Julien Brellier

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Julien Brellier (born 10 January 1982, in Echirolles) is a French professional footballer currently playing for Scottish Premier League club Hearts. He was formerly with Inter Milan and is nicknamed "the Judge" (le juge). He is a defensive midfielder who plays just in front of the back four.

Brellier quickly became a firm favourite with the Hearts fans and often has his name being sung out in the crowds.

He started his career at French club Montpellier and was recruited by Italian giants Inter Milan in 2000. He made a limited number of appearances with Inter and was loaned out to AC Lecco, AC Lugano, Venezia and Salernitana.

A giant French flag is often displayed on match days at Hearts' home stadium Tynecastle with the words "Le Juge" emblazoned across the tricolour.

He was released by Inter in 2005 and was given a trial at Scottish Premier League side Hearts where he impressed Manager George Burley and was signed on a two year deal [1].

Despite being one of the most popular players at Tynecastle it has been reported in the media on many occastions that Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov doesn't rate Brellier [2]. Indeed towards the end of the 2005/06 campaign Julien found himself more often than not on the substitutes bench after the signing of Bruno Aguiar. This led to a worry amongst the Hearts faithful that Julien's days were numbered. This was heightened when in April 2006 an interview with Brellier suggested he was unahppy with the treatment he had received [3]. However since then it has been reported that Julien's agent is hoping to agree a new contract with Hearts and after making a substitutes appearance in the Scottish Cup final victory over Gretna [4] Juliens arrival was greeted with almost as much cheer as when captain Steven Pressley lifted the Cup. Now looks certain to move in the January transfer window with Celtic keen to snap him up.