Borussia Dortmund assistant coach Otto Addo reveals he is currently unsure about the prospects of making a step up into a head coaching role.
The former international joined the Black and Yellows backroom staff in 2019, leaving Danish outfit Nordsjaelland.
In the past he had also worked with Hamburg and Borussia Monchengladbach.
“I can’t really tell,” Addo told CNN when asked about a possible role as head coach.
“Now, as assistant coach, it’s fun for me — to work with young players is really, really good. I think it’s an important role. In football, you actually can’t think too far [ahead]. You have to look from season to season … and I’m not really sure if I could do it really, to be honest,” he says with modesty.
“I’m learning day-by-day, and at the moment, I’m happy with the role as an assistant coach, but also with the role of guiding the young players, talented players and helping them to grow up, to step into the adult football scene and to guide them, especially in difficult situations.”
Addo began it all at Hamburg when he joined the club during the twilight of his playing career in 2007, when he spent time between the first and second teams.
It was during this time that he started working with the club’s young talent as a mentor.
“I started thinking: ‘Okay, what can I do now?’ So I jumped into scouting for about two or three months to see if I would like it, because I was sure that I wanted to do something with football — about this I was very, very sure — but I didn’t know which section to go,” the 45-year-old explained.
“The scouting was okay. You know, traveling alone and watching games alone was quite different and I’m a guy who likes to be around people.
“Then the opportunity came to join the under-19s [at Hamburg] and they asked me if I could join as an assistant and if I could help.
“I stepped in and I liked it. I like to work with young players and with people. It was a good experience and I said: ‘OK … I want to do this for the rest of my life.'”
Born in Germany to Ghanaian parents, Addo switched allegiance to represent Ghana in 1999, a year before joining the Black Stars for the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
In 2006, he made a return to the team after a long absence, just in time to make the final squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
He has been linked to Ghana’s coaching job in recent times.