Ghana’s Black stars coach coach Otto Addo has been sharing his thoughts on Ghana’s FIFA international friendly against Nigeria in Marrakech on Friday. The former Borussia Dortmund player touched on his return to the team and what he has picked up so far going into the two games against Nigeria and Uganda.
Otto also shared his thoughts on the absence of key players like Mohammed Kudus, Thomas Partey, and Daniel Amartey amongst others.
He was asked about the quality of Nigeria, the new players and how they have adapted, and what he aims to see at the end of this month’s international window.
Here is everything he had to say:
On his return to the national team as head coach and observations so far
I am happy to be back, it’s been quite interesting because if you compare the squad now to the squad at the AFCON, there have been a lot of replacements because of injuries. We have had like seven/eight new players in camp with less experience but with a bright future in front of them and I think it was quite interesting to see them on the pitch to take in good positions against the ball and with the ball, adapting to my philosophy and my style of play so I am really looking forward to tomorrow. Especially for the young boys to show their quality and then with the combination with those who have experience with those who have been here for some time to guide them and I think it will be an interesting match.
Absence of some key players and its effect on the team
It is a pity; we would always want to go with our strongest squad especially when we are playing against Nigeria but for me I am looking for opportunities and it’s an opportunity for the new players to show themselves. So for that I am not thinking about who could be here and who could help us. Looking at the reality this is a squad with experience players and also with young players who are on their way up and who can show me what level and stage they can play.
On new players and what they offer the team
First of all I think they are extremely confident. They look fearless on the pitch and what I like is that in training they have adapted very well. They have integrated very well into the group. I can see them talking a lot, having a lot of fun so I think it’s a very good sign on the pitch and also off the pitch they were warmly welcome by those who have more experience.
On Nigeria and approach
I think we have observed them well, we know what to expect from them. They have really, really strong and experienced players, even though I guess not all of them are here. I think they have a very, very strong squad. We expect them to be very hard to break against the ball but also with the ball, which you saw at the African Cup of Nations, they are really, really good in offensive transmissions, they have fast players on the wings, tall players upfront who can hold the ball no matter who comes, with a really, really solid back chain so it’s going to be tough. But we know what we can do and we know how to play against such a host and even though they went to the final, they showed in some matches that they are vulnerable so anything can happen. I am just hoping that we get a good start and we can end this game as the winning team.
On what he aims to see at the end of the two friendlies
For me, it’s always the same. Each match has different preferences and different options. But also different hurdles and different solutions and for us it’s always the aim to find the right solutions defensively and offensively. So I think Nigeria and Uganda it’s an optimal preparation for the team and I think we can expect the same obstacles, so however the game ends, if we take the right conclusions out of these games then we can prepare ourselves for the upcoming matches against Mali and Central African Republic.
Source: GFA