Following the recent setback against Sudan, coach Otto Addo has taken time to reflect on the team’s performance and outline his vision for the future. Ghana lost 2-0 to Sudan on Tuesday, October 15 in Libya to drop 10 points behind Group F leaders Angola and 5 points adrift of second placed Sudan.
Despite the setback, Otto remains optimistic about the team’s potential. Speaking to ghanafa.org, the former midfielder, highlighted the importance of teamwork, belief, Unity and adaptability.
Read on for the full transcript:
On defeat to Sudan
Okay, first of all, I would like to congratulate Sudan for the victory, and also the coach Kwesi Appiah, always been a gentleman before and after the game. They did well, they showed passion in their match, and I would like to congratulate them for this. Then, surely, I want to thank the team for at least trying, knowing that it was not good enough. We had a good talk afterwards, I had individual talks with players, where we attacked certain issues and certain scenes, and I hope it was suitable.
On the mood of the team after the loss
Everybody was down, and it was a really, really hard pill to take. Surely, I want to use the opportunity also to thank the whole technical staff for supporting me, even now, after the game, in our worst days, because surely we, as Ghana, should qualify for the AFCON. It’s not over yet. Mathematically, there’s still a chance, and we will do everything which is in our hands to hold this chance alive.
On Reflections after loss
I think I need to go a little bit, not only on this game, but a little bit more behind. If I reflect, and this was also when I was a player, this was the case; you have to win your home games. You have to win them. The passion and also the discipline defensively but also offensively, position-wise, was really, really good.
It’s just like we didn’t execute and the results were not there. But surely we deserved to win against Angola, and also the last home game against Sudan. The reason I’m saying it is because it affects, surely, the tactical view of the away game when you have to win. And if you want to win your home games and make your home works, you can go tactically differently into the second matches, which we couldn’t. We have a lot of things to learn. I think, in general, it’s been a good experience.
On having an uninspiring campaign
I know it’s very, very bad because we, as Black Stars, represent the Ghanaian society, the Ghanaian people. And it’s really shameful that we didn’t at least win our home games to get in a good situation for our away games. And we have to do better, but surely we have to learn. And it’s very, very painful, but surely we can use it to learn from our mistakes. I think if you get this experience, and it’s not only about getting experience, but also to take the right conclusions of this experience and to reflect on the right points from this experience and to be self-critical. And I’m starting with myself.
And if every player does this, then we’ll be on our way forward. In all, I think, if we look at the last years, since not qualifying for the World Cup 2018, we’ve been struggling as a country for a long time. We were lucky to qualify in 2022 with me. CK Akonnor did his work before, Milo also, I want to mention because they are also part of this, not only me. And we qualified for the 2022 World Cup. And I hope, and I think everybody who knows something about football, and has been there at our home games when we played against Nigeria, the home games when we played Angola, or even now, Sudan, knows that the players, they have it.
On sticking to the plan
If we stick to our strength and our consistency with thinking about how we can bring our strength, and this is to play good football. We have the players which can play good football. And combine it with our passion, and then we can go forward. Even in this bitter, very, very bitter situation we are in now. To be honest, the last two days, I was dead. But now I got a lot of positive feedback also, and a lot of support from family, friends. And this is the time where I need them. And also I think all the players, all the team needs it. And this brought me back on track. And very, very important for us, I think, to think ahead now, to try as much as possible to win the last games. And it’s always difficult.
These are the difficulties we are facing. Surely nobody wants to be in a situation like Sudan or Niger where they’re facing war in their country. But due to that, they stick together, they have their camps, they can train two weeks, their league is on pause. Especially when I saw the home games, I saw, and also the games before when we played at Mali and also Central African Republic, you see that the boys have it. The boys have it. It’s just a mental thing. And for us, it’s very, very important. And this is where we have to pick up and where we have to be better. When things go wrong, to stick to the plan.
Not all of a sudden not to play football, just to play long balls and everything. They know that I want to play out from the back and we need to sometimes also maybe play a long ball. But the main plan has to be fulfilled and the players have to learn. And this is a normal thing. It’s not like an exclusive Ghanaian thing. It happens in Germany, it happens everywhere. To stick to the plan, to be conscious about what you can do, to believe in the plan so that we can work together out to come out of the situation. But if we’re not brave, then we have a problem. And this is what I’m appealing for.
On player mentality and external criticism
But this comes also with all of us. With me as a coach, surely, to call them out, to be brave. But also for the players to be strong and stable. Because there’s a lot of influence also from the media coming from outside. People are saying this, people are saying that. And the problem comes if you start to believe. Let’s say there’s a curse on the team or whatsoever. It could affect a player. And then maybe you miss one chance and then you think, hey, maybe they’re right. But this is the wrong way. This is the wrong way. You have to believe in yourself. You have to be mentally very, very strong to believe in yourself and to believe in your teammates and support your teammates in whatever situation. Even if you’re 2-0 down. In my career, I’ve seen everything.
