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.
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,Wesley Sonck maakt het seizoen vol bij Appelterre – Sporza before retiring just three months later.Wesley Sonck stopt met voetballen | VTM NIEUWS
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.OFFICIEEL: WESLEY SONCK WORDT TRAINER, voetbalkrant.com, 3 August 2017 In March 2020, he was put in charge of the U-19 national team.JACKY MATHIJSSEN, NOUVEL ENTRAÎNEUR FÉDÉRAL DES U21, rbfa.be, 14 March 2020
Television career Sonck is a regular football analyst in Belgian TV sport shows and podcasts. In 2020, he made his debut as host of a television program in De Container Cup.
Career statistics
Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsMolenbeek1997–98Belgian First Division33113311Germinal Ekeren1998–99Belgian First Division32721348Germinal Beerschot1999–2000Belgian First Division291110––3011Genk2000–01Belgian First Division321354411042182001–02Belgian First Division323032––35322002–03Belgian First Division29242383104030Total93671091242011780Ajax2003–04Eredivisie2591074–33132004–05Eredivisie91–4110142Total341010115104715Borussia Mönchengladbach2004–05Bundesliga72–––722005–06Bundesliga144–––1442006–07Bundesliga7011––81Total286110000297Club Brugge2007–08Belgian First Division216–20–2362008–09Belgian First Division28141062–35162009–10Belgian Pro League2271071–308Total712720153008830Lierse2010–11Belgian Pro League22633––2592011–12Belgian Pro League22250––272Total4488300005211Waasland-Beveren2012–13Belgian Pro League23210––242Career total3871492413304013454175
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsBelgium2001712002135200386200462200500200631200721200886200972201010Total5524
Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sonck goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Wesley SonckNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 6 June 2001 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino 3–1 align=center 2002 World Cup qualification2 27 March 2002 Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece 0-2 align=center Friendly3 14 June 2002 Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukoroi, Japan 2–1 align=center 2002 World Cup4 21 August 2002 Florian Kryger Stadium, Szczecin, Poland 1–1 align=center Friendly5 12 October 2002 Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall, Aixovall, Andorra 1–0 align=center Euro 2004 qualification6 16 October 2002 A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia 1–0 align=center Euro 2004 qualification7 12 February 2003 Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria 2–0 align=center Friendly8 30 April 2003 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 1–0 align=center Friendly9 11 June 2003 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 2–0 align=center Euro 2004 qualification10 20 August 2003 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 1–0 align=center Friendly11 10 September 2003 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 1–0 rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" Euro 2004 qualification12 2–113 28 April 2004 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 1–0 align=center Friendly14 4 September 2004 Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium 1–0 align=center 2006 World Cup qualification115 24 May 2006 Cristal Arena, Genk, Belgium 2–2 align=center Friendly16 17 October 2007 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 1–0 align=center Euro 2008 qualification17 30 May 2008 Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy 1–3 align=center Friendly18 6 September 2008 Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium 1–0 rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" 2010 World Cup qualification19 3–120 10 September 2008 Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey 1–0 align=center 2010 World Cup qualification21 11 October 2008 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 1–0 align=center 2010 World Cup qualification22 15 October 2008 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 1–0 align=center 2010 World Cup qualification23 28 March 2009 Cristal Arena, Genk, Belgium 2–4‡ align=center 2010 World Cup qualification24 17 November 2009 Stade Louis Dugauguez, Sedan, France 2–0 align=center Friendly +KeyIndicates goal was scored from a penalty kick
Honours and awards Genk Belgian First Division: 2001–02
Ajax Eredivisie: 2003–04
Individual Belgian Golden Shoe: 2001 Goal of the Season: 2001 Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year: 2001–02 Belgian First Division A top scorer: 2001–02 (30 goals), 2002–03 (22 goals) Honorary citizen of Ninove: 2021 Most beautiful goal of all time in the Belgian league: 2023 Pro League Hall of Fame: 2024
References
External links
Belgium Stats at Belgian FA