Wesley Sonck facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
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
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	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
2017–2020	Belgium U18
2020–2024	Belgium U19
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Wesley Sonck (born August 9, 1978) is a Belgian football manager and a former player. He is currently the manager for the Belgium U19 national team. Wesley used to play as a striker, which is a player who focuses on scoring goals.

He played for many famous clubs like Molenbeek, Genk, Ajax, and Club Brugge. He also played for the Belgian national team. While playing for Genk, he was the top goal scorer in the Belgian First Division twice! He scored 30 goals in the 2001–02 season and 22 goals in the 2002–03 season.

Wesley Sonck's Club Journey

Playing for Ajax

Wesley Sonck joined Ajax, a big club in the Netherlands, in the summer of 2003. He was brought in to replace another striker who had left. His first game for Ajax was on August 12. He scored his first goal for the team on September 13 against RKC Waalwijk.

However, Wesley didn't quite settle in at Ajax. This was partly because his coach often made him play on the right side of the field, not in his usual striker position. In the winter of 2004, he moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany.

Time at Borussia Mönchengladbach

Wesley's time playing for Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany was tough because he got injured a lot. The club signed him permanently after his loan period. In the summer of 2005, he broke three ribs after a bad tackle during a friendly game.

It took him six months to get better. He came back to play and even scored a goal in a game against Bayern Munich. He scored three more goals in 13 games for Mönchengladbach. But then, he got another injury in his knee at the start of the 2006–07 season, which kept him out for three months.

Returning to Belgium

After the 2006–07 season, Wesley left Mönchengladbach and went back to Belgium. He joined Club Brugge on a one-year loan. Mönchengladbach had moved down to a lower league in Germany.

After his loan, Wesley joined Club Brugge permanently. In 2010, he left Brugge to join Lierse S.K. for free. He had some disagreements with his manager and wasn't playing as much. One of his first goals for Lierse was an amazing overhead kick!

In 2012, Lierse released him. After being without a club for a few months, he joined Waasland-Beveren in October 2012. He played for a local club, KE Appelterre-Eichem, in January 2014 before he stopped playing football professionally just three months later.

Playing for His Country: Belgium

Wesley Sonck was a part of the Belgian national team that played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He scored one goal in a group stage match against Russia.

He was also called to play for Belgium during the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. In a match against Spain, he scored Belgium's only goal. This goal ended a long streak where Spain's goalkeepers, Casillas and Reina, had not let in a goal for 710 minutes!

Becoming a Coach

After his playing career, Wesley Sonck started coaching. On August 3, 2017, he became the manager of the Belgian U18 national team. In March 2020, he took on the role of manager for the U-19 national team.

International Career Statistics

Here's a look at how many games Wesley Sonck played and how many goals he scored for the Belgian national team:

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				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 qualification
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

Awards and Achievements

Wesley Sonck received many awards during his football career:

With Genk

• Belgian First Division: 2001–02 (He helped his team win the league!)

With Ajax

• Eredivisie: 2003–04 (He won the Dutch league title!)

Individual Awards

• Belgian Golden Shoe: 2001 (This is a big award for the best player in Belgium.)
• Goal of the Season: 2001 (His goal was chosen as the best one that year.)
• Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year: 2001–02 (He was named the best professional footballer in Belgium.)
• Belgian First Division A top scorer: 2001–02 (30 goals), 2002–03 (22 goals) (He scored the most goals in the league two times!)
• Honorary citizen of Ninove: 2021 (His hometown honored him.)
• Most beautiful goal of all time in the Belgian league: 2023 (His goal was recognized as the most beautiful ever in the Belgian league!)
• Pro League Hall of Fame: 2024 (He was added to the Hall of Fame for his amazing career.)

See also

In Spanish: Wesley Sonck para niños