# Wesley Sonck

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, before retiring just three months later.

## 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. In March 2020, he was put in charge of the U-19 national team.

## Career statistics
### Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National Cup | National Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | 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 | 0 | 42 | 18 |
| Genk | 2001–02 | Belgian First Division | 32 | 30 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 35 | 32 |
| Genk | 2002–03 | Belgian First Division | 29 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 30 |
| Genk | Total | Total | 93 | 67 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 117 | 80 |
| Ajax | 2003–04 | Eredivisie | 25 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | – | – | 33 | 13 |
| Ajax | 2004–05 | Eredivisie | 9 | 1 | – | – | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 |
| Ajax | Total | Total | 34 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 15 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2004–05 | Bundesliga | 7 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | 2 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2005–06 | Bundesliga | 14 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | 4 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2006–07 | Bundesliga | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 8 | 1 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | Total | Total | 28 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 7 |
| Club Brugge | 2007–08 | Belgian First Division | 21 | 6 | – | – | 2 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 6 |
| Club Brugge | 2008–09 | Belgian First Division | 28 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | – | – | 35 | 16 |
| Club Brugge | 2009–10 | Belgian Pro League | 22 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | – | – | 30 | 8 |
| Club Brugge | Total | Total | 71 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 30 |
| Lierse | 2010–11 | Belgian Pro League | 22 | 6 | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 25 | 9 |
| Lierse | 2011–12 | Belgian Pro League | 22 | 2 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 27 | 2 |
| Lierse | Total | 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 | Career total | Career total | 387 | 149 | 24 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 13 | 454 | 175 |
* 1 2 Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
* ↑ Appearance in Dutch Super Cup

### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Belgium | 2001 | 7 | 1 |
| Belgium | 2002 | 13 | 5 |
| Belgium | 2003 | 8 | 6 |
| Belgium | 2004 | 6 | 2 |
| Belgium | 2005 | 0 | 0 |
| Belgium | 2006 | 3 | 1 |
| Belgium | 2007 | 2 | 1 |
| Belgium | 2008 | 8 | 6 |
| Belgium | 2009 | 7 | 2 |
| Belgium | 2010 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 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 :
| 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 | 10 September 2003 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium | Croatia | 2–1 | 2–1 | Euro 2004 qualification |
| 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 | 6 September 2008 | Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium | Estonia | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2010 World Cup qualification |
| 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

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