Otto Addo, in two stints as head coach of Black Stars, is yet to convince Ghanaians that he is top-notch and hence the right man for the role. The
Otto Addo, in two stints as head coach of Black Stars, is yet to convince Ghanaians that he is top-notch and hence the right man for the role.
The head coach has divided opinion since his return, with many Ghanaian sports journalists and football fans doubting his skills and ability to lead Ghana back to where it belongs.
The former Black Stars midfielder led Ghana to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where, amidst transition and uncertainty, the team were passing through, yet played well, even though they failed to qualify to the knockout stage in a group with Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.
Otto Addo left after Ghana’s defeat to Uruguay in the final group game but returned after the 2023 AFCON in neighbouring Ivory Coast, where Chris Houghton failed to record a single win in the group stage.
The Black Stars are on the verge of qualifying for the 5th FIFA World Cup since 2006, and Otto Addo could become the first coach to take Ghana to the World Cup on two occasions.
Sports Minister Kofi Adams has refused to join the millions of Ghanaian voices calling Otto Addo incompetent and hence must be fired.
“I must say he’s been lucky. It doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t improve. I can’t say that he’s totally incompetent. I can’t use the word incompetence on him because, first and foremost, I’m not a coach”, he said in an interview with Joy. Adams made sure that his words would not hurt anyone and also incite fans to call for Otto Addo to be sacked.
“I’m only a minister who loves the game and who analyses it. If I had been a coach before, other coaches could describe whether he’s competent or not, but I’m not a coach, so I will not say so. But I am not satisfied. That’s all that I’m seeking to say,” he added.
The Sports Minister revealed that he loves football and does analysis about the game, but he is not a coach to understand how fully good or bad Otto Addo is.
“Well, I can’t answer that question now. If I answer the question now, then I will be kind of creating a situation. Maybe you have some people who say they want another person, and you have others who say they want him.
Then, if I answered this question now, I would have been creating a problem. We still have games ahead of us. There’s a game we haven’t finished,” he concluded.
The job is not done yet, as a draw or win on Sunday at the Accra Sports Stadium against Comoros will take Ghana to the USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup next summer. The sports minister urged Ghanaians to think more about the Comoros clash instead of thinking about who should take the country to the World Cup.
Ghana will host Comoros on Sunday at the Accra Sports Stadium in the final game of the qualifiers.
COMMENTS