Waldo Ponce

Universidad de Chile

A product of the Universidad de Chile youth system, Ponce had a trial with Dutch side Ajax at the age of seventeen. He made his professional debut with Universidad de Chile in 2001. In his three years with Universidad de Chile, Ponce displayed good aerial ability both in defence and attack. This, combined with his strong and accurate free kicks, led Ponce to be loaned to German team VfL Wolfsburg, being this his first international club. In this club, Ponce only played two league matches. Ponce returned to Universidad de Chile at the end of 2004. He was immediately inserted into the starting lineup and was an integral part of Universidad de Chile's making an appearance in the 2005 Copa Libertadores. Ponce reached the final of the tournament Clausura 2005 but his team lost when he missed the final penalty which was saved by José María Buljubasich. In 2007, Ponce lived one of his best moments on Universidad de Chile, but on 11 April 2007, he was injured during a training of the club. The player was nearly three months injured, however he fully recovered in September 2007.

Vélez Sársfield

In February 2008, Ponce joined Vélez Sársfield of Argentine Primera División for a three-year contract with a transfer fee of $800,000. He was frequently injured and missed many matches, but on 13 April 2008, he made his Vélez debut against San Martín de San Juan, in a 2–0 Vélez's victory. Ponce scored his first team goal against Gimnasia La Plata, in a…

Ponce made his debut for the Chile national team at the 2006 Pacific Cup against Peru. On 24 March 2006, Ponce scored in a friendly match against Paraguay with a free kick for a 3–2 Chile victory. He would have been a member of Chile's 2007 Copa América squad, but because of an injury during a training session with Universidad de Chile he missed the tournament. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Ponce was a consistent player in Chile's lineup. He scored his first official goal during a qualification match in a 4–2 win against Colombia. In June 2010, he was selected for Chile's FIFA World Cup 2010 squad. Ponce played in the opening match for Chile at the World Cup against Honduras, a 1–0 Chile victory. In the third group match against Spain, he received his second yellow card and received a one-match ban, missing the Round of 16 match against Brazil, which Chile lost 3–0, eliminating them from the tournament. Shortly after Chile's World Cup participation, the Chilean team were presented at the Moneda Palace by Chilean president Sebastian Piñera, and Ponce along with his team, were presented with the Bicentenario medal.

Universidad de Chile

Chilean Primera División: 2000, 2014 Apertura Copa Chile: 2000, 2012–13 Vélez Sársfield

Argentine Primera División: 2009 Torneo Clausura Universidad Católica

Chilean Primera División: 2010 Individual

Bicentenario Medal: 2010