Pierre Kunde Malong (born 26 July 1995) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for Greek Super League club Olympiacos and the Cameroon national team as a central midfielder.
.jpg) Kunde with Cameroon in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pierre Kunde Malong[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 26 July 1995[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Limbé, Cameroon | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Olympiacos | ||||||||||||||||
| 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) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| Cameroon U18 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Cameroon U23 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018– | Cameroon | 41 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 April 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 June 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Born in Limbe, 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]
| 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 | ||
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 |
Honours
Olympiacos
Cameroon
- Africa Cup of Nations third place: 2021[14]
References
External links
- Pierre Kunde at BDFutbol
- Pierre Kunde at LaPreferente.com (in Spanish)
- Pierre Kunde at Soccerway