Ghanaian football supporters have applauded interim Black Stars coach Otto Addo and his technical team for securing qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which will take place in November or December.
Coach Otto Addo used strategy to help his team earn a 1-1 draw against Nigeria’s Super Eagles in Abuja on Tuesday night.
Here is all you need to know about the man of the moment.
Profile
Otto Addo, born 9 June 1975 is a scout and manager, and a retired Ghanaian-German footballer who played for Ghana internationally.
VfL 93 Hamburg
Addo started his career in 1991 in Hamburg playing for Hamburger SV.
In 1993 he left Bramfelder SV after playing there for a year to join fellow Hamburg side VfL 93 Hamburg 1993 where he played 80 league matches and scored 4 goals from 1993 to 1996.
Hannover 96
Addo moved to Hannover 96 in the Regionalliga Nord (third German league) in 1996.
He made a big impression in a squad that featured stars to-be Gerald Asamoah and Fabian Ernst. That team ripped through the season scoring more than 100 goals but succumbed to Energie Cottbus in the 1997 promotion playoffs.
In 1998, Hannover was finally promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. In his first season, he scored seven goals in 30 games and was acknowledged as one of the elite players of the league.
Borussia Dortmund
Addo transferred to Borussia Dortmund in 1999 and played more than 75 times for the team, becoming Bundesliga champion in 2002.
However, he was also hampered by great injury troubles, as he tore his cruciate ligaments three times in this time, the first coming after a German Cup match against SC Freiburg on 15 July 2001.
The player had an MRI scan which showed he had torn knee ligaments and underwent surgery on his right knee on 22 July at the Vail, Colorado clinic of world-renowned knee specialist surgeon Dr. Richard Steadman.
He healed completely after that and came back to play the 2002 UEFA Cup Final for Dortmund against Feyenoord Rotterdam on 8 May 2002, which Dortmund lost 3–2 at the Feijenoord Stadion in Rotterdam.
On 7 September 2002, Addo tore right knee ligaments for the second time, in a 2004 African Cup of Nations qualifier versus Uganda] in Kampala.
On 24 September 2003, Addo’s career was under threat after he re-injured his troublesome right knee for the third time in Dortmund’s 2–1 UEFA Cup victory over Austria Wien. He started the match but was replaced after just 38 minutes.
After sitting out the whole of 2004, Addo returned to action as a substitute in Dortmund’s 1–1 league home draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach on the last weekend of January 2005.
Mainz 05
At the beginning of the 2005–06 season, he transferred to 1. FSV Mainz 05, for whom he did not make an initial impact. However, he played well enough to earn a nomination for the Ghanaian squad who appeared at the 2006 World Cup.
Hamburger SV
On 9 August 2007, Addo signed a three-year contract with hometown Hamburger SV, initially alternating with the reserves and the first team.
While at Hamburg, Addo revealed his Hamburger SV goals in an interview with HSVLIVE, also addressing other topics. In 2008, he announced his retirement from playing football at the age of 38.
International career
Although born in Germany, Addo played for the Ghana national team for seven years commencing 1999, his debut being a 5–0 rout of Eritrea on 28 February 1999, and he achieved international prominence when he led the nation in the 2000 African Cup of Nations. Along with Hans Sarpei from VfL Wolfsburg, he is one of two Ghanaians with German roots to have played for the African side.
He started for Ghana as a right midfielder in the 2006 FIFA World Cup game against the Czech Republic on 17 June 2006 at the Rhein Energie Stadion in Cologne, which Ghana won 2–0. In 2006 he played in Ghana’s 2–1 win over the United States at the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg.
Coaching career
Addo started his coaching career with his former club Hamburger SV in 2009, in the process serving as a youth team coach and an assistant manager till 2015.
In December 2013, Addo was appointed as the head scout of the Ghana national football team before the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, succeeding Ibrahim Tanko following the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
Borussia Dortmund
In April 2019, it was announced that Addo would work for former club Borussia Dortmund as a ‘talent coach’, having previously held a similar role at Borussia Mönchengladbach since 2017.
In December 2020, he was promoted to serve as first-team assistant coach to Edin Terzić who had been promoted to interim head coach, following the sacking of head coach Lucien Favre.
He won his first trophy as a coach after Dortmund defeated RB Leipzig in the finals of the 2020–21 DFB-Pokal.
Ghana
On 25 September 2021, the Ghana Football Association announced that they had appointed Addo as one of two deputies for the new Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac.
The Ghana Football Association on 9 February, 2022 appointed Otto Addo as the interim coach for the Ghana national football team ahead of the team’s 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup final play-off matches against Nigeria.
On 29 March 2022, he qualified Ghana (on away goals) to the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup final after drawing 1–1 against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.