Ghana’s head coach Otto Addo has said good bye as head coach of the Ghanaian senior men’s national football team, after the 2-0 defeat and elimination from the World Cup by Uruguay on November 2,2022 in Qatar.
The football tactician articulated with much remorse the following on his twitter handle ;
« It was clear that, l would retire after the World Cup, my family and l see our future in Germany. I like my role at Dortmund. Even if we had won the World Cup, that would have been the end of the journey. It’s a family take« , Otto said.
He won three out of 12 games, lost five and drew four matches. Addo has become the first Ghanaian to have featured in the FIFA World Cup as a coach and a player.
The 46-year-old Addo, who turned out for German side Borussia Dortmund as a defender, was appointed the Black Stars coach in early February to replace Milovan Rajevac, who was sacked after Ghana’s poor show at the 33rd edition of the AFCON in Cameroon.
During the competition, Ghana who were pooled in Group C , alongside Morocco, Gabon, and Comoros, failed to go past the group stage after finishing fourth with one point.
The Black Stars lost their opener against the Atlas Lions 1-0, drew 1-1 against the Panthers, and suffered a shock 3-2 defeat against Les Coelacantes in their final group fixture to exit the competition.
Addo, who also had coaching stints with Hamburg and Borussia Moenchengladbach, helped the Black Stars, to book their place in the World Cup finals set for Qatar after defeating rivals Nigeria on the away goals rule.
After the two West African nations settled for a 0-0 draw in the first leg meeting in Kumasi, the Black Stars secured a 1-1 draw in the return leg in Abuja to earn the slot.
In the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, Ghana have been pooled in Group E alongside Madagascar, Angola, and the Central African Republic. They will begin their campaign at home against Madagascar on June 1 at Cape Coast Sports Stadium before they travel to face the Central African Republic four days later.
By Brian Mboh