Pierre Kunde

Pierre Kunde
Kunde with Cameroon in 2022
Personal information
Full name Pierre Kunde Malong[1]
Date of birth (1995-07-26) 26 July 1995 (age 29)[1]
Place of birth Limbé, Cameroon
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Dibba Al-Hisn
Number 25
Youth career
2012–2013 Alcobendas
2013–2014 Atlético Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Alcobendas 25 (6)
2014–2018 Atlético Madrid B 71 (4)
2016–2017 → Extremadura (loan) 33 (11)
2017–2018 → Granada (loan) 37 (5)
2018–2021 Mainz 05 68 (4)
2021–2024 Olympiacos 14 (0)
2023 → VfL Bochum (loan) 12 (1)
2023–2024 → Atromitos (loan) 27 (0)
2024– Dibba Al-Hisn 0 (0)
International career‡
Cameroon U18
2017–2018 Cameroon U23 5 (0)
2018– Cameroon 41 (1)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Cameroon
Africa Cup of Nations
Third place 2021 Cameroon
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 April 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 June 2024

Pierre Kunde Malong (born 26 July 1995) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for UAE Club Dibba Al-Hisn and the Cameroon national team as a central midfielder.

Club career

Born in Limbe,he spent time at the Best stars academy in limbe Cameroon then Malong started his senior career in Spain with Alcobendas CF; he made his senior debut for the club on 11 November 2012 by starting in a 2–0 Regional Preferente home win against EF Periso.[2] His first goal came the following 3 March, in a 2–0 success at Atlético Leones de Castilla.

In 2013 Kunde moved to Atlético Madrid, returning to youth football.[3] The following year, he was promoted to the reserves in Segunda División B,[4] immediately becoming a regular starter but suffering relegation in his first season.

On 21 July 2016, Kunde was loaned to Extremadura UD for one year, still in the third division.[5] He scored a career-best 11 goals during the campaign, with braces against San Fernando CD (3–1 away win), Linares Deportivo (3–1 away win) and Atlético Mancha Real (2–1 away win).[6]

On 25 July 2017, Kunde joined Granada CF, freshly relegated to Segunda División, on a one-year loan deal.[7] He made his professional debut on 20 August, coming on a late substitute for Javier Espinosa in a 0–0 home draw against Albacete Balompié.[8]

Kunde scored his first professional goal on 8 October 2017, netting the last in a 2–0 home defeat of CD Lugo. The following 22 April, he scored a brace in a 3–3 home draw against Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa.

On 6 July 2018, Kunde was transferred to Bundesliga side 1. FSV Mainz 05 and signed a four-year contract.[9]

On 22 June 2021, Kunde sign a three-year contract with Greek giants Olympiacos after undergoing a medical. The Greek side reportedly paid less than €2 million for the 25-year-old international, whose contract with Mainz was due to expire in 2022.[10]

International career

Kunde represented Cameroon at under-18 and under-23 levels, the latter in the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games.[11] He made his full international debut on 27 May 2018, starting in a 0–1 friendly loss against Burkina Faso.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 May 2023[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Extremadura 2016–17 Segunda División B 33 11 2 0 – 35 11
Granada 2017–18 Segunda División 37 5 1 0 – 38 5
Mainz 05 2018–19 Bundesliga 29 0 2 0 – 31 0
2019–20 28 4 0 0 – 28 4
2020–21 11 0 0 0 – 11 0
Total 68 4 2 0 – 70 4
Olympiacos 2021–22 Super League Greece 12 0 4 0 10[b] 0 26 0
2022–23 2 0 0 0 11[c] 0 13 0
Total 14 0 4 0 21 0 39 0
VfL Bochum (loan) 2022–23 Bundesliga 12 1 1 0 – 13 1
Atromitos (Ioan) 2023–24 Super League Greece 0 0 0 0 – 0 0
Career total 164 21 10 0 21 0 195 21
  1. ^ Includes Copa del Rey, DFB-Pokal, Greek Football Cup
  2. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, ten appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 11 June 2023[13]
Cameroon
Year Apps Goals
2018 5 0
2019 9 0
2020 2 0
2021 8 1
2022 10 0
2023 3 0
Total 37 1
Scores and results list Cameroon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kunde goal.
List of international goals scored by Pierre Kunde
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 26 March 2021 Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde  Cape Verde 1–0 1–3 2022 African Nations Championship qualification [14]

Honours

Olympiacos

Cameroon

References

  1. ^ a b c "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Cameroon (CMR)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 5. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ "One of ours, Pierre, in Alcobendas CF team". Inter Soccer Madrid. 12 November 2012. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Pierre debuts with Atletico Madrid Youth Honor Division, which will play the Youth European Champions "Johansson Cup"". Inter Soccer Madrid. 28 August 2013. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Pierre: "Espero marcar muchos goles para ayudar al equipo"" [Pierre: "I hope to score many goals to help the team"] (in Spanish). Atlético Madrid. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  5. ^ "Pierre Kunde y Fall, nuevos futbolistas del Extremadura" [Pierre Kunde and Fall, new footballers of Extremadura] (in Spanish). Hoy. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Hasta pronto, Pierre" [See you soon, Pierre] (in Spanish). Vavel. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Official | Pierre Kunde joins Granada CF on loan". Granada CF. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  8. ^ "'Vuelta al cole' sin puntería" ['Back to school' without aim] (in Spanish). Marca. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Kunde becomes a 05er". 1. FSV Mainz 05. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Mainz: Cameroonian midfielder Pierre Kunde signs for Olympiakos". sportnewsafrica.com. 22 June 2021.
  11. ^ "La sélection des Lions U-23 à Baku avec un seul gardien de but" [The Lions under-23 to Baku with only one goalkeeper] (in French). Camer-Sport. 3 May 2017. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  12. ^ "P. Malong". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  13. ^ Pierre Kunde at National-Football-Teams.com
  14. ^ "Cape Verde vs. Cameroon". National Football Teams. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  15. ^ AfricaNews (6 February 2022). "Cameroon beats Burkina Faso to end AFCON 2021 in third place". Africanews. Retrieved 6 February 2022.