Latif Blessing

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Latif Blessing
Personal information
Full name Latif Atta Blessing
Date of birth (1996-12-30) 30 December 1996 (age 25)
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Position(s) Midfielder, forward
Club information
Current team
 Los Angeles FC
Number 7
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– Los Angeles FC 119 (14)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 04:34, 21 March 2022 (UTC)

Latif Atta Blessing (born 30 December 1996) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward for Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer.

Early life[]

Blessing was born in Nankese, a small village in the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District in southeast Ghana.

Career[]

Ghana[]

In 2013, Latif Blessing joined the Liberty Professionals youth team in Accra.[1] He was soon promoted to the senior side for the Ghana Premier League but mainly appeared on the bench for the side.[1] 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.[2]

During the 2016 season, Blessing scored six goals in his first eight games.[1] 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.[3] 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.[4]

Major League Soccer[]

In January 2017, Blessing signed with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer in the United States after being scouted and recommended by US based Italian agent/scout Simone Ghirlanda of Pan American Calcio.[5][6] He made his MLS debut on 11 March 2017 against FC Dallas.[7] On 24 March 2017, Blessing was loaned to Swope Park Rangers, scoring in their match against OKC Energy FC.[8][9] Blessing's first MLS goals came in a brace on 13 May 2017 in a 2–2 draw in Orlando versus Orlando City.[10] 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.[11]

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.

International[]

Blessing was included in the provisional squad for Ghana before the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations but failed to make the final cut.[12]

Personal[]

Blessing holds a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[13]

Blessing's brother, Ibrahim Fuseini, currently plays for Lori FC in the Armenian Premier League.[14] He has a twin sister, Latifa.[15]

Career statistics[]

As of 4 March 2022[16]
Club Season League Domestic Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Liberty Professionals 2016 GPL 21 17 — — — 21 17
Liberty Professionals Totals 21 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 17
Sporting Kansas City 2017 MLS 25 3 5 3 1 0 — 31 6
Sporting Kansas City Totals 25 3 5 3 1 0 0 0 31 6
Swope Park Rangers (loan) 2017 USL 1 1 — 1 1
Swope Park Rangers Totals 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Los Angeles FC 2018 MLS 30 5 4 2 1 0 — 35 7
2019 34 6 3 0 2 0 — 39 6
2020 21 1 — 0 0 5 1 26 2
2021 30 2 — 0 0 0 0 30 2
2022 1 0 — 0 0 0 0 1 0
Los Angeles FC Totals 116 14 7 2 3 0 5 1 131 17
Career total 162 35 12 5 4 0 5 1 183 41

Honors[]

Sporting Kansas City

Los Angeles FC

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "A Shamo Quaye of our time". pulse.com. Pulse. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Liberty fight back to defeat Kotoko in Dansoman". modernghana.com. Modern Ghana. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Latif Blessing wins Ghana Premier League goal king". ghanaweb.com. Ghana Web. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ "Recap: Sporting KC held to 0–0 draw with FC Dallas in 2017 home opener | Sporting Kansas City".
  8. ^ "Swope Park Rangers adds five players on loan from Sporting Kansas City | Sporting Kansas City".
  9. ^ "Recap: Rangers open 2017 season with 3–1 comeback win | Sporting Kansas City".
  10. ^ "Recap: Latif Blessing's brace steers Sporting KC to 2–2 draw at Orlando City SC | Sporting Kansas City".
  11. ^ "Recap: Sporting KC crowned Open Cup champions with 2–1 win over New York Red Bulls | Sporting Kansas City".
  12. ^ "Ghana Premier League best player Latif Blessing dropped from Africa Cup of Nations squad". Ghana Soccer Net. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Ghanaian youngster Ibrahim Fuseini joins Armenian side Lori FC". kickgh.com. Kick GH. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Latif Blessing | Los Angeles Football Club".
  16. ^ Latif Blessing at Soccerway

External links[]

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