Otto Addo has opened up on the difficulty in announcing his departure from Dortmund, expressing gratitude to the club for allowing him to pursue his new role as the permanent coach of the Ghanaian national team.
The former Ghana international, who has served as Dortmund’s talent coach since 2020, will part ways with the club mutually in the summer.
Addo is set to take the reins of the Ghanaian national team during the March international break, where the Black Stars are scheduled to face Uganda and Nigeria in friendly matches.
However, he will return to assume his permanent position with Ghana in May, signing a 34-month contract with an option for a further 24 months.
In response to Dortmund’s announcement of his departure, Addo remarked, “It was not easy for me to make this decision, but I am very grateful and happy that those responsible at BVB are allowing me to take this step.”
He emphasized the significance of being able to balance his responsibilities between Dortmund and the Ghanaian Football Association, acknowledging the unique opportunity afforded to him.
Reflecting on his time at Dortmund, Addo expressed fondness for the club, noting, “Borussia Dortmund will always be something special for me – I celebrated my greatest successes here as a player and also experienced an incredible amount as a coach. I will definitely miss my colleagues, the boys, the club, and the fans.”
Looking ahead to his new role with the Ghanaian national team, Addo conveyed his excitement, stating, “It is a great privilege to be able to take on the role of head coach of my national team. I’ve already gained a lot of experience in this role as interim coach and I’m looking forward to the task that lies ahead of me from the summer.”
Meanwhile, President of the Ghana Football Association Kurt Okraku, has praised Oddo for impressing the panel who interviewed him for the job.
“Otto was exceptional in the interview process and was rated highly by the search committee, hence the decision,” President Simeon-Okraku told ghanafa.org
“There were some brilliant individuals among the coaches who applied for the job, so the committee took the pain to interview a chunk of them to pick their thoughts on their intentions to transform the team within a short period of time due to our peculiar situation”
“The Committee was overly satisfied with Otto’s performance for which reason he was recommended to the Executive Council for approval,” President Simeon-Okraku added.
