Nana Otto Addo (born 9 June 1975) is a Ghanaian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former association football player. He is the manager of the

Ghana national football team The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international Association football, football. The team is named the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in the flag of Ghana. It is governed by the Ghana Football Association, t ...

, and previously worked as a talent coach and interim first team assistant coach for

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

Early life

Addo was born on 9 June 1975 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, West Germany, to Ghanaian parents. He has a dual

nationality Nationality is the legal status of belonging to a particular nation, defined as a group of people organized in one country, under one legal jurisdiction, or as a group of people who are united on the basis of culture. In international law, n ...

. As he played internationally for the Ghanaian football team, he holds German citizenship too.

Club career

VfL 93 Hamburg

Addo started his career in 1991 in

, 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 g ...

after playing there for a year to join fellow Hamburg side

VfL 93 Hamburg VfL 93 Hamburg is a German association football club from the city of Hamburg. The club's greatest success has been to earn promotion to the tier three Regionalliga Nord, where it played for three seasons between 1994 and 1998. History Formed ...

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 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

in the ''Regionalliga Nord'' (third German league) in 1996. He made a big impression in a squad that featured stars-to-be

Gerald Asamoah Gerald Asamoah (; born 3 October 1978) is a German association football, football executive and former professional player who works as the first-team manager of Schalke 04. During his playing career, Asamoah played as a Forward (association foo ...

and

Fabian Ernst Fabian Ernst (; born 30 May 1979) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was regarded as a two-way player who can stop the opposition and start attacks with his passing from central midfield. Club career Born ...

. That team ripped through the season scoring more than 100 goals but succumbed to

Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus (Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the German reunification, reunificatio ...

in the 1997 promotion playoffs. In 1998, Hannover finally was 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 was transferred to

in 1999 and played more than 75 times for the team, becoming

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

champion in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. However, he was also hampered by great injury troubles, as he tore his

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...

s three times in this time, the first coming after a

German Cup The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English, is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundes ...

match against

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions ...

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 Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the nume ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, clinic of world-renowned knee specialist surgeon Dr. Richard Steadman. He healed completely and came back to play the 2002 UEFA Cup Final for Dortmund against

Feyenoord Rotterdam Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based 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 ...

on 8 May 2002, which Dortmund lost 3–2 at the

Feijenoord Stadion Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. 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 was held from 24 January to 14 February 2004 in Tunisia. It was the 24th edition of the biennial international men's football championship of Africa, organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Tun ...

qualifier versus

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

. 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 The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

victory over

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Aust ...

. 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, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

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 Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

, 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 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 event in July 2000. Teams represe ...

Hamburger SV

On 9 August 2007, Addo signed a three-year contract with hometown

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

, 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 33.

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 Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

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 sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

in the 2006 FIFA World Cup game against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

on 17 June 2006 at the

RheinEnergieStadion RheinEnergieStadion, formerly Müngersdorfer Stadion () or Müngersdorfer Stadium, is a German football stadium in Cologne. It was built on the site of the two previous Müngersdorfer stadiums. It is the home of the local 2. Bundesliga team, ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, which Ghana won 2–0. In 2006 he played in Ghana's 2–1 win over the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

Frankenstadion Max-Morlock-Stadion () is a stadium in Nuremberg, Germany, which was opened in 1928. It is located next to Zeppelinfeld. It also neighbors the Nuremberg Arena. Since 1966, it has been home stadium to the German 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Nü ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

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, sect ...

of the

and prior to the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

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 org ...

, succeeding

Ibrahim Tanko Ibrahim Anyars Tanko (born 25 July 1977) is a Ghanaian retired footballer who played mostly as a second striker or an attacking midfielder, scout and manager who last served as the head coach of the local Black Stars - Ghana A' national footba ...

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 (C ...

and

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange S.A., 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 Association football, footbal ...

