Two-time Bafana Bafana cap Peter Petersen is no longer with Maritzburg United after having spent the greater part of the last 15 years at the club.
Petersen joined Maritzburg in 2008 after spells with Hellenic, Moroka Swallows, and FC AK then retired at the KwaZulu-Natal club six years later.
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Since then, he was drafted into the club's coaching structures working his way up to head the development while doubling up as second assistant.
The 42-year-old is now a holder of a CAF B licence.
"I have been part of the Maritzburg set-up for the longest period since I stopped playing but I'm not with the club anymore," Petersen tells KickOff.com while sharing his thoughts on the influence of Ernst Middendorp through the four spells that he had at the club.
"Through that time, I have been with a lot of coaches and with each you learn so much from them.
"I also spent a lot of time under Ernst Middendorp, he is one of the coaches that really opened my eyes as a coach.
"With where I'm at now, he is responsible for quite a lot just like Fadlu Davids who influenced my return to the club.
"With what I have learnt, Middendorp has had an influence just like a lot of other coaches, physiotherapists, biokinetics coaches, conditioning coaches, and even the administration staff.
"Middendorp has something people from a distance will never understand because he has mentored a lot of people.
"I'm not even trying to buy face, but he is the man and at times he will throw you under the bus so that you research.
"That man is a moving encyclopedia when it comes to football and has been fantastic because he is always so eager to help people.
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"If you ask Middendorp about football in the middle of the night, he will wake up and answer you and is the kind of coach that arrives in the office at six in the morning.
"He lives and breathes football and is always looking to improve things which is why you come out a better person under him.
"The players of today love information and Middendorp has all of that," says Petersen.
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