Quick Facts
Biography
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.
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 the 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, before retiring just three months later.
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:
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Super Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Belgium | League | Belgian Cup | Super Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 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 Antwerpen | 1999–2000 | Belgian First Division | 29 | 11 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 30 | 11 |
| Genk | 2000–01 | Belgian First Division | 32 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 18 |
| 2001–02 | 32 | 30 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 35 | 32 | ||
| 2002–03 | 29 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 40 | 30 | ||
| Total | 93 | 67 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 117 | 80 | ||
| Netherlands | League | KNVB Cup | Super Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| Ajax | 2003–04 | Eredivisie | 25 | 9 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 4 | 33 | 13 |
| 2004–05 | 9 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 2 | ||
| Total | 34 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 47 | 15 | ||
| Germany | League | DFB-Pokal | DFB Ligapokal | Europe | Total | |||||||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2004–05 | Bundesliga | 7 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | 2 |
| 2005–06 | 14 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 8 | 1 | ||
| Total | 28 | 6 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 29 | 7 | ||
| Belgium | League | Belgian Cup | Super Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| Club Brugge | 2007–08 | Belgian First Division | 21 | 6 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | 23 | 6 |
| 2008–09 | 28 | 14 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 2 | 35 | 16 | ||
| 2009–10 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 1 | 30 | 8 | ||
| Total | 71 | 27 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 3 | 88 | 30 | ||
| Lierse | 2010–11 | Belgian Pro League | 22 | 6 | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 25 | 9 |
| 2011–12 | 22 | 2 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 27 | 2 | ||
| Total | 44 | 8 | 8 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 52 | 11 | ||
| Waasland-Beveren | 2012–13 | Belgian Pro League | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 24 | 2 |
| Country | Belgium | 325 | 133 | 22 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 8 | 378 | 153 | |
| Netherlands | 34 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 47 | 15 | ||
| Germany | 28 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 7 | ||
| Total | 387 | 149 | 24 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 13 | 454 | 175 | ||
International
| Belgium national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 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 |
International goals
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 June 2001 | Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle |  San Marino | 1–4 | Won | 2002 World Cup Qualification |
| 2 | 27 March 2002 | Olympic Stadium, Athens |  Greece | 3–2 | Lost | Friendly |
| 3 | 14 June 2002 | Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukoroi |  Russia | 3–2 | Won | 2002 World Cup |
| 4 | 21 August 2002 | Florian Kryger Stadium, Szczecin |  Poland | 1–1 | Drawn | Friendly |
| 5 | 12 October 2002 | Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall, Aixovall |  Andorra | 0–1 | Won | Euro 2004 Qualification |
| 6 | 16 October 2002 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn |  Estonia | 0–1 | Won | Euro 2004 Qualification |
| 7 | 12 February 2003 | Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba |  Algeria | 1–3 | Won | Friendly |
| 8 | 30 April 2003 | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels | Poland | 2–1 | Won | Friendly |
| 9 | 11 June 2003 | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels | Andorra | 3–0 | Won | Euro 2004 Qualification |
| 10 | 20 August 2003 | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels |  Netherlands | 1–1 | Drawn | Friendly |
| 11 | 10 September 2003 | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels |  Croatia | 2–1 | Won | Euro 2004 Qualification |
| 12 | 10 September 2003 | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels | Croatia | 2–1 | Won | Euro 2004 Qualification |
| 13 | 28 April 2004 | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels |  Turkey | 2–3 | Lost | Friendly |
| 14 | 4 September 2004 | Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Charleroi |  Lithuania | 1–1 | Drawn | 2006 World Cup Qualification |
| 15 | 24 May 2006 | Cristal Arena, Genk | Turkey | 3–3 | Drawn | Friendly |
| 16 | 17 October 2007 | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels |  Armenia | 3–0 | Won | Euro 2008 Qualification |
| 17 | 30 May 2008 | Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence |  Italy | 3–1 | Lost | Friendly |
| 18 | 6 September 2008 | Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège | Estonia | 3–2 | Won | 2010 World Cup Qualification |
| 19 | 6 September 2008 | Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège | Estonia | 3–2 | Won | 2010 World Cup Qualification |
| 20 | 10 September 2008 | Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul | Turkey | 1–1 | Drawn | 2010 World Cup Qualification |
| 21 | 11 October 2008 | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels | Armenia | 2–0 | Won | 2010 World Cup Qualification |
| 22 | 15 October 2008 | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels |  Spain | 1–2 | Lost | 2010 World Cup Qualification |
| 23 | 28 March 2009 | Cristal Arena, Genk |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–4 | Lost | 2010 World Cup Qualification |
| 24 | 17 November 2009 | Stade Louis Dugauguez, Sedan |  Qatar | 0–2 | Won | Friendly |
Honours
Club
Genk
- Belgian First Division: 2001–02
Ajax
- Eredivisie: 2003–04
Individual
- Belgian Golden Shoe: 2001
- Belgian Footballer of the Year: 2001–02
- Belgian First Division A top scorers: 2001–02, 2002–03