Mahatma Osumanu Otoo (born 6 February 1992) is a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian professional

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 le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He was the 2012–13 Ghana Premier League top scorer with 20 goals. Otoo played for Sogndal from 2013 to 2017, scoring 31 goals in 93 appearances in all competitions. He won the

1. divisjon The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon and OBOS-ligaen (named sponsor is property developer OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are p ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

whilst playing with the Norwegian side.

Early life

Otoo was born on 6 February 1992 in

Mamprobi Mamprobi is a town in the Accra Metropolitan district, a district of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It is located south of Lartebiokorshie, northeast of Old Dansoman and north of Chorkor Chorkor is a fishing village and a neighbourhood in ...

, a suburb of Ghana's capital Accra. He started playing juvenile football at the age of 10 for Ken Harrison Babes. He attended Ebenezer Secondary School located in Mamprobi for his secondary school education whilst playing for the school's football team.

Career

St. Mirren

Otoo began his career in the youth side for Sporting St. Mirren at the age of 16. He signed his first professional football contract with St. Mirren in 2007 when he was 16 and made an instant impact in the team. They were in the

Ghana Division One League The Division One League is the second tier football league in Ghana organized by the Ghana Football Association. It was previously known by the title sponsor as the GN Bank Division One League. It is below the Ghana Premier League. The winner of e ...

when he joined them in the 2007–08 season. His key striking abilities and performances qualified St. Mirren to the Premiership for the first time in the club's history. His brace against Fair Point on the final day of the league secured the Division One Zone III title and sealed their qualification. He was the club's top scorer and second top scorer in the National Division One league. When the team qualified to the GPL for the first time he was registered as one of their senior squad members when he was 16 years old on 30 October 2008. He earned the discovery player of the season award in the 2008–09 season after he won five man of the match awards and got 5 goals from 15 games for his club.

Hearts of Oak

Otoo signed for the 2009–2010 season with

Accra Hearts of Oak SC Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Hearts of Oak or just Hearts, is a professional sports club based in Accra (Greater Accra), Ghana. Founded in 1911, the club is the oldest surviving football club in Ghana and its trad ...

on a 3-year deal. He finished his debut season with the club with 10 league goals in 19 matches and a consecutive individual title winning the Ghana Premier League's best player of the season. In September 2010, he moved to Tunisian club

Esperance Sportive de Tunis Esperance may refer to: * Esperance (town), New York * Esperance (village), New York * Esperance, Quartier Militaire (village), Quartier Militaire, Moka, Mauritius * Esperance, Washington * Esperance, Western Australia * Cape Esperance, Solomon Is ...

on a 4-month loan deal worth $150,000. He was initially set to join the club on a permanent deal for a deal worth $500,000 however it was renegotiated into a loan deal. His time at the side did not go as structured as he was pushed into the reserves side and only made one appearance for the senior side. However he had the opportunity of winning a silver medal when ES Tunis lost the

2010 CAF Champions league The 2010 CAF Champions League was the 46th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 14th edition under the current CAF Champions League format. The winner, TP Mazembe q ...

final to

TP Mazembe Tout Puissant Mazembe, commonly referred to as TP Mazembe, is a Congolese professional football club based in Lubumbashi. History Tout Puissant Mazembe, the first sports club from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a value of at least $10 ...

in late 2010. Mahatma Otoo returned to

Hearts of Oak Hearts most commonly refers to: * Hearts (card game), a trick-taking game * Hearts (suit), one of the standard four suits of cards * Heart, an organ Hearts may also refer to: Music * The Hearts, an American girl group closely related to the Jay ...

in the second round of the 2010–11 season, help the club finish 10th in the league. The following season, 2011–12, he scored 10 goals in the league. Otoo was made captain of side by

Charles Akonnor Charles Kwabla Akonnor (born 12 March 1974 in Accra) is a former Ghanaian international footballer who is the former manager of the Ghana national team. He played as a versatile midfielder, mostly in Germany. He started his career in Ghana wit ...

because of his way of playing and fighting spirit. He scored a hat-trick, which was the first in 2012–13 season in the 5–2 win over

New Edubiase New Edubiase is a small town and is the capital of Adansi South, a district in the Ashanti Region of Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the ...

. Otoo scored a brace against

Berekum Arsenal Berekum Arsenal Football Club is a Ghanaian football club based in Berekum in the Bono region of Ghana, about 30 minutes drive west from Sunyani. Founded in 1995, They are currently members of the Division One League. CAF Cup In 2006, the c ...

