Former Ghana coach Otto Addo feels the African coaches have shown they are as good as the rest after their impressive World Cup performances.
- Addo believes that the African coaches showed why they are as good as anyone
- Former Ghana tactician feels Qatari inspired others on the continent
- The 47-year-old has asked African fans to start trusting their own.
WHAT HAPPENED? The five African representatives at the 2022 World Cup were led by local coaches for the first time with Addo managing Ghana, Walid Regragui with Morocco, Aliou Cisse (Senegal), Ribogert Song (Cameroon) and Jalel Kadri managing Tunisia.
While Morocco made history by reaching the semi-finals and Senegal secured a round of 16 berth, the other teams exited in the group stage but left Qatar after winning at least one match, a tournament first for the continent. Addo believes the performance improvements were proof of how good African coaches are.
WHAT DID HE SAY? “I think you could see the impact of the [African] coaches connected to the country,” Addo told Forbes. “In addition, tactically the teams were well prepared.”
“That [sends] the message to create, not only your own players, but take the next step to create your own coaches. And also, that the federations believe in the coaches”.
“Hopefully this will inspire other coaches in Africa to believe in themselves, to grow and maybe have a chance to represent their country.”
“Our history plays an important role in this. When I look at Ghana, and this is what my parents have been taught, I always see that everything good comes from Europe.”
“People find it easier to believe people from Europe when they come with a project or an interesting idea than someone who comes from your own country.”
“People have to believe in themselves and also believe in their own people. We are role models. So if the FA puts an African or Ghanaian manager like me, then people will look at it and think, ‘if he can do it, I can do it too.’
THE LARGEST PHOTOGRAPH: Addo left Ghana after the tournament following the expiration of his contract, having led the Black Stars to a 3-2 win against South Korea, the win coming after a 3-2 loss to Portugal before lose 2-0 against Uruguay.
Cameroon also won one match, an impressive 1-0 win over Brazil. Tunisia notched a memorable 1-0 victory over now ousted champions France.
African champions Senegal recorded two group stage victories, recovering from a 2-0 loss to the Netherlands to beat hosts Qatar 3-1 and Ecuador 2-1 before falling to England 3-0 in the round of 16, while Morocco was the revelation of the tournament after finishing top of their group before eliminating Spain and Portugal to reach the last four.
Additionally, the five African nations in the World Cup scored an average of 4.8 points per team in the group stage, a record.
WHATS NEXT? As Ghana searches for Addo’s replacement, Morocco, Senegal, Cameroon and Tunisia have stayed on with their coaches and more are expected at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
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