Coach Herbert Addo laid to rest

The mortal remains of the late Herbert Obuobi Addo were interred at the Aburi Methodist Cemetery last Saturday after a funeral ceremony that saw many pay their last respect to the one-time national soccer coach.

There were glowing tributes paid in his honour at the funeral held at his residence (Addo Farms) at Oyarifa, where he was laid in state.

Prominent among the mourners were members of the football fraternity, notably Ghana Football Association officials led by the president Kwesi Nyantakyi, clubs officials, coaches and old footballers.

But the impressive and well attended funeral was nearly marred when a section of the family stood against sending the body to Aburi for burial as planned.

And it had to take the intervention of a gun-wielding security force that had been deployed at the funeral grounds to ensure the status quo prevailed.

Coach Addo, 66, who passed on May 1, had handled virtually every Ghanaian club, including Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

But he could best be remembered for his outstanding feats with Sekondi Hasaacas and Kumasi Cornerstone, both of whom he led to their WAFU Cup triumphs respectively in 1982 and 1987, much as his history-making epoch with Aduana Stars as Ghana Premier League champions on their debut in 2010 was also memorable.