Former Ethiopian international Walid Atta has quit football. While making the announcement over the weekend, the 31-year-old hinted at a future as a football agent in the Middle East.
Atta horned his skills at various academies in Sweden before making a professional move to Swedish giants AIK in 2008 for beginning of his senior career.
He became an integral part of the club and was a darling of the crowd, but this changed when he refused to renew his contract and later moved to Croatia’s NK Locomotive.
The fans felt betrayed and openly expressed their disgust, however, Atta, who was known for his dazzling skills on the ball, was not turning back.
His NK Locomotive sojourn ended when he was sold to Dinamo Zagreb in 2011 in a five-year deal, which was later terminated on mutual consent in 2012.
Determined to continue with his career, Atta, who was capped four times by Ethiopia, crossed over to Norway and later Turkey before finishing his career in Saudi Arabia with Khaleej FC.
Walid won two Swedish Super Cups and FA Cup with AIK. He also bagged Norwegian Super Cup with Helsingborgs IF in 2012.
He holds the tag of the first Ethiopian player to taste the lucrative Uefa Champions League and Uefa Europa League football, a feat he achieved while with AIK and Helsingborgs respectively.
At national level, Walid made three appearances for Sweden’s U21 national team since 2008 but decided to switch allegiances to Ethiopia at senior level in 2013.
His virtuoso performance against Mali in the 2015 Afcon qualifiers under Portuguese manager Mason Mariano introduced him to the adoring Walia Ibex fans, who delighted in his game.
He returned again for Walia’s last match of the Afcon 2017 qualifiers against Seychelles in Hawassa but could not play due to illness.
