Ghanaian footballer
Latif Atta Blessing (born 30 December 1996) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward for Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo FC .
Early life
Blessing was born in Nankese, a small village in the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District of southeast Ghana .
Club career
Ghana
In 2013, Latif Blessing joined the Liberty Professionals youth team in Accra .[2] He was soon promoted to the senior club for the Ghana Premier League but mainly appeared on the bench for the side.[2] Blessing received particularly good reviews for his performance during a Premier League match against Asante Kotoko on 21 June 2015. In that match, he scored in the 21st minute to equalize before providing two assists, leading Liberty Professionals to a 3–1 victory.[3]
During the 2016 season , Blessing scored six goals in his first eight games.[2] After his hat-trick on the final day of the season against Bechem United , Blessing would go on to finish the season as the top scorer in the league with 17 goals.[4] His performance during the season was recognized in December 2016 when Blessing won the best player of the league award by the Ghana Football Association .[5]
Major League Soccer
In January 2017, Blessing signed with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer .[6] [7] He made his MLS debut on 11 March 2017 against FC Dallas .[8] On 24 March 2017, Blessing was loaned to Swope Park Rangers , scoring in their match against OKC Energy FC .[9] [10] Blessing's first MLS goals came in a brace on 13 May 2017 in a 2–2 draw in Orlando versus Orlando City SC .[11] On 20 September 2017, Blessing scored in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup Final , as Sporting Kansas City won the 2017 U.S. Open Cup .[12]
In December 2017, Blessing was selected by Los Angeles FC with the second selection of the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft . He made his debut for the club as a starter in their first MLS match, a 1–0 victory at Seattle Sounders FC .
On January 3, 2023, Blessing was acquired by New England Revolution in exchange for $400,000 in GAM for Los Angeles FC.[13]
In July 2023, he was traded to Toronto FC in exchange for Mark-Anthony Kaye .[14]
In March 2024, he was traded to Houston Dynamo FC in exchange for $75,000 in 2025 GAM and up to $200,000 in conditional 2025 GAM.[15]
International career
Blessing was included in the provisional squad for Ghana before the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations , but failed to make the final cut.[16]
Personal life
In 2017, Blessing obtained a U.S. green card allowing him to qualify as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[17] However, in 2023, as part of the process to bring his family over via a visa, he had to give up his green card and reapply under a visa status, returning him to counting as an international player.[18] [19]
Blessing's brother, Ibrahim Fuseini, currently plays for Lori FC in the Armenian Premier League .[20] He has a twin sister, Latifa.[21]
Career statistics
As of match played 21 October 2023 [22]
Honours
Sporting Kansas City
Los Angeles FC
References
^ "Latif Blessing" . Los Angeles FC. Retrieved 20 August 2022 .
^ a b c "A Shamo Quaye of our time" . pulse.com . Pulse. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017 .
^ "Liberty fight back to defeat Kotoko in Dansoman" . modernghana.com . Modern Ghana. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2017 .
^ "Latif Blessing wins Ghana Premier League goal king" . ghanaweb.com . Ghana Web. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017 .
^ Abayateye, Michael (18 December 2016). "Latif Blessing wins Best Player of the Year at GFA/PLB Awards" . primenewsghana.com . Prime News Ghana. Retrieved 10 January 2017 .
^ Kovzan, Sam (9 January 2017). "Sporting KC acquires 20-year-old winger Latif Blessing in transfer from Ghana" . Sporting Kansas City . Retrieved 10 January 2017 .
^ "Sporting KC: preso Rwatubyaye, lavoro di scout all'italiana" [Sporting KC: Rwatubyaye, Italian Scout Job]. mlssocceritalia.com (in Italian). MLS Soccer Italia. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020 .
^ "Recap: Sporting KC held to 0–0 draw with FC Dallas in 2017 home opener | Sporting Kansas City" .
^ "Swope Park Rangers adds five players on loan from Sporting Kansas City | Sporting Kansas City" .
^ "Recap: Rangers open 2017 season with 3–1 comeback win | Sporting Kansas City" .
^ "Recap: Latif Blessing's brace steers Sporting KC to 2–2 draw at Orlando City SC | Sporting Kansas City" .
^ "Recap: Sporting KC crowned Open Cup champions with 2–1 win over New York Red Bulls | Sporting Kansas City" .
^ "LAFC Acquires $400,000 In General Allocation Money From New England In Exchange For Latif Blessing" . Los Angeles FC. 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023 .
^ "Toronto FC acquire Latif Blessing and an international slot in exchange for Mark-Anthony Kaye" . Toronto FC . 13 July 2023.
^ "Toronto FC trade Latif Blessing to Houston Dynamo FC for GAM" . Toronto FC . 14 March 2024.
^ "Ghana Premier League best player Latif Blessing dropped from Africa Cup of Nations squad" . Ghana Soccer Net . 2 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017 .
^ "Forward Latif Blessing obtains green card, no longer occupies international spot on Sporting KC roster" . SportingKC.com. 28 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018 .
^ Vazquez, Randy (13 June 2023). "He came from Ghana to play soccer, but left his family behind. With help from the Revolution, they were finally reunited" . Boston Globe .
^ Pongratz, Caleb [@CalebPongratz10] (10 July 2023). "Revolution midfielder Latif Blessing no longer occupies a green card and occupies an international roster slot" (Tweet ) – via Twitter .
^ "Ghanaian youngster Ibrahim Fuseini joins Armenian side Lori FC" . kickgh.com . Kick GH. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018 .
^ "Latif Blessing | Los Angeles Football Club" .
^ Latif Blessing at Soccerway
External links
Head Coach: Olsen
Assistant Coach: Collin
Assistant Coach: Guerra
Assistant Coach: Osmanbašić
Goalkeeping Coach: Hanley
Fitness Coach: Caffrey