Ernst Middendorp (born 28 October 1958) is a German
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
coach who coaches South African
Premier Soccer League
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
club
Maritzburg United
Maritzburg United is a South African football club based in the city of Pietermaritzburg that currently plays in the Premier Soccer League.
Honours
*First Division Coastal Stream champions: 2007–08
*First Division Championship Play-offs: 2 ...
.
Education
Middendorp was born in
Freren. In 1984, he enrolled in the
University of Bielefeld
Bielefeld University (german: Universität Bielefeld) is a university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization a ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, where he graduated in 1986 with a degree in economics, politics, and history. After graduating, in 1987, he took computer courses at two institutions: the Gesamthochschule Paderborn Institute in Germany, where he earned a degree in special economics, computer studies; and at the Computer College Rheine, Germany, where he studied becoming a system analyst. In 1996, he attained his UEFA Pro License (Fußball-Lehrer) from the Deutsche Sporthochschule in Köln, Germany. In 2000, he began studying communication and management at PR Kolleg Berlin, Germany, where he studied through 2002.
Career
Middendorp has coached professional football on the highest level for nearly 20 years in Europe, Asia and Africa, having a UEFA Pro License (Fussball-Lehrer) from the German Football Association. In addition, Middendorp has experience analyzing FIFA world cup tournaments (2006 and 2010), as well as the EURO tournament in 2012.
Middendorp started his coaching career with VfB Alstätte where he coached from July 1985 to June 1987.
He then moved on to
Eintracht Nordhorn
Eintracht Nordhorn was a German association football club from the city of Nordhorn, Lower Saxony. The club was founded in 1945 as ''Sportverein Nordhorn'' and adopted the name ''Eintracht Nordhorn'' in 1947. A separate football club known as ' ...
where he was head coach from 1 July 1987 to 18 April 1988.
Middendorp's first stint as
Arminia Bielefeld head coach was from 18 April 1988 to 8 October 1990.
His first match was a 2–1 loss to
SG Wattenscheid 09
SG Wattenscheid 09 is a Football in Germany, German association football club located in Wattenscheid, Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club claimed an official founding date of 18 September 1909 as Ballspiel-Verein Wattenscheid out of the me ...
. He finished the
1987–88 2. Bundesliga season with two wins, one draw, and seven losses.
Arminia Bielefeld finished in last place and were relegated. He went on to become head coach of
VfB Rheine from November 1990 to June 1992.
After VfB Rheine, Middendorp was head coach of
FC Gütersloh
FC may refer to:
Businesses, organisations, and schools
* Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India
* Finncomm Airlines (IATA code)
* FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC
* Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...
between 1 July 1992 and 30 June 1994.
He finished 13th in the 1992–93 season
and ninth in the 1993–94 season.
Middendorp took over as head coach of Arminia Bielefeld for a second time on 25 August 1994.
He finished with a record of 40 wins, 26 draws, and 47 losses in his second stint.
During his tenure, the club was promoted to the Bundesliga in 1996. In 2005, when Arminia Bielefeld was celebrating its 100th anniversary, Middendorp was elected their "Coach of the Century".
Middendorp was head coach of
KFC Uerdingen 05
KFC Uerdingen 05 is a German football club in the Uerdingen district of the city of Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. The former Bundesliga side enjoyed its greatest successes in the 1980s but now plays in the fifth-level Oberliga.
History
Th ...
from 25 March 1999 to 30 June 1999.
He had five, two draws, and two losses in nine matches during his time at Uerdingen.
Middendorp was head coach of
VfL Bochum
Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seasons in the Bundeslig ...
between 1 July 1999 and 25 October 1999.
During his time at Bochum, he had a record of three wins, three draws, and five losses.
Middendorp then went to
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
to become the head coach of
Asante Kotoko between January 2000 and June 2002.
He returned to Germany to become head coach of
FC Augsburg
Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg () or Augsburg, is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. The team was founded as ...
on 1 July 2002.
He was at Augsburg until 28 September 2003.
He had a record of 21 wins, eight draws, and 16 losses.
He then returned to Ghana to become head coach of
Hearts of Oak between March 2004 and June 2004.
He then went to
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
to become head coach of
Tractor Sazi
Tractor Cultural Sports Economic Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی اقتصادی تراکتور, ''Bâšgâh-e Farhangi Varzeši Eqtesâdi-ye Terâktor''), commonly known as Tractor, formerly Tractor Sazi, is an Iranian football ...
between July 2004 and June 2005.
Middendorp returned to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
to become head coach the
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
n
Castle Premiership team
Kaizer Chiefs from the beginning of the 2005–06 season up to 4 March 2007.
His first match was a 1–0 win against
Bush Bucks F.C. At the start of the 2006–07 season, Middendorp guided his team to the
SAA Supa 8 trophy. The Kaizer Chiefs defeated
Supersport United in the final. Middendorp's departure happened on 4 March 2007.
His final match was a 2–1 loss to
AmaZulu F.C.
On 14 March 2007, he started his third stint as a coach at Arminia Bielefeld,
but was fired by club management on 10 December 2007.
