Former Kaizer Chiefs head coach Ernst Middendorp has revealed the two biggest disappointments of his second stint at Naturena.
Middendorp, 64, returned to Africa for a new adventure at Singida Fountain Gate FC in Tanzania after departing SV Meppen in his home country.
He spoke to iDiski Times about the excitement of trying something and explained why he opted to take three young South African coaches with him, namely Thabo Senong, Kelvin Ndlomo and Thembalethu Moses.
Among many topics discussed was also his second stint at the Glamour Boys, a topic Middendorp also addressed in “Resilience – The Ernst Middendorp Authorised Biography”.
“There were two major disappointments for me – the first was that I was told in front of the whole team that position two [on the log], despite CAF Champions League qualification, is “a disaster”,” he told iDiski Times.
“I had to listen to this in front of the whole team, that moving from ninth to second, battling with Sundowns for the title until the last game, was called ‘a disaster’. It did hurt me.
“And also the second part that Kaizer Senior decided to not even say goodbye and we shake hands. I didn’t expect a thank you but I feel this was not ‘gentleman-like’.
“Up until this day, I haven’t found out why it needed to happen like this. But I’m not living in the past, so now and today is important, and I made a tick behind it.”
You can read Middendorp’s full interview where he also talks about Maritzburg United’s relegation, the main issues of South African football and the lack of camaraderie among South African coaches in this week’s edition of the newspaper, which is available for free on our website.
