As the entire globe focuses its attention on Germany with billions rushing to their television sets to watch the start of the FIFA World Cup on Friday and with thousands more fans heading to Germany, for the month long tournament - the world prepares for a soccer feast. One man who flew in the opposite direction is Amakhosi coach Ernst Middendorp who returned to South Africa on Friday after spending about two weeks at home in Germany with his family.

The Chiefs coach returned to work soon after landing in Johannesburg on Friday morning to prepare the pre season programme, which commences when the players return from holiday on the 26th June. When quizzed as to whether he would prefer to have stayed in Germany to watch the FIFA World Cup the coach said “sometimes we need to prioritize and for me being here to prepare for the new season takes precedence over being in Germany”.

Ernst is also convinced that with a solid foundation being laid in the pre season Chiefs will be better prepared when the season kicks off in mid August. As he said “ last year one of our problems was we did not get together with sufficient time, this time around we will better prepare ourselves and get well acquainted with each other before time. With so much time on our hands we will be able to work out what needs to be improved and also if the squad needs further bolstering”.

Another step taken by the Chiefs headman has been to trim down the first team squad from 35 players last season to around twenty-six for the upcoming campaign. “I feel we needed a smaller squad with more quality and also one that has depth. It does not help to have big squad and being unable to co-ordinate so many players. We have now found the perfect balance and I feel that our squad size and player content is correct for us to make a serious challenge for all honours on offer” said Middendorp.

When the trio of Chiefs new players, which included former Bafana Bafana star Shaun Bartlett as well as the highly talented pairing of former Arrows midfield Papi Zothwane and Bloemfontein Celtic’s danger man Siyabonga Nkosi were introduced to the Supporters the coach was away.

The Chiefs coach is really excited about the addition of the exciting talents to his squad - “each one of the new signings will bring with him something that I feel was missing last season. Shaun Bartlett we hope will provide us with the fire power we lacked up front last season and Zothwane will add strength to the midfield”.

Most of the talk surroundings Chiefs off season’s signings have been centred on Siyabonga Nkosi who was a revelation for Bloemfontein Celtic this past season. The Chiefs coach admits that he had eyes on Nkosi for a long time “from the first time I saw him play I knew that he would be a valuable asset should we be able to lure him to our team and I am happy we now have him” was Ernst quick remark on the Newcastle born player.

As the Chiefs coach prepares for the new season he will also be spending his free time in a role he enjoys - that of a television analyst providing pre match, halftime and post match analysis on various World Cup Games. The Chiefs coach can be seen giving his valuable insight during matches featuring the tournament hosts Germany which incidentally happens to be his home country.