Borussia Dortmund

In April 2019, it was announced that Addo would work for former club

as a 'talent coach', having previously held a similar role at

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. After a playing career as a forward in the lower leagues of German football, Terzić worked as a scout and youth assistant coach at Boruss ...

who had been promoted to interim head coach, following the sacking of head coach

Lucien Favre Lucien Favre (; born 2 November 1957) is a Swiss professional Association football, football manager and former player who most recently managed club OGC Nice, Nice. Favre was a playmaker for various Swiss and French clubs, the longest for Serve ...

. He won his first trophy as a coach after Dortmund defeated

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

in the finals of the

2020–21 DFB-Pokal The 2020–21 DFB-Pokal was the 78th season of the annual German Association football, football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. The compe ...

. Following the assignment of Terzić as technical director and appointment of

Marco Rose Marco Rose (born 11 September 1976) is a German professional association football, football manager (association football), manager who was most recently the manager of RB Leipzig, and a former football player, player who was a defender (associat ...

as the new head coach, Addo resumed his work as a talent coach.

Ghana

On 25 September 2021, the

Ghana Football Association The Ghana Football Association (GFA) is the sports governing body, governing body of association football in Ghana, based in the capital city, Accra. Founded in 1957 to replace the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast Football Association whi ...

announced that they had appointed Addo as one of two deputies for the new Ghana coach

Milovan Rajevac Milovan Rajevac (Serbian: Милован Рајевац; born 2 January 1954) is a Serbian Manager (association football), football manager and former professional player. Playing career Born in Čajetina, Rajevac played as a Defender (associat ...

. On 9 February 2022, the Ghana Football Association announced that they had appointed Addo as the interim coach for the

ahead of the team's

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

final play-off matches against

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of 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 Christopher William Gerard Hughton (born 11 December 1958) is a professional football manager and former player. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team. He was most recently head coach of the Ghana national te ...

as technical advisor and

George Boateng George Antwi Boateng (born 5 September 1975) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. After making his breakthrough with Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivisie, he spent most of his career in England, making 384 Prem ...

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 Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

in a 2023 AFCON qualifiers. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament, Ghana went on to lose their first match against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

by 3–2, however they won their second group game against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

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 Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

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. Addo revealed the decision to leave the post as the head coach of Ghana Black star indicating the decision was not only in his hand.

Second Spell

On 15 March 2024, he was reappointed as head coach of the Ghana national football team and Joseph Laumann, John Painstil, and Fatawu Dauda as assistant coaches to support the team's technical setup. He temporarily took charge of the March international window for the games against

and

on 22 and 26 March 2024, respectively at the Stade de Marrakech in Morocco before taking over permanently in May 2024. Addo led the Black Stars to victory against

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

by 2–1 on 6 June 2024, making the victory the first away win since 2022. He again led the Black Stars to victory against

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

by 4–3 on 10 June 2024.

Personal life

In September 2024, Addo was involved in a car crash along with

John Paintsil John Paintsil (born 15 June 1981) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who was an assistant coach at Kaizer Chiefs in the South African Premiership. He played club football for Berekum Arsenal, Liberty Professionals, Maccabi Tel Aviv, H ...

and

Fatau Dauda Abdul Fatawu Dauda (; born 6 April 1985), known as Fatau Dauda, is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Dauda began his football career in 2004 with Ghana Division 1 League club Okwawu United, and i ...

after their vehicle was damaged as it avoided a head-on collision with a pick-up truck that veered into their lane. The

issued a statement shortly after the incident confirming that all three individuals were in stable condition.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Borussia Dortmund *

: 2001–02 *

runner-up: 2001–02 *

DFB-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German association football, football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five t ...

runner-up:

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

References

External links

* * *
Otto Addo
on Borussia Dortmund website {{DEFAULTSORT:Addo, Otto 1975 births Living people German sportspeople of Ghanaian descent Ghanaian men's footballers German men's footballers Footballers from Hamburg Men's association football midfielders Ghana men's 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