Otto Addo full of smiles after returning to Dortmund

The 46-year-old serves as a scout and assistant manager at Dortmund but was temporarily released to Ghana for the two-legged playoff.

The Black Stars booked their place at the World Cup following a pulsating 1-1 draw against Nigeria at the Mashood Abiola Stadium in March.

A first-half strike by Thomas Partey was cancelled out by a penalty from Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong as both teams shared the spoils in Abuja.

The result sealed Ghana’s qualification on away goals after the first leg ended in a goalless draw at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.

Addo has been widely praised for turning things around very quickly, especially after the team’s disastrous campaign at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

And he was full of smiles when he returned to Dortmund, with the German club posting a photo of the former midfielder on social media.

Black Stars coach, Otto Addo Pulse Ghana

In a post on Twitter, Dortmund shared a photo of Addo standing with other coaches, accompanied by the caption: “The Hero of Ghana is back in Dortmund!”

Ghana will face Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea after being drawn in Group H of the 2022 World Cup.

Meanwhile, President Nana Akufo-Addo has urged the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to keep the current coaching staff together until after the World Cup.

In February, the GFA announced a quartet of coaches to take charge of the national team following the sacking of Milovan Rajevac after Ghana’s disastrous showing at AFCON 2021.

Addo was named as interim coach, Chris Hughton as technical advisor, while George Boateng and Mas-Ud Didi Dramani were also appointed as members of the technical team.

Having visited the Jubilee House after securing World Cup qualification, the President congratulated the team and urged the GFA to keep the technical staff together.

“I’m hoping that the technical team that has been put together for these two matches will at least take us through the World Cup,” Akufo-Addo said.

“I told the coach that he should be careful when he came to Ghana; that he could be kidnapped here and we’ll make it difficult for him to go back to Germany and to Dortmund.

“But I hope that Mr. Okraku, [you'll do] whatever you can to keep this team together, at least until Qatar. Then afterwards, we can take the long-term decision,” he added.