Wesley Sonck

Wesley Sonck (born 9 August 1978) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who manages the Belgium U19 national team. He played as a striker for Molenbeek, Ninove, Germinal Ekeren, Germinal Beerschot, Genk, Ajax, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Club Brugge. He was capped by Belgium at international level.

Wesley Sonck
Sonck pictured in 2007
Personal information
Date of birth (1978-08-09) 9 August 1978
Place of birth Ninove, Belgium
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Belgium U19 (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1998 Molenbeek 33 (11)
1998–1999 Germinal Ekeren 32 (7)
1999–2000 Germinal Beerschot 28 (11)
2000–2003 Genk 93 (66)
2003–2005 Ajax 34 (10)
2005–2008 Borussia Mönchengladbach 28 (6)
2007–2008 → Club Brugge (loan) 21 (6)
2008–2010 Club Brugge 50 (21)
2010–2012 Lierse 32 (6)
2012–2013 Waasland-Beveren 16 (1)
2014 KE Appelterre-Eichem 9 (9)
Total 376 (154)
International career
1996 Belgium U18 4 (1)
1997–1999 Belgium U21 11 (8)
2001–2010 Belgium 55 (24)
Managerial career
2017–2020 Belgium U18
2020– Belgium U19
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

During his time with Genk, he was the top goalscorer in the Belgian First Division in the 2001–02 season with 30 goals, and joint top in the following campaign with 22 – sharing the award with Cédric Roussel.

Club career

Ajax

Sonck moved to Ajax in the summer of 2003, to replace departed striker Mido. He made his debut on 12 August against Grazer AK. He scored his first goal for the club 13 September against RKC Waalwijk. Sonck never really made it in Amsterdam, partly because he was playing on the right wing a lot under coach Ronald Koeman. He moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach in the winter of 2004.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Sonck's time with Borussia Mönchengladbach of the Bundesliga was hampered by injuries. Mönchengladbach signed him on a permanent contract, a deal initially arranged already at the start of his loan. In the summer of 2005, Sonck had three of his ribs broken after a horrific tackle by Wilfred Bouma in a goalless, meaningless friendly between Borussia Mönchengladbach and PSV Eindhoven. Sonck took six months to recover, marking his return to competitive football with a goal in a 3–1 defeat by Bayern Munich. He scored three more in 13 further Bundesliga games for Mönchengladbach until he was forced out for three months with an injury in the hollow of his knee at the start of the 2006–07 season.

Back to Belgium

Sonck left Gladbach at the end of the 2006–07 season, joining Club Brugge on a year-long loan deal while Borussia Mönchengladbach began playing in the second tier of the Bundesliga. Following the 2007–08 season, Sonck joined Brugge permanently for an undisclosed fee. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Sonck left Brugge to join Lierse S.K. on a free transfer having fallen out with manager Adrie Koster over contract negotiations and lack of first team action. Amongst his first goals for the club was an excellent overhead kick. Sonck was released in the summer of 2012 and spent a few months unemployed before joining newly promoted Waasland-Beveren near the end of October 2012. In January 2014 signed with 1ste Provincial Oost-Vlaanderen club KE Appelterre-Eichem,[2] before retiring just three months later.[3]

International career

Wesley Sonck was a member of the Belgian squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He scored one goal in the Group stage match against Russia.

Sonck was called for the Belgium national team during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. In the match versus Spain he scored Belgium's only goal in that match, thus ending Casillas and Reina's undefeated streak of 710 minutes.

