Viktor Ponedelnik

Viktor Ponedelnik

Ponedelnik in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Viktor Vladimirovich Ponedelnik
Date of birth	22 May 1937
Place of birth	Rostov-on-Don, USSR
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
	Burevestnik Rostov-on-Don
–	Rostov Military College
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1956–1958	Torpedo/Rostselmash	58	(32)
1959–1960	FC SKA Rostov-on-Don	45	(17)
1961	CSKA Moscow
1961–1965	SKA Rostov-on-Don	114	(37)
1966	FC Spartak Moscow
National team
1960–1964	USSR	29	(20)
Teams managed
1969	Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Viktor Vladimirovich Ponedelnik (Russian: Виктор Владимирович Понедельник, born 22 May 1937 in Rostov-on-Don) is a former Soviet football player, regarded as one of the best strikers in Soviet football history.

Ponedelnik first started playing for a local team, Rostselmash, in 1956. In 1958 he switched to SKA Rostov-on-Don and was invited to join the Soviet national team. In the 1960 European Championship, the only major Championship ever won by the Soviet Union, Ponedelnik headed home the winning goal in extra time in the final game against Yugoslavia. Ponedelnik retired in 1966 after gaining weight and undergoing surgery for appendicitis. He scored 20 (according to some accounts, 21) goals in 29 games for his country.

In later years, Ponedelnik worked as a coach, a sports journalist, an editor of a sports publication, and an advisor to the President of the Russian Federation. He has received numerous awards for his contribution to Soviet and Russian sport. He is married and has three children and four grandchildren.

References

• Biography from the official website of the Russian national team (Russian)
• Unofficial biography (Russian)