From there he went to coach the Chinese club,
Changchun Yatai, but left the club in December 2008
and returned to Germany, where he signed a contract with
Rot Weiss Essen On 6 April 2009,
he left the team after just 29 days.
He had won only one match during his 29 days.
On 7 May 2009, he joined Cypriot club,
Anorthosis Famagusta
Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fo ...
,
but was fired on 24 July 2009
following their elimination in the second round of the
2009–10 UEFA Europa League
The 2009–10 UEFA Europa League was the first season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The competition was previously known as the UEFA Cup, which had been in existence for 38 years.
Spai ...
.
On 16 November 2009, he replaced
Gordon Igesund
Gordon Igesund (born 22 July 1956) is a former South African football player and coach who was most recently the manager of Highlands Park in the Premier Soccer League.
Early life
Igesund was born in Durban to George Norman Igesund (born 193 ...
as head coach of
Maritzburg United
Maritzburg United is a South African football club based in the city of Pietermaritzburg that currently plays in the Premier Soccer League.
Honours
*First Division Coastal Stream champions: 2007–08
*First Division Championship Play-offs: 2 ...
,
and was coach until 12 March 2011.
He won five out of the final 15 league matches.
His final match was a 2–2 draw against
Vasco da Gama on 5 March 2011.
Middendorp was head coach of
Golden Arrows
Lamontville Golden Arrows F.C. are a South African soccer club based in Durban that plays in the Premier Soccer League.
History
It was founded in 1943 in the streets of Lamontville, a township in Durban. The club played in the defunct Natio ...
between 21 March 2011 and 30 September 2011.
Golden Arrows won two out of five matches to finish the 2010–11 season.
His final match was a 2–1 win against Kaizer Chiefs.
On 18 January 2012, Middendorp returned to Maritzburg United.
He resigned as head coach of Maritzburg United on 10 October 2013
before joining
Bloemfontein Celtic as head coach on 11 October 2013.
Celtic finished off the 2013–14 season with nine wins in 24 league matches.
He left the club on 14 December 2014.
His final match was a 0–0 draw against
Moroka Swallows on the same day.
He coached the Eastern Province SA Premier League team
Chippa United
Chippa United Football Club (often known as Chilli boys or Chippa) is a South African professional football club based in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape province, having previously being based in Nyanga suburb of the city of Cape Town. The club' ...
from 5 January to 30 March 2015.
Middendorp didn't win any matches at Chippa United.
In the 2015–16 season Ernst led not one but two South African Premier League teams from the relegation position to safety. He took
Free State Stars
Free State Stars Football club is a South African professional football club based in Bethlehem, Free State that plays in the National First Division. Formerly known as Makwane Computer Stars and Qwa Qwa Stars, their most significant honour ...
from position 16 at the bottom of the league on matchday three to position six within four months,
averaging two points a game. On 28 December 2015, Ernst returned to Maritzburg United
(a club he coached twice before)
who were then in position 16
and facing the stark danger of relegating. Ernst and his team narrowed the gap until the final nail-biting game of the season when Maritzburg United moved to the safety of position 14.
Middendorp returned to Kaiser Chiefs on 7 December 2018.
His first match was a 1–0 win against
SuperSport United on 12 December 2018.
Kaizer Chiefs finished the 2018–19 season in ninth place. Kaizer Chiefs finished the following season in 2nd place and qualified for the
2020–21 CAF Champions League The 2020–21 CAF Champions League (officially the 2020–21 Total CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 57th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 25th ...
.
Then he coached
Saint George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...
between 23 October 2020 and 24 November 2020.
Middendorp returned to Maritzburg United on 26 November 2020.
his first match was a 2–1 loss to SuperSport United on 27 November 2020.
Middendorp has been the mentor of
Fadlu Davids, who spent much of his time learning the coaching trade as assistant coach to Middendorp: at Maritzburg, Bloemfontein Celtic and Chippa United.
Coaching record
References
External links
Ernst Middendorp , Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Middendorp, Ernst
German football managers
German footballers
Living people
Expatriate football managers in China
1958 births
KFC Uerdingen 05 managers
VfL Bochum managers
FC Augsburg managers
Kaizer Chiefs F.C. managers
Arminia Bielefeld managers
Changchun Yatai F.C. managers
Rot-Weiss Essen managers
Anorthosis Famagusta F.C. managers
Lamontville Golden Arrows F.C. managers
Saint George S.C. managers
Maritzburg United F.C. managers
FC Gütersloh 2000 managers
Tractor S.C. managers
Association footballers not categorized by position
Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. managers
Asante Kotoko S.C. managers
People from Emsland
Footballers from Lower Saxony
Bielefeld University alumni
Expatriate football managers in Ghana
German expatriate football managers
German expatriate sportspeople in Ghana
Expatriate football managers in Iran
German expatriate sportspeople in Iran
Expatriate soccer managers in South Africa
German expatriate sportspeople in South Africa
German expatriate sportspeople in China
Expatriate football managers in Cyprus
German expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus
Bloemfontein Celtic F.C. managers
Chippa United F.C. managers
German expatriate sportspeople in Ethiopia
Expatriate football managers in Ethiopia
Ethiopian Premier League managers
Persian Gulf Pro League managers