of England crown — wear their emotions on the sleeve. Chest bumps. Hugs. High fives.
Unpacking his suitcases in SA when Motaung appointed him to replace Ted Dumitru, the late Romanian tactician who departed after delivering back-to-back league championships in the mid 2000s, much was expected from Middendorp.
The expectation was for the German to follow in the tradition of other foreign coaches who brought truckloads of trophies to the
Chiefs cabinet.
Motaung has a reputation for capturing coaches of such ilk. Jeff Butler. Joe Frickleton. Muhsin Ertugral. Dumitru. These men had Chiefs fans walking around as though they were toothpaste-product ambassadors, with wall-to-wall smiles inspired by tons of trophies.
An SAA8 and Absa Cup gongs in his first spell. But a decade later? A Nedbank Cup final defeat against TS Galaxy caused consternation from Durban to Kuruman. To this day, Motaung scratches his shiny bald head in wonderment of how a club renowned for collecting cups like candy fell to a national division side, a low light that echoed quarterfinal elimination from the same competition by Baroka in 2011.
The 2019-20 season heralded hope that Chiefs were edging close to ending the longest dry spell in its 50 years of existence.
Middendorp’s men have sat at the summit of the Absa Premiership log for most of the 30-match league marathon.
But there has been gnashing of teeth aplenty among the Amakhosi faithful for a myriad reasons.
His decision-making and team selection bewilders to a point of bluffing. He appears to equate playing a great game with committing a cardinal sin.
Coming back from a long injury lay-off against Mamelodi Sundowns, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo put in a decent shift. His reward was not being relegated to the bench. He was banished to the stands.
Anthony Akumu applied himself astutely. He was also dropped to the bench.
The most gobsmacking Middendorp mind-fart was when he gambled with an untested 17-year-old, Keletso Sifama, against Sundowns.
Having the courage to introduce a youngster is to be applauded. But doing so in a topof-the-table clash against reigning champions chasing a 10th league title in the PSL era is comical. On second thought, make that suicidal.
It is something you don’t do against a wily Pitso Mosimane, who is chasing a third title on the trot, has not finished outside of the top two for five seasons and is gunning to become the first coach to win five league titles in the PSL era. He is tied on four with Gordon Igesund, who won it with Manning Rangers, Orlando Pirates, Santos and Sundowns.
Dumitru won two each with Sundowns and Chiefs. Gavin Hunt won three with SuperSport and one with Bidvest Wits.
That defeat to Sundowns threw the league wide open. Worse was to come. Chiefs got beaten by a last-minute Bidvest Wits goal last Sunday. Television images of the German cutting a forlorn figure and walking around the stadium aimlessly were of frustration in motion and, by extension, a reflection of the pain of the fans.
Soulless and without romance. That’s been the sad signature of Middendorp’s Chiefs. Their fans will be happy to see the back of a man who some liken to Tinkerman, a moniker Claudio Ranieri got for his penchant for chopping and changing during the Italian’s time at Chelsea.
There will no tear shed as fans bid farewell to a man who dared not substitute Bernard Parker no matter how below par the striker has consistently been.
Word on the cesspool that is the twittersphere is that the latter has the nudes of the former. It is all in jest of course.
With Maritzburg, he had a love-hate relationship. While the club was in a relegation dogfight, he dared management during a live post-match interview to fire him. The Midlands club bosses dismissed him a week later. Coach and club rekindled their affair a few years later and he pulled off an unimaginable last-day escape from the dreaded axe. Stresses and strains saw relations plummet and the parties severed ties. Not many Christmas cards will come from the current crop of Chiefs players.
But what of Chiefs when Middendorp goes? Of the men who have caused waves on the local coaching circuit and boast an immensely impressive catalogue of trophies and set superior standards of excellence, Hunt comes closest to Pitso Mosimane.
He became clubless as of the final whistle yesterday thanks to the sale of the 99-yearold institution that is Wits. Whoever Motaung gets, he will have to be a major upgrade on Herr Middendorp.