Grant Ian Brebner (born 6 December 1977) is a Scottish football coach and former player who was the head coach at Australian side

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victor ...

. Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Brebner joined Manchester United as a 16-year-old in 1994. While at Manchester United, he broke into the Scotland under-21 team, making 17 appearances between 1997 and 1999; however, he was unable to find a place in the Manchester United first team and was loaned out to

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

and Hibernian, before being sold to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

for £300,000 in 1998. He then returned to Hibernian on a permanent basis, and made more than 100 appearances in a five-year stint there that included a loan spell with

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

. In August 2004, he was transferred to

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

, before moving to Australia to play for

. After six years with Melbourne Victory, he joined

Victorian Premier League The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer lea ...

side

Moreland Zebras Brunswick Juventus FC is an Australian soccer club based in the Melbourne municipality of Merri-bek. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 and is based at CB Smith Reserve in the suburb of Fawkner. The earliest ...

. He returned to Melbourne Victory as an assistant coach in 2020, before assuming the position of manager later that year, where he served until being dismissed from the position in April 2021.

Club career

Early career

On leaving school in 1994, Brebner signed for Manchester United as an apprentice, playing in the FA Youth Cup winning side of 1995 and turning professional soon after. ''

FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is a football magazine published by Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4-4-2. In 2008, it was announced that ''FourFourTwo'' had ...

'' magazine hailed him as the latest big talent to be produced by Manchester United's youth system.Brebner on a journey of discovery that will never reach its end
'' The Herald'', 3 June 2009. After four years in United's youth and reserve teams, Brebner was loaned to

, where he scored his first senior goal while making six appearances. A further loan spell was spent back in Edinburgh at Hibernian, where Brebner suffered relegation at the end of the 1997–98 season. Brebner was then transferred permanently to

at the start of the 1998–99 season. He was already 21 years old, but had never played a single first-team game for Manchester United. During his time at Reading, he scored 10 goals in 41 league games. He was also responsible for scoring the first ever goal at the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a Association football, football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, Reading. It is the home of Reading F.C., Reading Football Club, who play in the E ...

, but he suffered from

homesickness Homesickness is the distress caused by being away from home.Kerns, Brumariu, Abraham. Kathryn A., Laura E., Michelle M.(2009/04/13). Homesickness at summer camp. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 54. Its cognitive hallmark is preoccupying thoughts of home ...

during his time at the club.

Scotland

After just one season with Reading, Brebner returned to Hibernian on a permanent deal. Brebner moved on loan again to

during the 2000–01 season, but then established himself in the Hibs first team, playing in the 2001 Scottish Cup Final and the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

. Brebner scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

against future employers

in a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, and was a senior player in the side with young stars like

Kevin Thomson Kevin Thomson (born 14 October 1984) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Thomson played as a midfielder for Hibernian (three spells), Rangers, Middlesbrough and Dundee and represented Scotland. Thomson began his c ...

and Scott Brown. Brebner was surprisingly transferred to

in August 2004, despite having just signed a three-year contract with Hibs.Brebner's new beginning
''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'', 3 October 2004. He missed just three matches in his first season with United and scored seven times from 64 appearances in all for United. Following a change in management at the club, however, Brebner was informed by his new manager

Craig Brewster Craig James Brown Brewster (born 13 December 1966) is a Scottish former professional footballer, turned coach. He made his name in a long playing career as a striker for numerous clubs in Scotland, particularly Forfar Athletic, Raith Rovers, ...

in April 2006 that he would be allowed to leave the club at the end of the 2005–06 season.

