Cristian Ponde

Cristian Ioan Ponde (born 26 January 1995) is a footballer who plays as a forward for Swiss club Grasshopper Club Zürich.

Cristian Ponde
Personal information
Full name Cristian Ioan Ponde[1]
Date of birth (1995-01-26) 26 January 1995[1]
Place of birth Făurești, Romania[1]
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Grasshopper
Number 17
Youth career
2004–2005 Olhanense
2005–2014 Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2018 Sporting CP B 89 (14)
2016–2017 → Covilhã (loan) 29 (6)
2018–2019 Karpaty Lviv 32 (7)
2020– Grasshopper 5 (1)
National team
2011–2012 Portugal U17 9 (1)
2012–2013 Portugal U18 10 (2)
2013–2014 Portugal U19 10 (8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 November 2020

Club career

Born in Făurești, Romania, Ponde emigrated to Portugal with his parents before his 10th birthday, and started playing football with S.C. Olhanense.[2] In 2005, he joined Sporting CP to complete his development.[3]

On 24 February 2013, Ponde made his senior debut with the club's reserves, coming on as a substitute for fellow youth graduate Ricardo Esgaio for the final 14 minutes of a 5–1 home win against S.C. Freamunde for the second division championship.[4] He scored his first goal as a professional on 30 March of that year, but in a 1–3 home loss to S.L. Benfica B.[5]

On 2 March 2014, during a second level game against S.C. Covilhã, Ponde contracted a serious injury to his right knee, going on to be sidelined for several months.[6] His maiden competitive appearance for the first team took place on 21 January 2015, when he played three minutes in a 2–3 defeat at C.F. Os Belenenses in the group stage of the Taça da Liga.[7]

For the 2016–17 season, Ponde was loaned to Covilhã.[8] He then took his game to the Ukrainian Premier League, where he represented FC Karpaty Lviv after signing a three-year contract.[9] He scored his first top-flight goal on 28 October 2018, contributing to the 5–0 away victory over FC Chornomorets Odesa.[10]

Ponde joined Grasshopper Club Zürich on 25 August 2020, on a one-year deal.[11]

International career

Ponde represented Portugal at under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels.[12] He scored in his first appearance for the latter side, in a 1–1 draw against Spain in a friendly tournament held in Hungary.[13]

Club statistics
As of 9 December 2015[14]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sporting B 2012–13 610000000061
2013–14 21100000000211
2014–15 11200000000112
2015–16 10400000000104
Sporting 2014–15 000010000010
Career total 48800100000498

References
  1. "Cristian Ponde" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  2. "Puto encanta no Algarve" [Kid lights it up in Algarve]. Correio da Manhã (in Portuguese). 6 March 2005. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  3. "Leões ambientam-se ao Goodison Park" [Lions getting accustomed to Goodison Park]. Record (in Portuguese). 15 February 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  4. "Sporting B-Freamunde, 5–1: Leões regressam aos triunfos" [Sporting B-Freamunde, 5–1: Lions return to winning ways]. Record (in Portuguese). 24 February 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  5. "Sporting B-Benfica B, 1–3: Dérbi marcado por expulsões" [Sporting B-Benfica B, 1–3: Derby marred by ejections]. Record (in Portuguese). 30 March 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  6. "Joelho deixa Ponde de fora durante 6 meses" [Knee leaves Ponde out for 6 months]. Record (in Portuguese). 29 March 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  7. Barros, Carlos José (21 January 2015). "Azuis vencem "leões" ainda muito verdes" [Blues defeat quite green "lions"] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  8. "Sp. Covilhã apresenta ex-Benfica e recebe dois leões emprestados" [Sp. Covilhã present ex-Benfica and get two lions on loan] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  9. "Cristian Ponde rescinde com Sporting e ruma à Ucrânia" [Cristian Ponde cuts ties with Sporting and heads to the Ukraine]. Record (in Portuguese). 6 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  10. ""Карпаты" на выезде поиздевались над "Черноморцем": видео голов" [Karpaty mocked Chernomorets on the road: video goals] (in Ukrainian). 24 TV. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  11. Schüpbach, Andrea (25 August 2020). "GC verpflichtet Ex-Sporting-Junior Cristian Ponde" [GC acquire former Sporting junior Cristian Ponde] (in German). Nau. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  12. "Cristian Ponde: «Queremos o 1.º lugar do grupo»" [Cristian Ponde: «We want 1st place in the group»]. Record (in Portuguese). 18 November 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  13. "Sub-19 correram atrás do empate com Espanha (1–1)" [Under-19s chased draw with Spain (1–1)]. Record (in Portuguese). 10 October 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  14. "Cristian Ponde". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
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