Green and white imports, part 3: Chilean Waldo Ponce.
Around 300 players from over 50 countries have represented the Wolves in the Bundesliga, some of whom are famous for being the first, or only, stars from their respective nations to have donned the green and white shirt. We’ve been shining the spotlight on these former players from time to time, and today the focus is on the only Chilean to lace his boots for VfL.
A large media presence was expected for Waldo Ponce’s official unveiling, but it was still a surprise when over 60 members of the press scrambled in the room to get a look at the man from South America.
When the diminutive dribbler eventually set foot on the turf for his first training session, 500 fans were in attendance to cheer him on. It was the same kind of euphoria that surrounded the arrival of Argentinian Andres D’Alessandro in summer 2003 - and had rarely been seen at the Wolves before.
“In my home country, VfL Wolfsburg are primarily associated with him,” said Ponce, who was also unveiled at Allerpark soon after – with much less fanfare – as a loan signing from top Chilean club CF Universidad de Chile. “For me, it was a dream come true. Since my childhood, I had wanted the chance to play in Europe.”
First Chilean in the Bundesliga
Ponce, 20 years old at the time, became a pioneer not just in a VfL shirt, but nationally. “There had been Chileans in German football before but not in the Bundesliga, so my transfer caused a stir back home,” he recalls. The defender joined the Wolves during a period when there was a spirit of optimism. The Green-and-Whites had openly declared European football as their aim for the season for the first time, and set about achieving it with an exciting team. Fernando Baiano, another new signing, Diego Klimowicz, Martin Petrov and D’Alessandro – a Bulgarian-South American attacking contingent that would provide spectacle. A week before Ponce’s debut at 1. FC Köln, the Green-and-Whites had beaten none other than Bayern Munich for the first time.
Fun football mixed with shaky defence
However, exciting attacking football wasn’t the only hallmark of Jürgen Röber’s side. An ongoing issue was the porous defence, which even Ponce wasn’t able to stabilise. On their day, the Wolves could compete with anyone but continually shot themselves in the foot with some heavy defeats.
VfL, who only registered a single draw up until Matchday 32, found no middle ground between these two extremes. The threat of relegation even loomed in the final third of the campaign, before Eric Gerets replaced Röber and led the team back into mid-table, which they’d actually wanted to get away from.
As for Ponce, things didn’t exactly run smoothly under either coach. He played just 112 minutes of competitive football, spread across five short appearances in the Bundesliga and one in the DFB Cup. He never made it into the starting line-up. “It took a long time for me to get used to the style of play,” he said. “The only concrete memories I still have are of my first game in Cologne.”
Language barrier too tough
The 42-year-olds puts the fact that neither side’s expectations were fulfilled down to the language more than anything. “That was the biggest difficulty,” he admits. “I also struggled with the cold, which I wasn’t used to at all. Although I have to say, I actually enjoyed the snow.”
The defender does recall getting on well with the coach, though: “Even though communication was a little difficult, Jürgen Röber and his assistant helped me a lot to settle in. I would even say that they were important people for my career.”
That said, the South American naturally had the closest relationship with teammates with whom he could communicate: “I spent a lot of time with Diego Klimowicz, who was a great support to me. But I also had a good relationship with Andres D'Alessandro, Juan Carlos Menseguez, Pablo Quatrocchi and Fernando Baiano.”
Now a radio commentator
Following his season in Germany, the loanee returned to his parent club, as had become apparent early on. Further short spells followed in Mexico, Argentina, Spain and in particular Chile, before Ponce, who made 42 senior international appearances and was part of Chile’s World Cup squad in South Africa in 2010, retired in 2017.
Now he’s changed sides and works as a commentator on a sports show for Chilean station Radio Futuro. He speaks very positively about VfL, even though he never established himself with the Wolves: “Wolfsburg was a wonderful experience, I really would’ve liked to have stayed longer. I’ll always be grateful to the club for opening the door to realise my dream.”
Ponce is still in touch with Menseguez and Klimowicz. “I also had contact with D'Alessandro at one point, he played a match in Chile. It was a great opportunity to see him again.”
