Wesley Sonck

Wesley Sonck
Sonck pictured in 2007
Personal information
Date of birth (1978-08-09) 9 August 1978 (age 46)
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
2020–2024 Belgium U19
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

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Ajax

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[6][7]
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Molenbeek 1997–98 Belgian First Division 33 11 33 11
Germinal Ekeren 1998–99 Belgian First Division 32 7 2 1 34 8
Germinal Beerschot 1999–2000 Belgian First Division 29 11 1 0 – – 30 11
Genk 2000–01 Belgian First Division 32 13 5 4 4 1 1[a] 0 42 18
2001–02 Belgian First Division 32 30 3 2 – – 35 32
2002–03 Belgian First Division 29 24 2 3 8 3 1[a] 0 40 30
Total 93 67 10 9 12 4 2 0 117 80
Ajax 2003–04 Eredivisie 25 9 1 0 7 4 – 33 13
2004–05 Eredivisie 9 1 – 4 1 1[b] 0 14 2
Total 34 10 1 0 11 5 1 0 47 15
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2004–05 Bundesliga 7 2 – – – 7 2
2005–06 Bundesliga 14 4 – – – 14 4
2006–07 Bundesliga 7 0 1 1 – – 8 1
Total 28 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 29 7
Club Brugge 2007–08 Belgian First Division 21 6 – 2 0 – 23 6
2008–09 Belgian First Division 28 14 1 0 6 2 – 35 16
2009–10 Belgian Pro League 22 7 1 0 7 1 – 30 8
Total 71 27 2 0 15 3 0 0 88 30
Lierse 2010–11 Belgian Pro League 22 6 3 3 – – 25 9
2011–12 Belgian Pro League 22 2 5 0 – – 27 2
Total 44 8 8 3 0 0 0 0 52 11
Waasland-Beveren 2012–13 Belgian Pro League 23 2 1 0 – – 24 2
Career total 387 149 24 13 3 0 40 13 454 175
  1. ^ a b Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
  2. ^ Appearance in Dutch Super Cup

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Belgium 2001 7 1
2002 13 5
2003 8 6
2004 6 2
2005 0 0
2006 3 1
2007 2 1
2008 8 6
2009 7 2
2010 1 0
Total 55 24
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[8]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 6 June 2001 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 3–1 4–1 2002 World Cup qualification
2 27 March 2002 Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece  Greece 0-2 2–3 Friendly
3 14 June 2002 Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukoroi, Japan  Russia 2–1 3–2 2002 World Cup
4 21 August 2002 Florian Kryger Stadium, Szczecin, Poland  Poland 1–1 1–1 Friendly
5 12 October 2002 Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall, Aixovall, Andorra  Andorra 1–0 1–0 Euro 2004 qualification
6 16 October 2002 A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia  Estonia 1–0 1–0 Euro 2004 qualification
7 12 February 2003 Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria  Algeria 2–0 3–1 Friendly
8 30 April 2003 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Poland 1–0 2–1 Friendly
9 11 June 2003 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Andorra 2–0 3–0 Euro 2004 qualification
10 20 August 2003 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Netherlands 1–0 1–1 Friendly
11 10 September 2003 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Croatia 1–0 2–1 Euro 2004 qualification
12 2–1
13 28 April 2004 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Turkey 1–0 2–3 Friendly
14 4 September 2004 Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium  Lithuania 1–0 1–1 2006 World Cup qualification1
15 24 May 2006 Cristal Arena, Genk, Belgium  Turkey 2–2 3–3 Friendly
16 17 October 2007 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Armenia 1–0 3–0 Euro 2008 qualification
17 30 May 2008 Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy  Italy 1–3 1–3 Friendly
18 6 September 2008 Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium  Estonia 1–0 3–2 2010 World Cup qualification
19 3–1
20 10 September 2008 Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey  Turkey 1–0 1–1 2010 World Cup qualification
21 11 October 2008 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Armenia 1–0 2–0 2010 World Cup qualification
22 15 October 2008 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Spain 1–0 1–2 2010 World Cup qualification
23 28 March 2009 Cristal Arena, Genk, Belgium  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2–4‡ 2–4 2010 World Cup qualification
24 17 November 2009 Stade Louis Dugauguez, Sedan, France  Qatar 2–0 2–0 Friendly
Key
‡ Indicates goal was scored from a penalty kick

Honours and awards

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Genk[9]

Ajax

Individual

References

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  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. ^ "Belgium football results by competition". eu-football.info. 25 January 2024.
  9. ^ Projects, Sanmax. "Algemene info | KRC Genk". www.krcgenk.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Ajax | Prijzenkast".
  11. ^ "Winnaars Gouden Schoen".
  12. ^ "Sonck beste speler België". www.vi.nl. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Palmares Profvoetballer van het Jaar".
  14. ^ "Topscorer Eerste Klasse".
  15. ^ "Ninovieters Wesley Sonck en Kevin Van der Perren ingehuldigd als ereburgers". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 19 September 2021.
  16. ^ "VIDEO. Omhaal van Wesley Sonck bij Lierse verkozen tot mooiste doelpunt aller tijden in Belgische competitie". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 1 June 2023.
  17. ^ "12 Gouden Schoenen en meer dan 3.000 wedstrijden in België: dit is de Pro League Hall of Fame" [12 Golden Boots and more than 3,000 matches in Belgium: this is the Pro League Hall of Fame]. Sporza (in Dutch). 5 November 2024.
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