Didi Dramani: I was named after Brazilian legend
Black Stars assistant coach, Mas-Ud Didi Dramani, has revealed that he got his middle name from Brazil’s FIFA World Cup legend, Waldyr Pereira, also known as Didi.
The celebrated Ghanaian coach dropped the well-kept secret in an exclusive interview with Graphic Sports at the Right To Dream (RTD) Academy last week.
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According to the RTD Technical Director, his father, George Dramani, one-time General Secretary of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), named him after the famous Brazilian on his return from a coaching course in Brazil, the same year he was born.
Interestingly, the name Didi has become even more popular among stakeholders in the football industry than his maiden name Dramani.
“I got the name Didi because I was born when my father, who was an astute coach, returned from a Brazilian tour alongside Asebi Boakye, Ohene Djan, Nana Nketia, Osam-Duodu and the rest,” he disclosed.
That was the time when Didi was a household name in the world after the Brazilian star had attended three successive World Cups in 1954, 1958, and 1962 and capped his outstanding performances with the Golden Ball award in 1958.
In line with destiny, Dramani has naturally grown to fill the shoes of his mentor who also had a successful coaching career in South America, Europe, and Asia.
Before landing the Black Stars assistant coaching job early this year, Dramani had won the Ghana Premier League title back-to-back with Asante Kotoko in his first attempt in the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 seasons, earning him the SWAG Coach of the Year honours in 2012.
Within that same period, the 56-year-old trainer also lifted the 2013/2014 FA Cup and the Super Cup, while crowning it all with the Coach of the Year awards in 2013 and 2014.
All those accolades were preceded by a historic bronze medal Didi won with the Black Maidens at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan, following a 1-0 victory over Germany in the third-place playoff.
He again chalked another first in the annals of Ghana football after emerging as the first Ghanaian coach to work with a European club following a stint with FC Nordsjælland of Denmark in the 2018/2019 season.
Currently, Didi Dramani is an accomplished CAF Elite Coaching Instructor, who is yearning to join the FIFA Instructors’ ranks in the near future.