The Comeback Shouldn’t Have Happened” — Michael Oti Adjei on Otto Addo’s Return

Veteran sports journalist Michael Oti Adjei has described Otto Addo’s return as Black Stars coach after the 2022 FIFA World Cup as a mistake, arguing that the decision ultimately contributed to the national team’s recent struggles.

Speaking in an interview with Kafui Dey, Oti Adjei said the Ghana Football Association should not have brought Addo back after his initial departure following the World Cup in Qatar.

“I think the comeback shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” he stated.

According to Oti Adjei, the decision to reappoint Addo was heavily influenced by his achievement in guiding Ghana to the World Cup, but football authorities failed to look beyond that success and assess whether he was the right person to lead the team long-term.

“The GFA president really wanted that comeback. He will probably prove it as justified because Ghana qualified for the World Cup,” he said.

Oti Adjei argued that Ghana’s football establishment has become too focused on World Cup qualification while overlooking broader indicators of progress, including performances at the Africa Cup of Nations and the development of the local game.

“I think that’s become one of the problems with us. We measure everything in football terms these days in Ghana in terms of World Cup qualification,” he said.

The sports broadcaster maintained that Addo lacked the experience required for one of the most demanding coaching jobs on the continent, noting that he had never managed a team independently before taking charge of the Black Stars.

“We handed the biggest job in Ghana football to a man who had not managed single-handedly himself before,” Oti Adjei said.

He further argued that warning signs emerged during Addo’s first spell in charge, including comments suggesting a stronger attachment to his role at Borussia Dortmund than to the national team.

“I thought some of the things he said after the Qatar World Cup, how he wanted to go back to Dortmund, made it obvious to me that he had an ambition that was focused more at club level than national team level,” he said.

Oti Adjei believes the decision to retain Addo became even more difficult to justify after Ghana failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, a setback he described as one of the country’s biggest football failures in decades.

“This was such a big drop in our standards,” he said. “Nobody left at the GFA. Otto Addo didn’t leave.”

The journalist also criticised what he described as a lack of accountability following the failed AFCON qualification campaign, insisting that the magnitude of the disappointment was never fully acknowledged.

“When we failed to qualify for the Nations Cup, against the teams we failed to qualify against and the kind of football we played, it was such a big drop in our standards,” he said.

While acknowledging Addo’s role in helping Ghana qualify for two World Cups, Oti Adjei maintained that the former coach was not adequately prepared for the challenges that came with leading the Black Stars over an extended period.

“In hindsight, I don’t think he had the experience. I don’t think he understood the complexities of management. I don’t think he understood the emotions that came with managing a national team,” he said.

He concluded that the decision to bring Addo back ultimately proved costly for Ghanaian football.

“So in my mind, he should never have come back.”