Nana Otto Addo (born 9 June 1975) is a German-born Ghanaian
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
manager and former player. He was recently the manager of the
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international football, doing it since 1957. The team consists of twenty players including the technical team. The team is nicknamed the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in ...
, and works as a talent coach for
Borussia Dortmund.
Early life
Addo was born on 9 June 1975 in
Hamburg,
West Germany to Ghanaian parents.
Club career
VfL 93 Hamburg
Addo started his career in 1991 in Hamburg playing for Hamburger SV. In 1993 he left
Bramfelder SV
Bramfelder SV is a German sport club from Hamburg. The club was founded in 1945 and competes in football. The club is most known for its women's football section which currently plays in the Regionalliga.
Women's football
They play their home ...
after playing there for a year to join fellow Hamburg side
VfL 93 Hamburg in 1993 where he played 80 league matches and scored 4 goals from 1993 to 1996.
Hannover 96
Addo moved to
Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...
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 finally promoted to the
2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
. 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
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
. 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
The 2002 UEFA Cup Final was an association football match played on 8 May 2002, between Feyenoord of the Netherlands and Borussia Dortmund of Germany at the Feijenoord Stadion in Rotterdam, Feyenoord's home ground. It was the 31st UEFA Cup final ...
for Dortmund against
Feyenoord Rotterdam
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after it ...
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
The 2004 African Cup of Nations, known as the NOKIA African Cup of Nations, Tunisia 2004 for sponsorship reasons (also referred to as AFCON 2004 or CAN 2004) is the 24th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's footb ...
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
Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (; known in English as Austria Vienna, and usually shortened to Austria (German: Österreich) in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the mos ...
. 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
Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...
in the last weekend of January 2005.
Mainz 05
At the beginning of the 2005–06 season he transferred to
1. FSV Mainz 05
1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...
, 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
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
.
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
The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international football, doing it since 1957. The team consists of twenty players including the technical team. The team is nicknamed the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in ...
for seven years commencing 1999, his debut being a 5–0 rout of
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
on 28 February 1999, and he achieved international prominence when he led the nation in the
2000 African Cup of Nations
The 2000 African Cup of Nations was the 22nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, who jointly replaced Zimbabwe as host. Just like in 1998, the field ...
. He started for Ghana as right
midfielder in the
2006 FIFA World Cup game against the
Czech Republic on 17 June 2006 at the
RheinEnergieStadion 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.
Style of play
Addo was strong in one-on-one situations, physical, creative, and versatile enough to play on both wings, on the inside and also in the central position, although his main skill was his ability to dribble the ball.
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
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
of the
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international football, doing it since 1957. The team consists of twenty players including the technical team. The team is nicknamed the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in ...
and prior to the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
and
2015 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...
, succeeding
Ibrahim Tanko following the
2012 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football ( ...
and
2013 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...
.
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
Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...
since 2017. In December 2020, he was promoted to serve as first team assistant coach to
Edin Terzić
Edin Terzić (; born 30 October 1982) is a German-Croatian professional football coach and former player, who was most recently the head coach of German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund until June 2024.
After a playing career as a forward in t ...
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
The 2020–21 DFB-Pokal was the 78th season of the annual German football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. The competition began on 11 Se ...
. Following the assignment of
Terzić as technical director and appointment of
Marco Rose
Marco Rose (born 11 September 1976) is a German professional football manager who is currently the manager of Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, and a former player who was a defender for Lokomotive Leipzig, Hannover 96 and Mainz 05.
He coached Mainz ...
as the new head coach, Addo resumed his work as a talent coach.
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. On 9 February 2022, the Ghana Football Association announced that they had appointed Addo as the interim coach for the
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international football, doing it since 1957. The team consists of twenty players including the technical team. The team is nicknamed the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in ...
ahead of the team's
2022 FIFA World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...
final play-off matches against
Nigeria. On 29 March 2022, he qualified Ghana (on away goals) to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, after drawing 1–1 against the Super Eagles of Nigeria. The Black Stars of Ghana had earlier drawn 0–0 against the Super Eagles on 25 March.
In May 2022, Addo was appointed as the head coach until the end of December 2022 alongside maintaining
Chris Hughton as technical advisor and
George Boateng
George Antwi Boateng (born 5 September 1975) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is Assistant Coach of the Ghana national team. Born in Ghana, raised in Holland and he represented the Netherlands interna ...
and
Mas-Ud Didi Dramani as assistant coaches, the same set-up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup final play-off matches against Nigeria. Addo won his first match as manager on 1 June after leading Ghana to a 3–0 victory over
Madagascar in an
2023 AFCON qualifiers.
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament, Ghana went on to lose their first match against
Portugal by 3–2, however they won their second group game against
South Korea by 3–2. Addo became the first Ghanaian to play for and coach the Ghana national team at the FIFA World Cup. That victory also made Addo the first Ghanaian coach to win a match at the FIFA World Cup. Five days later, Ghana lost to
Uruguay and were eliminated from the tournament at the group stages. Prior to the start of the World Cup, Addo had hinted that he would be leaving after the world cup regardless of the outcome. Following their last group match, Addo resigned as the head coach of Ghana and would focus on his other role as a talent coach at Borussia Dortmund.
Managerial statistics
Honours
Borussia Dortmund
*
Bundesliga:
2001–02
*
UEFA Cup runner-up:
2001–02
*
DFB-Ligapokal runner-up:
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Otto Addoon Borussia Dortmund website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Addo, Otto
1975 births
Living people
German sportspeople of Ghanaian descent
Citizens of Ghana through descent
Ghanaian footballers
German footballers
Footballers from Hamburg
Association football midfielders
Ghana international footballers
2000 African Cup of Nations players
2006 FIFA World Cup players
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
VfL 93 Hamburg players
Hannover 96 players
Borussia Dortmund players
Borussia Dortmund II players
1. FSV Mainz 05 players
Hamburger SV players
Hamburger SV II players
Ghanaian football managers
Hamburger SV non-playing staff
Ghana national football team managers
FC Nordsjælland non-playing staff
Borussia Mönchengladbach non-playing staff
Borussia Dortmund non-playing staff
Ghanaian expatriate football managers
Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark
Expatriate football managers in Denmark
2022 FIFA World Cup managers