Stars must learn lessons from Uruguay's defeat
Black Stars Coach Otto Addo has advised that some important lessons must be learnt from Ghana’s defeat to Uruguay that ended their FIFA World Cup campaign in Qatar last Friday.
He explained that while the Uruguayans were quick to defend the rebound from the penalty, the Black Stars players were nowhere near the box.
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Speaking to the media at the team’s Double Tree Hilton Hotel in Doha, the 47-year-old Borussia Dortmund scout challenged the players to believe in themselves and be ready for anything.
“There are some small things we can learn from the Uruguayans, and that includes mentality.
“If you take the penalty for instance, and if you watched it closely, you’d realise about six or seven Uruguay players came to defend the second ball (rebound), but with us, nobody was there to take the chance (after goalkeeper Sergio Rochet saved the ball and spilled it back into play).
“First, we’ve got to believe in ourselves and be ready for anything. This is what the young players must learn. And with all the talents available, we have to build our mindset,” said the coach during his post-match analysis.
Addo, who previously served as a scout for former Black Stars coach Kwasi Appiah for Ghana’s 2014 World Cup campaign, explained further that his role at Dortmund was very important to the club’s success, so his employers were not ready to allow him to stay on the job longer than they agreed with the FA and himself after tough negotiations.
“To come here was difficult and the GFA put in a lot of effort and went to convince the Dortmund board to get me released from my contract for the assignment.
“The position I have as a talent coach is very crucial to Dortmund. Every year, we produce a lot of big talents and I’m responsible for developing them.
“Naturally, they wouldn’t want to let me go but because I wanted to help the country, I told them it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and they let me go for six months. It was an agreement between the GFA and Borussia Dortmund and it is not possible to stay on longer,” he said.
Before taking up the role of interim head coach, Addo was assistant to Rajevac during the Serbian’s short stay but was not released by Dortmund to work with the team for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroun.
Later, the FA renegotiated his release to lead the technical team comprising Chris Hughton, Mas-Ud Didi Dramani, George Boateng and Richard Kingson to prepare for the qualification playoff against Nigeria, after which the group was maintained to manage Ghana’s World Cup campaign in Qatar.
