Ghana coach confirms he is leaving job immediately

AL WAKRAH, Qatar, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Ghana coach Otto Addo confirmed he would be leaving after the team’s exit from the World Cup on Friday, having already said before the tournament in Qatar he would not be staying on after.

The inexperienced 47-year-old, a former Ghana international who was born in Germany and played for the Black Stars in their first World Cup finals appearance in 2006, had been a surprise appointment, parachuted in between Ghana’s ignominious exit at the January Africa Cup of Nations finals and their March World Cup qualifying playoff tie against Nigeria.

Although his only previous coaching experience was with the youth teams of Hamburg and Borussia Dortmund, he had former Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton as his advisor as Ghana rode their luck to edge Nigeria for a place in Qatar.

“I said before, it was clear I would stop after the World Cup. At the moment, me and my family see our future in Germany, I like my role at Dortmund,” Addo said after Ghana exited the tournament following a 2-0 loss to Uruguay at the Al Janoub Stadium.

Addo works as “talent coach” at the Bundesliga club, where he previously played.

“I said I would resign after the World Cup even if we were world champions,” he added.

Addo’s departure means Ghana must move quickly to get a new coach in place before they continue their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign in March.

Addo joins Roberto Martinez (Belgium), Carlos Queiroz (Iran) and Gerardo Martino (Mexico) as coaches who immediately left their jobs after World Cup elimination this week.

Additional reporting by Toby Davis; Editing by Angus MacSwan

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