Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp has shared his views on which qualities a coach needs to have to be in charge of “monster of a club”.
Middendorp, 67, was last working as Technical Director of Durban City but parted ways with the club recently.
He was in charge of Chiefs between 2018 and 2020 and came closest to lifting the league title, only dropping down to second place on the last day of the season – it would’ve been Chiefs’ first league trophy since 2024/25.
However, despite finishing in second place and guiding the club back into the CAF Champions League, Middendorp was released before the start of the following season.
With current co-coaching duo Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef under pressure after losing five of the club’s last six games – a run that saw them knocked out of the Nedbank and CAF Confederations Cups, as well as drop to sixth in the league – the German tactician has shared his views on Amakhosi’s situation via an analysis he called: “Kaizer Chiefs is a MONSTER of a CLUB“.
“Anyone who wants to coach this team must understand the magnitude of the Naturena environment,” he wrote via LinkedIN.
“The club carries enormous history, a massive supporter base across the country, constant media attention, and permanent pressure for results.
“Every decision is discussed publicly; every weakness is quickly and totally exposed.
“To operate in such an environment, a coach needs real expertise, emotional resilience, strong leadership, and an unbeatable confidence. He must have the ability to remain calm under pressure, show conviction in his work, and make decisions with authority.
“A certain stubbornness in a positive sense is evident, the courage to stand by your football ideas when the noise around the team becomes overwhelming.
“One of the key responsibilities of the coach is to identify the real capacity of each player. What can they truly deliver? What are their strengths, limitations, and consistency levels? Only when this assessment is done honestly can the coach build the most suitable structure and tactical set-up for the team.
“This means coaching is not about following dreams, wishes, or public expectations. It is about working with reality. The team structure must come from the individual capacities of the players available, not from theoretical ideas that do not match the squad.
“Even innovative concepts can emerge from this process. In certain situations, a “helicopter concept” or other unconventional structures may develop simply because the coach has carefully analysed the players and tries to organise them in a way that maximizes their strengths and protects their weaknesses.
“At a club like Kaizer Chiefs, coaching leadership means clear assessment, courage in decision-making, and building a structure that reflects the real capacity of the squad, not an illusion of what people would like to see.”
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