Latif Blessing

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.

Latif Blessing
Personal information
Full name Latif Atta Blessing
Date of birth (1996-12-30) 30 December 1996
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 85 (12)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 November 2020

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 23 December 2020[16]
Club Season League Domestic Cup League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liberty Professionals 2016 GPL2117———2117
Liberty Professionals Totals 21 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 17
Sporting Kansas City 2017 MLS2535310—316
Sporting Kansas City Totals 25 3 5 3 1 0 0 0 31 6
Swope Park Rangers 2017 USL11—11
Los Angeles FC 2018 MLS3054210—357
2019 3463020—396
2020 211000051262
Los Angeles FC Totals 851272305110015
Career total 13132125405115238

Honors

Sporting Kansas City

Los Angeles FC

References
  1. "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
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