Frédéric Brillant (born 26 June 1985) is a French former

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 le ...

who is currently an assistant coach for

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppo ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. He has played most of his career with clubs in Belgium and in the United States.

Career

Belgium

Brillant started his professional career with RE Bertrix in the lower divisions of Belgium. He then joined second-division side

KV Oostende Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende () or KVO, is a Belgian football club from the city of Ostend, West Flanders in Belgium. The team was founded in 1904 as ''VG Oostende'' and has the matricule No. 31. History In 1911, an ...

in 2011. Brillant then made it to the top-flight Belgium league,

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

by joining Beerschot AC in 2012. After his former club, KV Oostende was promoted to the first division, Brillant re-joined Oostende in 2013. Brillant appeared in 127 games in total for

K.V. Oostende Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende () or KVO, is a Belgian football club from the city of Ostend, West Flanders in Belgium. The team was founded in 1904 as ''VG Oostende'' and has the matricule No. 31. History In 1911, an ...

and contributed 13 goals and one assist.

New York City FC

Brillant was acquired by New York City FC from the Belgian team

on 28 January 2016 on a free transfer and scored his first MLS goal against

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL ...

on 29 May 2016. He was released by New York at the end of their 2017 season.

D.C. United

He was signed to a two-year contract by

on 10 December 2017. On 1 November, 2018, Brillant scored his first goal for

against the Columbus Crew with a header in the first round of the MLS 2018 Playoffs. Brillant finished his first year for D.C. United with 27 games played, 24 starts, and a contribution of one assist. Brillant scored his second goal for D.C. United against the Seattle Sounders on 22 September, 2019. The goal was assisted by

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while als ...

. For his consistency with D.C., he was featured MLS's Team of the Week three weeks in a row in 2019. On 10 December 2019, he signed a two-year contract extension with the club. In 2021, Brillant's playing time began to decline after the acquisition of Brendan Hines-Ike and the rise of

Donovan Pines Donovan C. Pines (born March 7, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center-back for D.C. United in Major League Soccer and the United States national team. Pines previously played college soccer for the University of ...

in the starting lineup. Following the 2021 season, Brillant was released by D.C. United. On 11 January 2022, Brillant announced his retirement from playing and professional football, and would be taking up a role as assistant coach to

Loudoun United Loudoun United FC is an American professional soccer team based in Leesburg, Virginia. The team was founded in 2018 as the reserve team of D.C. United and made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. History On July 18, 2018, the team was offi ...

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* 1985 births Living people Association football defenders Belgian Pro League players Beerschot A.C. players D.C. United players K.V. Oostende players French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium French expatriate sportspeople in the United States French footballers Major League Soccer players New York City FC players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Belgium Loudoun United FC USL Championship coaches People from Sedan, Ardennes CS Sedan Ardennes players French expatriate footballers Sportspeople from Ardennes (department) Footballers from Grand Est D.C. United non-playing staff Association football coaches {{France-footy-defender-1980s-stub