We’ve been 2-0 down, but with the right mentality, you can even win 3-2. And this also comes with sticking to the plan. Sticking to the plan means that I’m not doing my own thing. Maybe I’m mad that we’re two goals behind, but I’ll stick to the plan and listen. Because the plan is a plan that we plan together. And then I know when I get the ball, oh, this guy is going there, this guy is going there. Maybe I have this and this is an option. But if we’re doing something else, then everybody, it’s just random. And then it’s difficult. Surely still you can score a goal, but it’s more difficult. No, I think it’s normal. It’s normal.
On being realistic about the state of affairs
Everybody is, a lot of people are angry, disappointed. I was the same, to be honest. It’s not good enough at the moment. But surely I, as a head, I have to look at the bigger picture. And it’s a journey. Ghana has been going, like I said before, since several years. And we have to reflect that the team is not there where we want them to be. And it’s a different time. Sometimes I think people are a little bit stuck in the past. They’re living in the actual time now. And we always refer to the past, to the past, to the past. But we have to think about now. What is about now? And we have to see what our options are, what we do now.
On Ghanaians moving on from the likes of like Asamoah Gyan, Essien, Stephen and co
I can’t compare players who have been playing in Chelsea, Juventus, Real, Barcelona, Inter Milan, AC Milan. We had all these kind of players. Compare them with all the respect to our players, with our players at the moment. Maybe they will get there one day, but they’re not there yet. And this is no excuse. We have to beat everybody. Out of two games, we have to beat at least one. And maybe one time draw, we have to beat Sudan. But it’s very difficult for the players, especially if before the matches, there’s a lot of negativity towards them. And if it’s after the game, like I said, it’s normal.
But even if it’s before, for me, this is not normal. But I can understand the way people are thinking. Like I said, we are representing the society. We are representing Ghana. And we have a big responsibility. And therefore, we have to do much, much better.
On positives
But like I said before, I think everybody who saw the games knows it’s just some inches. We are not there yet, but we are almost there. Just here and there, some goals missing.
Everybody saw that we had plenty of opportunities to score in all the games, goals, but they didn’t come. But I’m very, very firm that they will come if we stay consistent and if we still believe. And this is the most important thing, because at the end, it’s a mind game. It’s a mind game about knowing your own strength, but also be conscious about the team and the team togetherness, what it can do. And if you know that, and you have to show the passion and the willingness to be very, very disciplined, offensively but also defensively, then this team can beat every team. But if it’s not there, surely, as we saw, we can lose also against every team.
On remaining AFCON qualifiers
Like I said, mathematically, there’s still a chance and we will give everything. We will prepare the team. We try to prepare them even better than before to reach our goals. I was really down after the match, to be honest, but now, like friends, family, you know, giving me a lot of confidence back. Now I’m back to myself and we have to try as much as possible to do our homework. In case we don’t lose, we should be there. So we have to prepare. We have to look closely. We have to analyse the next games from our players. We have to consider maybe some changes. We have to do everything. We have to turn everything around to bring the best squad to beat Angola.
On some players having a scuffle after Sudan game
And sometimes, to be honest, teams need this to grow. Sometimes I like it better than talking behind somebody’s back, you know, to be direct and straight. If somebody didn’t do this or that or if somebody has the feeling, there and there could be things which could be better, then they have to say it because this is what makes us better.
On picking positives from criticism
We have to get criticism. I have to get criticism to think about it, if it’s reasonable and then to reflect on it and say, OK, maybe we could have done this or we could have done that to make this situation better. And so I think these discussions can be very, very fruitful if they don’t go over a certain line, if you don’t, let’s say, insult somebody or go on somebody’s private life or whatsoever, then I think it’s very, very fruitful. It’s normal that I get a lot of criticism and people take their conclusions out of the last results. I started in 2022, a lot of people were saying the same thing. When we qualified, nobody came and apologised.
On being compared to Kwesi Appiah
So this is a normal thing. People tend to react to these kinds of things, (but it’s very, very difficult to compare me and Kwesi Appiah. Kwesi Appiah has his own personality, has his own strength, his own strategy, and I’m a different person. I have my own personality, my own strategies, my own tactics, whatsoever. So we are both Ghanaians, that’s true, but it’s difficult to compare. And like I said, surely I can understand with these results that everybody is not satisfied. I’m not satisfied on my own. I turn things around, I overthink things. What could I have done better? I’m the first to ask me these questions.
On the future
I think it’s a long journey. It’s a long time. I think the recent six, seven years where the team was struggling, and now it’s really, really a small downfall. But also the small highlight came with me, with the World Cup 2022. Now I’m responsible maybe for a big, big downfall, for not qualifying. But like I said, mathematically we still have a chance, we will do everything. But I’m convinced, very, very convinced that in this team, and like I said, I think if you know anything about football, and you saw our home games only, you know that there’s so much more on this team. And it’s a long journey, like I said, it’s a process. And the team will work and reflect on their failures. And sometimes this situation can make teams even better. We know we have a big responsibility. And we know what football can do to the nation. Football is a great equalizer. And we will work hard for the youth, for the nation, for everyone, to bring Ghana back to where Ghana belongs. We will try to prepare them mentally strong enough to fulfill this aim. And we’ll come back stronger.