Wesley Sonck

Wesley Sonck (born 9 August 1978) is a Belgian former footballer and currently manager who played as a striker for Molenbeek, Germinal Ekeren, Germinal Beerschot, Genk, Ajax, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Club Brugge. He has been capped by Belgium at international level. He is managing the Belgium national under-19 football team.

Wesley Sonck
Sonck pictured in 2007
Personal information
Full name Wesley Sonck
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
Club 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)
National team
1996 Belgium U18 4 (1)
1997–1999 Belgium U21 11 (8)
2001–2010 Belgium 55 (24)
Teams managed
2020– Belgium U19
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

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

AFC 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 German 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

He 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

Sonck was called for the 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.

Career statistics

Club
Source:[4][5]
Club Season League Cup Super Cup Continental Total
Division AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Belgium League Belgian Cup Super Cup Europe Total
Molenbeek1997–98Belgian First Division33113311
Germinal Ekeren1998–99Belgian First Division32721348
Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen1999–2000Belgian First Division291110––––3011
Genk2000–01Belgian First Division32135410414218
2001–02323032––––3532
2002–0329242310834030
Total 93671092012411780
Netherlands League KNVB Cup Super Cup Europe Total
Ajax2003–04Eredivisie25910––743313
2004–0591––1041142
Total 341010101154715
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFB Ligapokal Europe Total
Borussia Mönchengladbach2004–05Bundesliga72––––––72
2005–06144––––––144
2006–077011––––81
Total 28611––––297
Belgium League Belgian Cup Super Cup Europe Total
Club Brugge2007–08Belgian First Division216––––20236
2008–09281410––623516
2009–1022710––71308
Total 712720––1538830
Lierse2010–11Belgian Pro League22633––––259
2011–1222250––––272
Total 44883––––5211
Waasland-Beveren2012–13Belgian Pro League23210––––242
CountryBelgium 325133221220298378153
Netherlands 341010101154715
Germany 286110000297
Total 3871492413304013454175

International
Belgium national team
YearAppsGoals
200171
2002135
200386
200462
200500
200631
200721
200886
200972
201010
Total5524

International goals
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
16 June 2001Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle San Marino1–4Won2002 World Cup Qualification
227 March 2002Olympic Stadium, Athens Greece3–2LostFriendly
314 June 2002Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukoroi Russia3–2Won2002 World Cup
421 August 2002Florian Kryger Stadium, Szczecin Poland1–1DrawnFriendly
512 October 2002Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall, Aixovall Andorra0–1WonEuro 2004 Qualification
616 October 2002A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn Estonia0–1WonEuro 2004 Qualification
712 February 2003Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba Algeria1–3WonFriendly
830 April 2003Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Poland2–1WonFriendly
911 June 2003Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Andorra3–0WonEuro 2004 Qualification
1020 August 2003Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Netherlands1–1DrawnFriendly
1110 September 2003Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Croatia2–1WonEuro 2004 Qualification
1210 September 2003Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Croatia2–1WonEuro 2004 Qualification
1328 April 2004Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Turkey2–3LostFriendly
144 September 2004Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Charleroi Lithuania1–1Drawn2006 World Cup Qualification
1524 May 2006Cristal Arena, Genk Turkey3–3DrawnFriendly
1617 October 2007Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Armenia3–0WonEuro 2008 Qualification
1730 May 2008Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence Italy3–1LostFriendly
186 September 2008Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège Estonia3–2Won2010 World Cup Qualification
196 September 2008Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège Estonia3–2Won2010 World Cup Qualification
2010 September 2008Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul Turkey1–1Drawn2010 World Cup Qualification
2111 October 2008Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Armenia2–0Won2010 World Cup Qualification
2215 October 2008Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Spain1–2Lost2010 World Cup Qualification
2328 March 2009Cristal Arena, Genk Bosnia and Herzegovina2–4Lost2010 World Cup Qualification
2417 November 2009Stade Louis Dugauguez, Sedan Qatar0–2WonFriendly

Honours

Club

Genk[6]

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. Wesley Sonck at National-Football-Teams.com
  5. "Wesley Sonck » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  6. Projects, Sanmax. "Algemene info | KRC Genk". www.krcgenk.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  7. "Ajax | Prijzenkast".
  8. "Winnaars Gouden Schoen".
  9. "Sonck beste speler België". www.vi.nl. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  10. "Palmares Profvoetballer van het Jaar".
  11. "Topscorer Eerste Klasse".
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