Jonathan Sundy Zongo (born 6 April 1989) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a winger or forward. He was a Burkina Faso international, appeared between 2013 and 2017.

He spent the better part of his 11-year senior career in Spain, appearing in 111 competitive matches for Almería and taking part in two La Liga seasons with the club. He also played professionally in Thailand.

Club career Almería Born in Ouagadougou, Zongo began his career with hometown club US Ouagadougou. In October 2010, he moved to Spain and joined UD Almería, being initially assigned to the reserve team in the Segunda División B. One month after arriving he suffered a knee injury, going on to miss several weeks.Jonathan, operado por Ripoll, baja para ocho semanas en el Almería B (Jonathan, operated by Ripoll, out for eight weeks in Almería B); Ideal, 5 November 2010 (in Spanish)

Zongo made his official debut with the Andalusians' main squad on 13 January 2011, coming on as a second-half substitute for Kalu Uche in a 1–0 home win against Deportivo de La Coruña in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey.Crónica del Almería-Deportivo de La Coruña, 1–0 (Almería-Deportivo de La Coruña match report, 1–0); Europa Press, 13 January 2011 (in Spanish) He played his first game in the Segunda División on 29 January of the following year, against Gimnàstic de Tarragona.La fortuna del Almería mete en la UVI al Nàstic (Almería's luck sends Nàstic to ICU); Marca, 29 January 2012 (in Spanish)

Again coming from the bench, Zongo scored his first goals for Almería on 19 May 2012, netting a late brace in a 2–0 home victory over AD Alcorcón.Jonathan mete otra vez al Almería en la lucha (Jonathan puts Almería back in the hunt); Marca, 19 May 2012 (in Spanish) For the 2012–13 season he was promoted to the first team, and appeared mostly from the bench in the early stages. However, in January, after the departures of Aarón Ñíguez and Leonardo Ulloa, he began being more utilised in manager Javi Gracia's starting XI as a winger, keeping his place under Gracia's successor Francisco.El curioso caso de Jonathan Zongo (The curious case of Jonathan Zongo) ; Diario UDA, 25 August 2016 (in Spanish)

On 28 June 2013, Zongo was definitely promoted to Almería's main squad, with the club in La Liga.Dieciséis jugadores tienen actualmente contrato en vigor con la primera plantilla de la UD Almería (Sixteen players actually have a contract with Almería's first team); UD Almería, 28 June 2013 (in Spanish) In August, however, he declined a first-team contract, being again demoted to the reserves.Jonathan se incorpora al filial (Jonathan added to reserves) ; UD Almería, 18 August 2013 (in Spanish) On 12 November he finally agreed to a deal, running until 2017.Jonathan se incorpora a la primera plantilla de la UD Almería (Jonathan added to UD Almería's first team) ; UD Almería, 12 November 2013 (in Spanish)

Zongo played his first match in the Spanish top division on 4 January 2014, featuring the last 19 minutes in a 3–0 home defeat of Granada CFAlmeria in cruise control ; ESPN FC, 4 January 2014 and becoming the first Burkinabé footballer to appear in the competition.Zongo, primer jugador de Burkina Faso en Primera (Zongo, first Burkina Faso player in Primera); Diario AS, 7 January 2014 (in Spanish) He scored his first league goal late in the month, the only in a win over Getafe CF also at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos.Almeria 1 Getafe 0 ; ESPN FC, 26 January 2014

On 16 December 2014, in a 2–1 home win against Real Betis in the Copa del Rey, Zongo scored from 50 metres to lob goalkeeper Dani Giménez.2–1: El Almería sella su pase con un golazo de Zongo (2–1: Almería seal qualification with a great goal from Zongo); Mundo Deportivo, 16 December 2014 (in Spanish) He was regularly used during the campaign, but the side suffered relegation.

Zongo suffered a knee injury while on international duty in January 2017 and was sidelined for several months. His contract expired before he was fully recovered, and he left the club.

Later years On 8 January 2019, following a lengthy period as a free agent, Zongo signed for Thai League 2 side Army United FC. He returned to Spain on 16 August, agreeing to a deal at CF Badalona of the third tier.

Zongo announced his retirement from professional football on 23 December 2020 at the age of 31, after failing to completely recover from his 2017 injury.

International career On 7 August 2013, Zongo was called up to the Burkina Faso national team for a friendly with Morocco.; UD Almería, 7 August 2013 (in Spanish) He made his debut seven days later, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 away win.Amical: Le Burkina Faso surprend le Maroc (Friendly: Burkina Faso surprise Morocco) ; Afrik Foot, 15 August 2013 (in French) On 21 May of the following year he scored his first international goal, the equaliser in a 1–1 draw against Senegal.Match Amical International, Burkina Faso # Sénégal: 1–1 – Manque de réalisme des Etalons (International friendly, Burkina Faso # Senegal: 1–1 – Unrealistic Etalons); AOuaga, 22 May 2014 (in French)

In January 2017, during a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations match against Gabon, Zongo suffered a severe knee injury.

Career statistics Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAlmería B2010–11Segunda División B186——1862011–12225——2252012–1320——202013–14100——100Total521100005211Almería2010–11La Liga0020—202011–12Segunda División14210—1522012–1325131303122013–14La Liga18110—1912014–1527211—2832015–16Segunda División12010—1302016–173000—30Total99692301117Career total15117923016319

International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsBurkina Faso201340201481201541201640201720Total222

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 21 May 2014 Stade du 4-Août, Burkina Faso 1–1 1–1 Friendly 2 13 June 2015 Stade du 4-Août, Burkina Faso 2–0 2–0 2017 ACN qualifiers

References

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