Mahatma Otoo signs Christian Atsu’s book of condolence

Former Black Stars player Mahatma Osumanu Otoo has paid a visit to the family house of Christian Atsu to offer his condolences following the tragic passing of the talented footballer.

Mahatma Otoo, who is well-respected in the football community, visited the family house to offer words of comfort and console them in this difficult time.

He also signed the book of condolence, expressing his heartfelt sympathies for the loss of a talented player.

Atsu met his untimely death after being caught in a rubble during a massive earthquake in Turkey, and preparations are underway for his burial.

Atsu, who was only 31 years old, played 65 games for the Black Stars, scoring nine goals. His favourite number was 7, and since his passing, there has been an outpouring of tributes from both fans and colleagues in the football fraternity.

The death of Christian Atsu has left many in shock, and the football community continue to mourn his sad passing.

Mahatma Otoo is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a forward. 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 division one in 2015 whilst playing with the Norwegian side.

He is also the former under 23 captain that won gold for Ghana in the All-Africa Games under coach Kwesi Appiah. He’s currently in Ghana undergoing rehab for a knee surgery.

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 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 five goals from 15 games for his club.

His performance attracted European clubs, with Club Brugge and Sogndal being front runners to land his signature. He moved to Sogndal on a three-year contract in the summer transfer window of 2013. 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 who scored 16 league goals and 17 goals in all competition.

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.”