Latif Blessing
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Latif Atta Blessing | ||
Date of birth | 30 December 1996 | ||
Place of birth | Accra, Ghana | ||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder, forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Houston Dynamo | ||
Number | 15 | ||
Youth career | |||
2013–2014 | Liberty Professionals | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014–2016 | Liberty Professionals | 21 | (17) |
2017 | Sporting Kansas City | 25 | (3) |
2017 | → Swope Park Rangers (loan) | 1 | (1) |
2018–2022 | Los Angeles FC | 145 | (14) |
2023 | New England Revolution | 15 | (0) |
2023–2024 | Toronto FC | 5 | (0) |
2023 | → Toronto FC II (loan) | 1 | (0) |
2024– | Houston Dynamo | 17 | (5) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 July 2024 |
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
[edit]Blessing was born in Nankese, a small village in the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District of southeast Ghana.
Club career
[edit]Ghana
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]- As of match played 21 October 2023[22]
Club | Season | League | National cup | Playoffs | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Liberty Professionals | 2016 | Ghanaian Premier League | 21 | 17 | — | — | — | — | 21 | 17 | ||||
Sporting Kansas City | 2017 | Major League Soccer | 25 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 6 | ||
Swope Park Rangers (loan) | 2017 | USL | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | ||||
Los Angeles FC | 2018 | Major League Soccer | 30 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 7 | ||
2019 | 34 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 6 | ||||
2020 | 21 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 3 | |||
2021 | 30 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 30 | 2 | ||||||
2022 | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | ||||
Total | 145 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 166 | 18 | ||
New England Revolution | 2023 | Major League Soccer | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
Toronto FC | 2023 | Major League Soccer | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
Toronto FC II (loan) | 2023 | MLS Next Pro | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
Career total | 212 | 35 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 242 | 42 |
Honours
[edit]Sporting Kansas City
Los Angeles FC
References
[edit]- ^ "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
[edit]- Latif Blessing at Major League Soccer
- Latif Blessing at Soccerway
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