Ghana head coach Otto Addo has opened up on a little-known chapter of his coaching career, revealing why he once felt the need to apologise to South Korean superstar Son Heung-min.
The Black Stars boss shared the story ahead of Ghana’s friendly against South Korea in Seoul on November 18, a match that caps the international year for both nations.
Ghana enter the fixture on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Japan, while Son arrives in superb form after scoring a brilliant free kick in Korea’s 2-0 win over Bolivia.
But beyond current form, the meeting brings back memories of Addo’s early coaching days in Germany – and his role in Son’s development at Hamburger SV.
Addo, who served as an assistant for Hamburg’s U19s and later the first team, admitted that a language barrier made their first interactions extremely difficult.
“At the time, he couldn’t speak English and I couldn’t speak Korean,” Addo revealed through the GFA.
“I had to ask Cha Du-ri, my former teammate at Mainz, to translate my instructions. The first few days were really difficult.”
The communication challenges, Addo says, even limited Son’s early playing time.
“I want to apologise to Son because he didn’t play much early on. I wasn’t able to explain the tactics properly, and it affected him,” he admitted.
Despite those challenges, Son eventually flourished in Hamburg, where he matured into one of Asia’s finest attacking talents before moving to the Bundesliga stage with Bayer Leverkusen and later becoming a Premier League icon at Tottenham Hotspur.
Addo spoke with pride about Son’s growth but was clear about the threat he poses on Tuesday.
“We know how strong South Korea are. They have great defenders and a strong front line,” he said.
“We must avoid giving away set pieces because Son’s free-kick ability is exceptional. His skills make him very hard to contain.”
