 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 professionalfootball manager and former player who manages theBelgium U19 national team. He played as astriker forMolenbeek, Ninove,Germinal Ekeren,Germinal Beerschot,Genk,Ajax,Borussia Mönchengladbach andClub Brugge. He wascapped byBelgium at international level.
During his time with Genk, he was thetop 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 withCédric Roussel.
Sonck moved to Ajax in the summer of 2003, to replace departed strikerMido. He made his debut on 12 August againstGrazer 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 coachRonald Koeman. He moved toBorussia Mönchengladbach in the winter of 2004.
Sonck's time with Borussia Mönchengladbach of theBundesliga 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 byWilfred Bouma in a goalless, meaningless friendly between Borussia Mönchengladbach andPSV Eindhoven. Sonck took six months to recover, marking his return to competitivefootball with a goal in a 3–1 defeat byBayern 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.
Sonck left Gladbach at the end of the 2006–07 season, joiningClub 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 promotedWaasland-Beveren near the end of October 2012. In January 2014 signed with1ste Provincial Oost-Vlaanderen club KE Appelterre-Eichem,[2] before retiring just three months later.[3]
Wesley Sonck was a member of the Belgian squad at the2002 FIFA World Cup. He scored one goal in theGroup stage match against Russia.
Sonck was called for theBelgium national team during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. In the match versusSpain he scored Belgium's only goal in that match, thus ending Casillas and Reina's undefeated streak of 710 minutes.
On 3 August 2017, Sonck was hired as manager of theBelgian U18 national team.[4] In March 2020, he was put in charge of the U-19 national team.[5]
| 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 | ||
| 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 | |
| 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 |
| ‡ | Indicates goal was scored from apenalty kick |
|---|
Genk[9]
Ajax
Individual
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