Otto Addo – Stars coach

Pairing Ghana’s Black Stars in the same qualifying group with Angola, Sudan and Niger brought joy to football lovers.

Judging the standards of the Black Stars on the continent, there was not a single doubt about Ghana’s ability to snatch one of the two slots for the Morocco AFCON.

What, perhaps might not be certain was whether they would top the group or take the second spot.

But considering the Black Stars pedigree, a second place in the group would be considered to have happened under unexpected circumstances.

No prophet of the land predicted otherwise. Ghanaians were united over how the qualifiers would end.

Counting some months after, Ghanaians have witnessed football’s doomsday as the favourites complete six qualifying games without a win. It is surely the lowest to which the nation’s pride can sink.

After a disastrous draw with Niger on opening day of qualifiers, the Black Stars lost their first home game to Angola in Kumasi and drew with Sudan to end the first round with two points.

Three days later, a Sudanese team guided by a former Black Stars trainer, James Kwesi Appiah, masterminded a historic feat over the Ghanaians, leaving them with a tall mountain to climb to Morocco.

The Black Stars under Coach Otto Addo were left with the huge task of winning their last two games against Angola and Niger and hope Sudan drop all points in matches against the same sides.

The question on the lips of many, then, was even more about the Stars ability to win those two matches than where and how Sudan would let this opportunity presented them in over 12 years slip through their fingers.

When the time came for the last two matches, indeed, Sudan lost the first match; crashing to a 4-0 defeat to Niger. The ball was then in the court of the Black Stars to prove they have the wherewithal to cause what would have been one of the greatest comebacks in AFCON qualifiers.

Face to face with Angola, the Black Stars were held to a 1-1 draw to dash any hope of that comeback.

The final clash with Niger was therefore reduced to a mere academic exercise, one for pride and all expected the Black Stars to shine to seal a third position.

Sadly, that confirmed Ghana’s unimaginable football decline as the Black Stars suffered a 2-1 defeat to Niger at the Accra Sports Stadium.

From that moment, the conversation has been on what the contributory factors to this free fall could be and find ways to address them.

That line of conversation has put Ghana Football Association and its leadership as well as Coach Otto Addo on the firing line with all manner of invectives directed at them.

Others have expressed opinions that players were also to blame for the disappointing outcomes.

The three, however, cannot escape blame in how disappointing and unattractive the Black Stars, four-time AFCON winners, have become lately.

Coach Addo inspired hope when he led a hurriedly arranged technical team to guide the Black Stars in a two-legged face-off with Nigeria.

After securing the World Cup ticket, Addo led the Black Stars to the Qatar World Cup where the Stars put up another shambolic performance and failed to progress from the group stage.

As if that was not a good signal, a search committee formed by the FA settled on him again and was specifically tasked to qualify the team for the 2025 AFCON and the next World Cup.

At the moment, it appears Ghanaian have no confidence in Addo again, may be except the FA.

After the Niger debacle, many prayed and hoped that they would wake up the following to read or hear about the resignation of the coach and his technical team or the FA hierarchy bowing out.

Rather, what was witnessed was the typical Ghanaian attitude of holding on to straws even when the storm is very tumultuous.

Ghanaians have been asked to be calm because what has happened was not what was bargained for and that it is with cool heads that Ghana can overcome the football crisis.

The kind of players available to the team also leaves much to be desired, let alone the discipline and character they show on the field.

Ghanaians watch some of these players in top leagues across the world and know what they can bring to the table. However, they are given the chance to play for the national team and they behave like boys who have just been introduced to the sport.

Otto Addo’s future remains unclear as of now but if he were to remain in charge, he must take a second look at the players he invites to play for the national team.

The year 2025 is just around the corner. That will come with the resumption of World Cup qualifiers. What that means is that there is no time to waste.

Preparation must start in earnest but in doing so, Addo must ensure he assembles the very best and not those that they want to try because they are connected to top officials on the corridors of power.

By Andrew Nortey