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[2] for his country.
In later years, Ponedelnik worked as a coach, a sports journalist, an editor of a sports publication,[3] and an advisor to the President of the Russian Federation. Later, a journalist, editor, and in-chief of the weekly Football. He received numerous awards for his contribution to Soviet and Russian sport. He was married and had three children and four grandchildren.
In Rostov-on-Don at the stadium, Olimp-2 28 August 2015 a monument depicting a young Ponedelnik with the cup in his hands.[4]
Ponedelnik died on 5 December 2020 at the age of 83. He was the last surviving member of the 1960 European Nations' Cup winning squad of Soviet Union, that became the inaugural European Champions at international level.
