Isaac Atanga
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 14 June 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Nkoranza, Ghana | ||
| Position | Right winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Þór Akureyri | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Right to Dream | |||
| 2018–2019 | Nordsjælland | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2021 | Nordsjælland | 55 | (11) |
| 2021–2023 | FC Cincinnati | 23 | (1) |
| 2022 | FC Cincinnati 2 | 7 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | → Göztepe (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | Aalesund | 39 | (8) |
| 2023–2024 | Aalesund 2 | 5 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Ilves (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 2025-2026 | Kalmar FF | 7 | (0) |
| 2026- | Þór Akureyri | 5 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| Ghana U20 | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 July 2026 | |||
Isaac Atanga (born 14 June 2000) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Icelandic club Þór Akureyri.
Club career
[edit]FC Nordsjælland
[edit]Atanga was born in Nkoranza, Ghana and was a part of the academy at Right to Dream and joined FC Nordsjælland in the summer 2018. Since Right to Dream is a cooperative academy to Nordsjælland, Atanga had already played a friendly game for FC Nordsjælland in February 2018 against FC Roskilde.[1]
He made his FC Nordsjælland debut on 14 April 2019, replacing Oliver Antman in the 73rd minute in a 2–1 victory against Esbjerg fB in the Danish Superliga.[2] He played with shirt number 35 on his back. Atanga had had a good season for the U-19 squad before his first team debut, scoring 9 goals in 15 games.[3]
On 14 July 2019, Atanga scored his first professional goal for Nordsjælland in the first game of the season against AC Horsens, a game Nordsjælland won 3–0.[4] He also scored one goal in the following game against FC Midtjylland. On 25 July 2019, the club announced that they had extended Atanga's contract until 2023.[5]
FC Cincinnati
[edit]On 31 March 2021, Atanga joined Major League Soccer side FC Cincinnati, signing a three-year contract.[6] He made his debut for the club on 1 May 2021 against Orlando City, starting in the 3–0 defeat.[7] Atanga scored his first goal for FC Cincinnati on 27 August 2021 against Columbus Crew but couldn't prevent the 3–2 defeat.[8]
Later clubs
[edit]On 7 August 2022 it was confirmed, that Atanga had joined newly relegated Turkish TFF First League club Göztepe on a one-year loan deal with a purchase option.[9]
On 1 April 2023, Atanga signed with Eliteserien side Aalesund for an undisclosed fee.[10] On 17 August 2024, Atanga joined Veikkausliiga club Ilves in Finland on loan for the remainder of the season with an option to buy.[11] However, Ilves did not exercise their option to buy and Atanga returned to Aalesund after just five games and two goals.[12]
On 25 January 2025 it was confirmed that Atanga swapped Norway for Sweden when he signed a 2-year deal with Kalmar FF.[13]
On 26 February 2026 Atanga signed a 3 year contract with Besta deild karla club Þór Akureyri.[14]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of 25 January 2025[15]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nordsjælland | 2018–19 | Danish Superliga | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | Danish Superliga | 34 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 7 | |||
| 2020–21 | Danish Superliga | 19 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 21 | 5 | |||
| Total | 55 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 12 | ||
| FC Cincinnati | 2021 | MLS | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2022 | MLS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||
| FC Cincinnati 2 | 2022 | MLS Next Pro | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | |||
| Göztepe (loan) | 2022–23 | TFF 1. Lig | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 17 | 2 | ||
| Aalesund | 2023 | Eliteserien | 25 | 5 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 27 | 7 | ||
| 2024 | 1. divisjon | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 3 | |||
| Total | 39 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 10 | ||
| Aalesund 2 | 2023 | 2. divisjon | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2024 | 3. divisjon | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Ilves (loan) | 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | 5 | 2 | |||
| Kalmar | 2025 | Superettan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 149 | 24 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 160 | 28 | ||
Honours
[edit]Ilves
- Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2024[16]
References
[edit]- ↑ TRUPPEN TIL TRÆNINGSKAMPEN MOD ROSKILDE Archived 30 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, fcn.dk, 6 February 2019.
- ↑ "NORDSJÆLLAND VS. ESBJERG 1 – 2". soccerway.com. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Profile at WorldFootball, worldfootball.net. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ HORSENS VS. NORDSJÆLLAND 0 – 3, Soccerway, 14 July 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Schmidt, Martin (25 July 2019). "FC Nordsjælland binder angrebskomet til 2023". bold.dk. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Bogert, Tom (31 March 2021). "FC Cincinnati acquire winger Isaac Atanga from FC Nordsjælland". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ↑ "Orlando City 3–0 FC Cincinnati". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ "Columbus Crew 3–2 FC Cincinnati". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Isaac Atanga Göztepe'mizde Archived 8 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine, goztepe.org.tr, 7 August 2022.
- ↑ "FC Cincinnati transfer winger Isaac Atanga to Norway's Aalesunds FK | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
- ↑ Ilves lainaa Isaac Atangan loppukaudeksi, ilvesfootball.com, 17 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Ilves kiittää seurasta lähteviä pelaajia, ilvesfootball.com, 3 December 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Välkommen till Kalmar FF, Isaac Atanga!, kalmarff.se, 25 January 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Isaac Atanga í Þór, thorsport.is, 26 February 2026. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Isaac Atanga at Soccerway
- ↑ Ilveksen päävalmentaja hopeasta: ”Voitettu mitali”, Yle, 19 October 2024. Retrieved August 2026.
External links
[edit]- Isaac Atanga at Soccerway
- 2000 births
- Living people
- Ghanaian men's footballers
- Men's association football wingers
- FC Nordsjælland players
- FC Cincinnati players
- FC Cincinnati 2 players
- Aalesunds FK players
- Ilves (football) players
- Kalmar FF players
- Danish Superliga players
- MLS Next Pro players
- Major League Soccer players
- TFF 1. Lig players
- Eliteserien players
- Norwegian First Division players
- Norwegian Second Division players
- Norwegian Third Division players
- Veikkausliiga players
- Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers
- Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark
- Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
- Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Norway
- Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Finland
- Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
- Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark
- Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
- Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
- Expatriate men's footballers in Norway
- Expatriate men's footballers in Finland
- Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden
- Göztepe S.K. footballers
- 21st-century Ghanaian sportsmen