Kalif Alhassan
Kalif Alhassan (born 15 October 1990 in Accra) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for PDX FC in USL League Two.
 Alhassan with Portland Timbers in 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kalif Alhassan | ||
| Date of birth | 15 October 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Accra, Ghana | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | PDX | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2010 | Liberty Professionals | ||
| 2010 | Portland Timbers | 6 | (2) |
| 2011–2014 | Portland Timbers | 93 | (5) |
| 2015 | Minnesota United | 27 | (4) |
| 2016 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 17 | (0) |
| 2017 | New York Cosmos | 5 | (1) |
| 2017 | Dila Gori | 2 | (0) |
| 2018 | Oklahoma City Energy | 6 | (0) |
| 2019 | Minerva Punjab | 3 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Churchill Brothers | 12 | (0) |
| 2021– | PDX | 1 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2007 | Ghana U17 | 5 | (1) |
| 2008 | Ghana U20 | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 July 2021 | |||
Career
Professional
Alhassan began his career with Ghana Premier League side Liberty Professionals in 2007, helping the club to the semifinals of the 2009 WAFU Club Championship.
In 2010, Alhassan signed with Portland Timbers of the USSF Division 2 Professional League, in hopes of staying with the club in 2011 for their inaugural season in Major League Soccer, the top tier of the United States soccer pyramid.[1] In his first start for the Timbers, Alhassan scored in second-half stoppage time to give Portland a 1–0 victory over Puerto Rico Islanders.[2]
In 2011 Alhassan became the third player in Major League Soccer history to open his career with assists in each of his first three home games, all Timbers wins.[3] He scored his first MLS goal for the Timbers on the opening weekend of the 2012 MLS season, chipping the ball over Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath to seal the Timbers' victory at 3–1. In addition to his goal, Alhassan assisted on another goal and earned the free kick which led to the equalizing goal. For his performance, Alhassan was named Player of the Week for week 1 of the 2012 MLS season, becoming the first Timbers player ever to win the award.[4]
Alhassan played 1,867 minutes in 28 matches in 2015 for Minnesota United FC. On 17 December 2015, Alhassan was released by Minnesota and picked up by the Tampa Bay Rowdies.[5] He then went to play for the New York Cosmos in 2017, but was released in July 2017.[6] In August 2017, Alhassan signed for Dila Gori.[7]
International
Alhassan began his international career in 2007 with the Ghana U-17 national team. He debuted with the Ghana U-20 national team in 2008 although he did not make the squad for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, won by Ghana. In May 2008 Alhassan was also called into a camp with the Ghana national team for the 2009 African Nations Championship, again missing out on the final squad.
Personal
Kalif is the son of former Ghana international and two-time Africa Cup of Nations winner George Alhassan.[8]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Portland Timbers (D2PL) | 2010 | D2 Pro League | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | |
| Portland Timbers | 2011 | MLS | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2012 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 17 | 1 | ||||
| 2013 | 30 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | 37 | 3 | |||
| 2014 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 20 | 2 | |||
| Total | 93 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 106 | 6 | ||
| Minnesota United (NASL) | 2015 | NASL | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 28 | 4 | |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2016 | NASL | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 0 | ||
| New York Cosmos | 2017 | NASL | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 6 | 2 | ||
| Dila Gori | 2017 | Erovnuli Liga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| OKC Energy | 2018 | USL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 156 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 174 | 14 | ||
References
- "Timbers sign Ghanaian midfielder Kalif Alhassan" (Press release). Portland Timbers. 19 August 2010. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- "Portland 1, Puerto Rico 0: Alhassan's first goal is a winner". The Oregonian. Portland. 18 September 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
- "Quotes & Notes: Timbers: 1, Union: 0". Portland Timbers. 7 May 2011. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- "Timbers player named MLS PotW for first time". mlssoccer.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
- "Tampa Bay Rowdies sign winger Kalif Alhassan". Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- "News: Kalif Alhassan Leaves the Cosmos". TwiceaCosmo.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
- "Kalif Alhassan joins Georgian top flight side FC Dila Gori". ghanasoccernet.com. Ghana Soccer Net. 10 August 2017. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- "Like father, like son: MLS players whose fathers also played professional soccer". mlssoccer.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
- Kalif Alhassan at Soccerway
- Kalif Alhassan at Major League Soccer
External links
- Kalif Alhassan at Major League Soccer
- Kalif Alhassan at Portland Timbers