Kalif Alhassan (born 15 October 1990 in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

) is a Ghanaian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

Career

Professional

Alhassan began his career with

Ghana Premier League The Ghana Premier League is the top professional association football league in Ghana organized by the Ghana Football Association and formed in 1958 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition which ran from 1933 ...

side Liberty Professionals in 2007, helping the club to the semifinals of the 2009 WAFU Club Championship. In 2010, Alhassan signed with

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

of the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

, in hopes of staying with the club in 2011 for their inaugural season in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

, the top tier of the

United States soccer pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Although sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by a system o ...

. 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 The Puerto Rico Islanders were a professional association football team based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. They played in several different leagues from 2004 to 2012, when they suspended operations. In their last two seasons they played in the Nort ...

. 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. He scored his first MLS goal for the Timbers on the opening weekend of the 2012 MLS season, chipping the ball over

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

goalkeeper

Zac MacMath Zachary Michael MacMath (born August 7, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. He was drafted No. 5 overall in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft by the Philadelphia Union. ...

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. Alhassan played 1,867 minutes in 28 matches in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

for

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

. On 17 December 2015, Alhassan was released by Minnesota and picked up by the Tampa Bay Rowdies. He then went to play for the New York Cosmos in 2017, but was released in July 2017. In August 2017, Alhassan signed for Dila Gori. In 2019, he moved to India, signing with

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

champions Minerva Academy.

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 The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which was hosted by Egypt from 24 September to 16 October 2009. The tournament was initially going to take place between 10 and 31 July. However, the 2009 FIFA Confede ...

, won by Ghana. In May 2008 Alhassan was also called into a camp with the Ghana national team for the

2009 African Nations Championship The 2009 African Nations Championship, also known as CHAN 2009 for short, was the inaugural edition of the biennial association football tournament organized by Confederation of African Football, CAF featuring national teams consisting of player ...

, again missing out on the final squad.

Personal

Kalif is the son of former

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

international and two-time

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

winner

George Alhassan George Alhassan, nicknamed Jair, referring to Jairzinho, is a retired Ghanaian association football, footballer. He is best known for his exploits in the 1982 Africa Cup of Nations which saw him lift the trophy for the second time in his caree ...

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

*
Kalif Alhassan
at Portland Timbers {{DEFAULTSORT:Alhassan, Khalif 1990 births Living people Footballers from Accra Ghanaian men's footballers Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers Liberty Professionals F.C. players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Portland Timbers players Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players Tampa Bay Rowdies players New York Cosmos (2010) players FC Dila Gori players OKC Energy FC players Minerva Academy FC players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Erovnuli Liga players I-League players Men's association football midfielders Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Georgia (country) Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Georgia (country) Expatriate men's footballers in India USL League Two players 21st-century Ghanaian sportsmen