Melbourne Victory

On 26 May 2006, Brebner was reported by ''

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

'' to be attracting interest from

. He subsequently flew to Australia for talks with the A-League club. Brebner came on as a trialist and scored for Victory with seconds remaining, in the QNI North Queensland Challenge Trophy game versus

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under ...

on 18 June. Securing a 2–2 draw, Brebner then scored the winning penalty to seal a 4–2 shoot-out win. On Brebner's performance, Victory manager

Ernie Merrick Ernest Merrick OAM (born 15 January 1953) is a Scottish-Australian coach, who last managed A-League soccer club Newcastle Jets. He was released on 6 January 2020. He was the former head coach of the Hong Kong national football team and A-Leagu ...

said: "There's not too much more you can do when you're on trial than come in and win the game, is there?". In Victory's second match on 20 June, Brebner completed the full 90 minutes, playing in a 3–1 win over Chinese team Changchun Yatai. Brebner completed a successful trial period by netting a 28-yard free-kick as Victory won the trophy with a 6–1 win over the Chinese team in the final, on 24 June. On the back of his impressive displays during his trial, Brebner was signed to a full-time contract with the

, having agreed on a deal to be released from his Dundee United contract. In his first season, he helped the Victory win the 2006–07 A-League premiership with five rounds remaining. The round 19 clash with Perth Glory away at Members Equity Stadium saw Brebner take the captain's armband for the first time in the absence of regular captain

Kevin Muscat Kevin Vincent Muscat (born 7 August 1973) is an Australian former association football player and the current manager of Yokohama F. Marinos. As a player, he represented the Australia national team at international level winning 46 caps and sco ...

and vice-captain

Archie Thompson Archie Gerald Thompson (born 23 October 1978) is an Australian former professional footballer. He also is serving as a club ambassador for Melbourne Victory FC. Born in New Zealand, Thompson played youth football at the New South Wales Institu ...

. He scored the last of the five goals against

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australian ...

in round 3 of the 2008–09 season. This was his second goal for the club, after scoring a late winner against Perth Glory in the 2006–07 season. Brebner received Australian residency status at the start of 2009, which meant he no longer counted towards the Victory's overseas player quota.

Betting controversy

In December 2008, Brebner was fined A$5,000 and banned for four matches after betting on Victory to lose an AFC Champions League match against

Chonburi Chonburi ( th, ชลบุรี, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and Mueang Chonburi District in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Bangkok, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Its name means 'city of water'. Chonb ...

. Brebner, who won under $550 in the bet, was not part of the squad.

Craig Moore Craig Andrew Moore (born 12 December 1975) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. His 2006 FIFA World Cup profile describes him as being "tough-tackling and uncompromising but also calm and composed under ...

and

were also fined after betting on matches not involving their own clubs. Brebner had previously confessed to being a gambling addict, losing more than £100,000, and received professional help for his addiction.SOCCER STAR'S GAMBLING CONFESSION: I'm addicted to betting
'' Sunday Mirror'', 14 November 2004.

Managerial career

In 2013, Brebner took over the management of the football teams at Mazenod College in

Mulgrave, Victoria Mulgrave is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District,Richmond SC Richmond Soccer Club is an Australian soccer club from Richmond, Victoria, an inner eastern suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Richmond compete in the Victorian State League Division 1 South-East competition, the third tier of football in Victor ...

, but resigned in April 2014. In 2020, he returned to Melbourne Victory as the club's assistant manager under interim coach Carlos Pérez Salvachúa, he was later appointed as the Victory's caretaker manager upon the departure of the latter. On 24 August 2020, Brebner was appointed as Melbourne Victory's manager. Brebner's tenure as Melbourne Victory manager coincided with the worst run of results in Melbourne Victory's history. He was sacked as head coach shortly after Victory's 7–0 loss to local rivals Melbourne City in April 2021, a result which came only a month and a half after losing 6–0 to the same team. Brebner possesses a UEFA A License.

Career statistics

Playing statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Melbourne Victory * A-League Championship (2): 2006–07, 2008–09 * A-League Premiership (2): 2006–07, 2008–09

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brebner, Grant 1977 births Living people Scottish footballers Manchester United F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Reading F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Melbourne Victory FC players English Football League players Scottish Football League players Scottish Premier League players A-League Men players Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Footballers from Edinburgh Scotland under-21 international footballers Association football midfielders Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale F.C. players Scottish expatriate football managers Expatriate soccer players in Australia Expatriate soccer managers in Australia A-League Men managers Melbourne Victory FC managers Moreland Zebras FC players