‘I’m not a scout at Dortmund; I’m a coach’ – Otto Addo

The 47-year-old played for the Bundesliga side for nearly a decade before taking up a role on the technical bench after hanging up his boots.

Addo joined Dortmund’s backroom staff in 2019 and has since helped to nurture several young players into first-teamers.

The former midfielder is currently combining his role at Dortmund with that of Ghana, where he is set to lead the Black Stars to the 2022 World Cup after guiding the side to beat Nigeria in the playoffs.

Chris Hughton with Otto Addo and George Boateng Pulse Ghana

There have, however, been varied opinions on his specific role at Dortmund, with some suggesting he is a scout at the German side.

Reacting to this, though, Addo said he has moved on from being a scout and is currently a coach who trains young players for the first team.

“First of all, I am not a scout, I am a coach. I did scouting in 2014 for the Ghana National team. I joined the national team because I live in Germany so I did the scouting in 2014. After that, I never scouted again so I am working as assistant; more of top talent coach in charge…especially the young players at Borussia Dortmund,” he said, as quoted by Myjoyonline.

“I guide them, I coach them on positional training and I assist the coach during the training during the week, I guide the young players when they go down, especially [when] they don’t play in the first team."

Black Stars coach, Otto Addo Pulse Ghana

The Ghana coach added: “They play for the second team. I guide them, I analyse their games and I talk about the games with the young players… That’s very important for us; For Borussia Dortmund to develop their players. They get special feedback from me.

“I decide which young player will come up to the first team and can train and play with the first team.”

The Black Stars are paired against Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea in Group H of the World Cup in Qatar.