Isaac Atanga (born 14 June 2000) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Norwegian club Aalesund.

Isaac Atanga
Personal information
Full name Isaac Atanga
Date of birth (2000-06-14) 14 June 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Nkoranza, Ghana
Position(s) Right winger
Team information
Current team
Aalesund
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)
2022–2023Göztepe (loan) 15 (1)
2023– Aalesund 39 (8)
2023– Aalesund 2 5 (0)
2024Ilves (loan) 5 (2)
International career
Ghana U20
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 October 2024

Club career

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FC Nordsjælland

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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

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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]

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 on loan for the rest 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]

Career statistics

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As of match played 19 October 2024[13]
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 First League 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
Career total 149 24 11 4 0 0 0 0 160 28

Honours

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Ilves

References

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  1. ^ TRUPPEN TIL TRÆNINGSKAMPEN MOD ROSKILDE Archived 2019-04-30 at the Wayback Machine, fcn.dk, 6 February 2019
  2. ^ "NORDSJÆLLAND VS. ESBJERG 1 – 2". soccerway.com. 14 April 2019.
  3. ^ Profile at WorldFootball, worldfootball.net
  4. ^ HORSENS VS. NORDSJÆLLAND 0 – 3, soccerway.com, 14 July 2019
  5. ^ FC Nordsjælland binder angrebskomet til 2023, bold.dk, 25 July 2019
  6. ^ Bogert, Tom (31 March 2021). "FC Cincinnati acquire winger Isaac Atanga from FC Nordsjælland". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Orlando City 3–0 FC Cincinnati". Soccerway.
  8. ^ "Columbus Crew 3–2 FC Cincinnati". Soccerway.
  9. ^ Isaac Atanga Göztepe'mizde Archived 2022-08-08 at the Wayback Machine, goztepe.org.tr, 7 August 2022
  10. ^ "FC Cincinnati transfer winger Isaac Atanga to Norway's Aalesunds FK | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
  11. ^ Ilves lainaa Isaac Atangan loppukaudeksi, ilvesfootball.com, 17 August 2024
  12. ^ Ilves kiittää seurasta lähteviä pelaajia, ilvesfootball.com, 3 December 2024
  13. ^ Isaac Atanga at Soccerway
  14. ^ Ilveksen päävalmentaja hopeasta: ”Voitettu mitali”, Yle, 19 October 2024
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