Coaching career

On 3 August 2017, Sonck was hired as manager of the Belgian U18 national team.[4] In March 2020, he was put in charge of the U-19 national team.[5]

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[6][7]
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Molenbeek1997–98Belgian First Division33113311
Germinal Ekeren1998–99Belgian First Division32721348
Germinal Beerschot1999–2000Belgian First Division291110––3011
Genk2000–01Belgian First Division321354411[lower-alpha 1]04218
2001–02 Belgian First Division323032––3532
2002–03 Belgian First Division292423831[lower-alpha 1]04030
Total 93671091242011780
Ajax2003–04Eredivisie2591074–3313
2004–05 Eredivisie91–411[lower-alpha 2]0142
Total 341010115104715
Borussia Mönchengladbach2004–05Bundesliga72–––72
2005–06 Bundesliga144–––144
2006–07 Bundesliga7011––81
Total 286110000297
Club Brugge2007–08Belgian First Division216–20–236
2008–09 Belgian First Division28141062–3516
2009–10 Belgian Pro League2271071–308
Total 712720153008830
Lierse2010–11Belgian Pro League22633––259
2011–12 Belgian Pro League22250––272
Total 4488300005211
Waasland-Beveren2012–13Belgian Pro League23210––242
Career total 3871492413304013454175
  1. Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
  2. Appearance in Dutch Super Cup

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Belgium 200171
2002135
200386
200462
200500
200631
200721
200886
200972
201010
Total5524
Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sonck goal.
List of international goals scored by Wesley Sonck
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
16 June 2001Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino San Marino4–12002 World Cup qualification
227 March 2002Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece Greece2–3Friendly
314 June 2002Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukoroi, Japan Russia3–22002 World Cup
421 August 2002Florian Kryger Stadium, Szczecin, Poland Poland1–1Friendly
512 October 2002Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall, Aixovall, Andorra Andorra1–0Euro 2004 qualification
616 October 2002A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia Estonia1–0Euro 2004 qualification
712 February 2003Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria Algeria3–1Friendly
830 April 2003King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Poland2–1Friendly
911 June 2003King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Andorra3–0Euro 2004 qualification
1020 August 2003King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Netherlands1–1Friendly
1110 September 2003King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Croatia2–1Euro 2004 qualification
12
1328 April 2004King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Turkey2–3Friendly
144 September 2004Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium Lithuania1–12006 World Cup qualification
1524 May 2006Cristal Arena, Genk, Belgium Turkey3–3Friendly
1617 October 2007King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Armenia3–0Euro 2008 qualification
1730 May 2008Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy Italy1–3Friendly
186 September 2008Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium Estonia3–22010 World Cup qualification
19
2010 September 2008Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey Turkey1–12010 World Cup qualification
2111 October 2008King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Armenia2–02010 World Cup qualification
2215 October 2008King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Spain1–22010 World Cup qualification
2328 March 2009Cristal Arena, Genk, Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina2–42010 World Cup qualification
2417 November 2009Stade Louis Dugauguez, Sedan, France Qatar2–0Friendly

Honours and awards

Genk[8]

Ajax

Individual

References
  1. "Wesley Sonck". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  2. Wesley Sonck maakt het seizoen vol bij Appelterre – Sporza
  3. Wesley Sonck stopt met voetballen | VTM NIEUWS
  4. OFFICIEEL: WESLEY SONCK WORDT TRAINER, voetbalkrant.com, 3 August 2017
  5. JACKY MATHIJSSEN, NOUVEL ENTRAÎNEUR FÉDÉRAL DES U21, rbfa.be, 14 March 2020
  6. Wesley Sonck at National-Football-Teams.com
  7. "Wesley Sonck » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  8. Projects, Sanmax. "Algemene info | KRC Genk". www.krcgenk.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  9. "Ajax | Prijzenkast".
  10. "Winnaars Gouden Schoen".
  11. "Sonck beste speler België". www.vi.nl. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  12. "Palmares Profvoetballer van het Jaar".
  13. "Topscorer Eerste Klasse".
  14. "Ninovieters Wesley Sonck en Kevin Van der Perren ingehuldigd als ereburgers". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 19 September 2021.
  15. "VIDEO. Omhaal van Wesley Sonck bij Lierse verkozen tot mooiste doelpunt aller tijden in Belgische competitie". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 1 June 2023.
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