. Otoo renewed his contract with Accra Hearts of Oak for another season in May 2013. Otoo scored a hat-trick against Tema Youth on the final game of the season and win the top scorer of

Ghana Premier League The is the top professional association football division of the football league system in Ghana. Officially formed in 1956 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition (which began in 1933 and ended in 1953–54), t ...

with 20 goals. At the end of the season, he was adjudged the Ghana Premier League best player for the second time and the SWAG Premier League player of the year. Mahatma_Osumanu_Otoo_(white_shirt)_and_Andreas_Hanche-Olsen

Mahatma_Osumanu_Otoo_(white_shirt)_and_Andreas_Hanche-Olsen

Sogndal

His performance attracted European clubs, with

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.

and

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...

being front runners to land his signature. He moved to Sogndal on a three-year contract for a reported fee of 300,000 euros in the summer transfer window of 2013. On 18 October 2015, during the

2015 Norwegian First Division The 2015 1. divisjon (referred to as the OBOS-ligaen for sponsorship reasons) was a Norwegian second-tier football league season. The league was contested by 16 teams, and the top two teams were promoted to Tippeligaen, while the teams placed fro ...

, he scored a brace against

Hønefoss BK Hønefoss Ballklubb is a Norwegian football club from Hønefoss, founded in 1895. The club was a part of the multi-sports club L/F Hønefoss, which folded in 2008. After 11 years in 1. divisjon, the second tier of Norwegian football, Hønefoss ...

to help Sogndal win the

and gain promotion back into the Norwegian top flight at a canter, for the

2016 Tippeligaen The 2016 Tippeligaen was the 72nd completed season of top-tier football in Norway. The competition began on 11 March 2016. Due to the 2016 UEFA European Championship, there was a break between the rounds played on 29 May and 3 July. The decisive ...

after spending one season in the 1. divisjon. He ended the season as the club's second top goal scorer with 13 league goals and 15 goals in all competitions trailing only to

Kristian Opseth Kristian Fardal Opseth (born 6 January 1990) is a Norwegian footballer who plays as a striker for Sarpsborg 08 in the Eliteserien. Career Opseth started his career with Kaupanger before joining Førde. He joined Sogndal in 2014, and made his ...

who scored 16 league goals and 17 goals in all competition. He left the club on 1 January 2017.

International career

Youth

Otoo played formerly in the

Ghana national under-17 football team The Ghana national U-17 football team, known as the Black Starlets, is the youngest team that represents Ghana in football. They are two-time FIFA U-17 World Cup Champions in 1991 and 1995 and a two-time Runner-up in 1993 and ...

, he was later promoted to the

Ghana national under-20 football team Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

in 2011. In September 2011, Otoo played for the Black Meteors of Ghana in the

2011 All-Africa Games The 10th All-Africa Games took place between September 3–18, 2011 in Maputo, Mozambique. Maputo's hosting marked the third time the Games was held in the southern part of the continent. Host awarding In April 2005, Lusaka, Zambia was named t ...

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. He was a top goalscorer of the tournament with 4 goals in 4 games helping Ghana to gold by scoring

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in the final. In March 2013, Otoo was called up to the

Ghana national football team The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international football, doing it since 1957. The team consists of twenty players including the technical team. The team is nicknamed the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in ...

by coach

Kwesi Appiah Kwesi Appiah (born 12 August 1990) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Colchester United, on loan from side Crawley Town and the Ghana national team. Club career Ebbsfleet United Appiah was born in Camberwell, G ...

. Appiah described him as a “special player”.

Senior

After his successful first season was called up for the

for the friendly game on 1 October 2009 against

Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina. Nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' ('The White and S ...

and played in the game to mark his international senior debut. In January 2015, he was named on the Ghana squad for the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

. He made one appearance after coming on in the 78th minute for

Jordan Ayew Jordan Pierre Ayew (born 11 September 1991) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Crystal Palace and the Ghana national team. He is the son of former Ghana captain Abedi Pele and brother of fellow players And ...

in their second Group C match against Algeria. The match ended in a 1–0 victory for Ghana.

Personal life

On 4 March 2020, he lost his mother Love Habibatu Ankrah after battling with a short illness. Two days after her death, Otoo scored a goal in a match against Adanaspor and was seen crying and raising his hands to the skies and later going down in celebration whilst his teammates surrounded him to console him. He later took to both Twitter and Facebook to dedicate his goal to the memory of his late mother. He posted ''“I dedicate today’s goal to my mum, May Her Soul Rest In Peace.”''

Career statistics

Honours

St. Mirren * Ghana Division One League Zone III: 2007–08 ES Tunis *

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and co ...

runner up:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Sogndal *

Ghana U23 *

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Individual *

Top scorer:

Discovery Player of the Season: 2008–09 *

Best player of the season: 2009–10, 2012–13 *

Top scorer:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

* SWAG GPL Player of the Year:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Otoo, Mahatma 1992 births Footballers from Accra Living people Ghanaian footballers Ghana international footballers Association football forwards Sporting Saint Mirren F.C. players Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. players Espérance Sportive de Tunis players Sogndal Fotball players Ümraniyespor footballers Balıkesirspor footballers Ghana Premier League players Ghana Premier League top scorers Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 players Eliteserien players Norwegian First Division players TFF First League players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players African Games gold medalists for Ghana African Games medalists in football Competitors at the 2011 All-Africa Games Ghanaian expatriate footballers Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Tunisia Expatriate footballers in Tunisia Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate footballers in Norway Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Turkey