Otto Addo versus Kwesi Appiah: Who will win?

There’s excitement brewing in the hearts of Ghanaian football lovers as two of the nation’s brilliant minds on the sidelines battle for the first time today.

For many, this is a clash between the old guard and the new lord. The man who marked the last decade of Black Stars up against the new manager given the mandate to lead Ghana to AFCON glory since 1982.

It’s a contest between the first Ghanaian coach to qualify the country for the FIFA World Cup versus the last Ghanaian gaffer to lead the Black Stars to the Mundial.

Both ex-players and proper legends of Ghana football, it doesn’t come much bigger than this.

Ghana appears to be favorites for this clash but with Otto Addo’s leaky defense and pressure mounting on his men, things can get interesting here.

Appiah’s brilliant start to life as manager of the Falcons of Jediane, together with his knowledge of the Black Stars and Ghana football, makes it difficult to call this game.

By all standards, this will be a clash of the titans.

Addo and Appiah's Black Stars coaching career

James Kwesi Appiah was the 41st coach to handle Ghana's senior men's national team since 1958 when he was first appointed head coach in April 2012.

Before that, he was an assistant coach of the Black Stars from 2008 and led the Ghana Under-23 team to a historic gold medal at the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique.

He made history two years later as the first black African coach to take the country to the World Cup when he qualified the team to Brazil 2014.

Kwesi Appiah has had two spells as Black Stars coach after leaving his role in September 2014 and was reappointed in April 2017 before he was sacked in January 2020.

On the other hand, Coach Otto Addo was given the Black Stars job in February 2022 and guided the team to the 2022 World Cup after triumphing over West African rivals, Nigeria to clinch the qualification spot.

He left the role after a group stage exit in Qatar.

The 49-year-old returned 15 months later after Chris Hughton was sacked for a poor 2023 AFCON showing in Ivory Coast.

The former Borussia Dortmund talent development coach was given a 34-month contract, with the option to extend for another two years.

He has since managed six games with a 50 percent win rate but has failed to win a game in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.

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