Échirolles
Échirolles (; frp, Ècherôles) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration),
, Isère) is a French
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
. He currently plays amateur football for AC Seyssinet. His former clubs include Hearts and
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 2 ...
.
Playing career
Early career
Brellier started his career at French club Montpellier and was recruited by Italian giants
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...
in 2000. He made a limited number of appearances with Inter and was loaned out to
Lecco
Lecco (, , ; lmo, label= Lecchese, Lècch ) is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco'') ...
Venezia
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...
, initially under a co-ownership agreement. He played part of the 2004–05 season with Salernitana and was released in June 2005 due to the bankrupt of Venezia.
Heart of Midlothian
Brellier impressed manager
George Burley
George Elder Burley (born 3 June 1956) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player, making 628 league appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps. His most successful spell came wh ...
and was signed on a two-year deal by the
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
side in August.
Brellier quickly became a firm favourite with the Hearts fans: his unspectacular, diligent covering role in midfield allowing fellow midfielders
Paul Hartley
Paul Hartley (born 19 October 1976) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of Scottish Championship side Cove Rangers.
As a player, Hartley won trophies with both Hearts an ...
and Rudi Skácel greater attacking freedom, from which they scored a combined total of 30 league goals during the 2005–06 season. By the latter part of that season a giant French flag, with the words "Le Juge" emblazoned across it, became a regular spectacle at Hearts' home stadium Tynecastle, while the crowd took to singing his name to the tune of
Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
's
La donna è mobile
"" (; "Woman is fickle") is the Duke of Mantua's canzone from the beginning of act 3 of Giuseppe Verdi's opera ''Rigoletto'' (1851). The canzone is famous as a showcase for tenors. Raffaele Mirate's performance of the bravura aria at the opera ...
.
Despite Brellier being one of the most popular players at Tynecastle, it was frequently reported in the media that Hearts' owner
Vladimir Romanov
Vladimir Nikolayevich Romanov ( rus, Владимир Николаевич Романов, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr nʲɪkɐˈlaɪvʲɪtɕ rɐˈmanəf, lt, Vladimiras Romanovas; born 15 June 1947)
did not share the supporters' high opinion of him.
After the signing of Bruno Aguiar, Brellier was used more often as a substitute and, in an April 2006 interview, he suggested he was unhappy with the treatment he had received. However, in June 2006 it was confirmed that Brellier had agreed to extend his stay with Hearts until 2007. He appeared as a substitute as Hearts won the
2006 Scottish Cup Final
The 2006 Scottish Cup Final was played on 13 May 2006 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 120th Scottish Cup. The final was contested by Heart of Midlothian (Hearts), who beat Hibernian 4–0 in the semi-final, and Gretna, who ...
.
The 2006–07 season continued in a similar vein to the previous year for Brellier, with the Frenchman starting less than half of Hearts' games. His cause was not helped by a controversial sending-off in the Maroons Champions League qualifying round defeat to
AEK Athens
A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelf ...
Following much speculation during the season, in May 2007 it was confirmed that he would leave Hearts, after rejecting a final contract offer.
Post-Hearts Career
On 14 June, Brellier's agent, the brother of former Manchester United star Eric Cantona, confirmed that the player was in talks over a possible move to Rangers. However, he joined
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...
on 3 July, signing a two-year deal.
Brellier was sent off for the first time in his Norwich career on 22 September 2007 in a 2–0 defeat at
Wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
. He was unable to establish himself in the first team under new manager
Glenn Roeder
Glenn Victor Roeder (13 December 1955 – 28 February 2021) was an English professional football player and manager.
As a player, Roeder played as a defender for Arsenal, Leyton Orient, Queens Park Rangers, Notts County, Newcastle United, Wat ...
and the club terminated his contract on 11 January 2008. He subsequently signed for
FC Sion
Football Club de Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss football team from the city of Sion. The club was founded in 1909, and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have won the Swiss Super League twice, and ...
. In March 2010, Brellier severed ties with FC Sion and began training with
Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...
side
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
in order to maintain his fitness as he searched for a new club.Ex-Hearts star Brellier gives his verdict on the derby Scotsman.com, 17 March 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010 In October 2010 Brellier decided to retire from professional football and joined amateur side AC Seyssinet, who play in the 7th tier of French football.