Cristian Ponde

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

Club Career

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

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 in the Segunda Liga. 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.

On 2 March 2014, during a second-tier game against S.C. Covilha, Ponde contracted a serious injury to his right knee, going on to be sidelined for several months. 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 Taca da Liga.

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

Ponde joined Grasshopper Club Zurich on 25 August 2020, on a one-year deal.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Кристиан Понде (russian)