Grant Brebner

Scottish footballer (born 1977)

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. Born in Edinburgh, 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 and Hibernian, before being sold to Reading 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. In August 2004, he was transferred to Dundee United, before moving to Australia to play for Melbourne Victory. After six years with Melbourne Victory, he joined Victorian Premier League side Moreland Zebras. 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.

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. It is hard leaving home at 16, but if I had not accepted the offer to go to Manchester United I knew I would have regretted it for the rest of my career. One of the best things about United is that there is no one there who thinks they are a superstar. FourFourTwo magazine hailed him as the latest big talent to be produced by Manchester United's youth system. After four years in United's youth and reserve teams, Brebner was loaned to Cambridge United, where he scored his first senior goal while making six appearances. A further loan spell was spent back in Edinburgh at Hibernian (a team he grew up supporting), where Brebner suffered relegation at the end of the 1997–98 season. Despite the club’s relegation, manager Alex McLeish praised his performance, due to "his composure and awareness in matches and has good attitude". Brebner was then transferred permanently to Reading 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, but he suffered from homesickness during his time at the club. His first game after signing for the club on a permanent basis came on 21 August 1999, in a 1–1 draw against St Johnstone. He quickly became a first team regular for the club, playing in a midfield position. Brebner’s first goal after signing for the club on a permanent basis came on 29 January 2000, in a 4–1 win against Dunfermline Athletic in the third round of the Scottish FA Cup. In his first season back at Hibernian, he made thirty–three appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Having been dropped in the first team at the start of the 2000–01 season, Brebner moved on loan again to Stockport County. However, he suffered a cartilage injury that affected his time at Stockport County for two months and made six appearances for the side. Upon returning to Hibernian, Brebner re–established himself in the Hibs first team, playing in the 2001 Scottish Cup Final and the UEFA Cup. During the 2001–02 season, Brebner scored three times for Hibernian, as the season was an improvement for him. Despite facing a tough start under the new management of Bobby Williamson, he continued to remain in the first team for the club. Brebner went on to score seven goals in the 2002–03 season, including a hat trick against future employers Dundee United in a Scottish Cup match on 25 January 2003. In his final season at Hibernian, Brebner was latterly club captain at Hibs, In the Edinburgh derby on 17 August 2003, he received a straight red card for a foul on Robert Sloan, in a 1–0 win. The club appealed for Brebner’s red card to be overturned by the Scottish Football Association, which was successful after a review. He scored two more goals for Hibernian, including a 2–1 win against Celtic on 18 November 2003. However in a Scottish Cup match against Rangers on 10 January 2004, Brebner suffered an injury in the 12th minutes, and was substituted, as the club lost 2–0. After being sidelined for three months, he returned to the starting line–up, in a 1–0 win against Dundee on 1 May 2004. By the time Brebner left Hibernian, he made four appearances for the club in the 2004–05 season.

On 26 May 2006, Brebner was reported by BBC Sport to be attracting interest from Melbourne Victory. 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 on 18 June 2006. 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 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 2006, 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, he was signed to a full time contract with the Melbourne Victory, having agreed on a deal to be released from his Dundee United contract. He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 win against Adelaide United in the opening game of the season. Brebner scored his first goal for Melbourne Victory, in what turns out to be a late winner, in a 1–0 win against Perth Glory on 9 November 2006. He helped the club 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 and vice captain Archie Thompson, as Melbourne Victory drew 2–2. In the A League Grand Final against Adelaide United, he helped the club win 6–0 to win the final. In his first season, Brebner became a first team regular for Melbourne Victory throughout the 2006–07 season, making twenty–one appearances and scoring once in all competitions. However in the 2007–08 season, Brebner had a forgettable season when he suffered a groin injury and didn’t play for the rest of the season, making fourteen appearances in all competitions. The start of the 2008–09 season saw Brebner making a recovery from his groin injury. He later regained his first team place throughout the 2008–09 season. Brebner scored the last of the five goals against Newcastle Jets in round 3 of the 2008–09 season, his first goal in three years. His second goal for the club came on 4 October 2008, in a 4–0 win against Perth Glory. On 15 December 2008, he signed a one–year contract extension with Melbourne Victory. Brebner helped the club win both A League premiership and A League Grand Final for the second in his Melbourne Victory’s career, having previously set his aim to win it. At the end of the 2008–09 season, he made twenty appearances and scoring two times in all competitions. Following this, Brebner received Australian residency status at the start of 2009, which meant he no longer counted towards the Victory's overseas player quota. Throughout the 2009–10 season, Brebner continued to be involved in the first team for Melbourne Victory. He scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Adelaide United on 18 September 2009. However, during a 4–0 win against Gold Coast United on 28 November 2009, Brebner suffered ankle injury and was substituted in the 42nd minute. Initially sidelined with ankle injury for six weeks, he returned to the first team on 27 December 2009, coming on as a second half substitute, in a 1–0 lost against North Queensland Fury. On 10 January 2010, Brebner signed a one–year contract extension with the club. In the A League Grand Final against Sydney FC, he and Leigh Broxham were the only successful Melbourne Victory penalty taker when the club lost 4–2 after the match was played 120 minutes with a 1–1 draw. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Brebner went on to make thirty–one appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Throughout the 2010–11 season, Brebner continued to be involved in the first team for Melbourne Victory despite being sidelined on four occasions. He scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against Brisbane Roar on 12 September 2010. On 19 November 2010, Brebner scored an own goal to give Central Coast Mariners an equaliser, in a 2–2 draw. Upon returning from suspension, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against Central Coast Mariners on 31 December 2010. In absent of Muscat, Brebner captained the club against Sydney FC on 15 January 2011, as Melbourne Victory drew 1–1. Having won the Victory Medal Player of the Season, he signed a one–year contract extension with the club. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Brebner made twenty–eight appearances and scoring two times in all competitions. Brebner started in the first three league matches of the 2011–12 season before he suffered a calf injury that saw him sidelined for a month. It wasn’t until on 27 November 2011 when Brebner made his return from injury, coming on as a 73rd minute substitute, in a 3–2 win against Gold Coast United. However, he received a red card for a second bookable offence, in a 0–0 draw against Melbourne Heart on 4 February 2012, in what turns out to be his last appearance for the club. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Brebner made thirteen appearances in all competitions. On 1 May 2012, he was released by Melbourne Victory, ending his six years association with the club.

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. Brebner, who won under $550 in the bet, was not part of the squad. Craig Moore and Kevin Muscat 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.

On 3 July 2012, Brebner joined Victorian Premier League side Moreland Zebras. He made six appearances for the club before retiring from professional football by the end of the year.

Between 1997 and 1999, Brebner represented the Scotland U21 side. He made his debut for Scotland U21, in a 2–0 lost against Colombia U21 on 26 May 1997. Brebner scored his first goal for Scotland U21, in a 1–1 draw against Portugal U21 on 31 May 1997. Throughout 1998, he began to captain Scotland U21 in a number of matches. He went on to make seventeen appearances and scoring once for the Scotland U21 side.

In 2013, Brebner took over the management of the football teams at Mazenod College in Mulgrave, Victoria, while also playing for the local club side, Mazenod United. Later that year, he took over as manager of Richmond SC, 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.