Joshua Brillante

Joshua Brillante

Personal information
Full name	Joshua Brillante [1]
Date of birth	(1993-03-25) 25 March 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Bundaberg, Australia
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) [2]
Position(s)	Defensive Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Western Sydney Wanderers
Number	25
Youth career
	Bundaberg Waves
2006	Bundaberg Spirit
2007–2009	QAS
2009–2011	Gold Coast United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2012	Gold Coast United	14	(0)
2012–2014	Newcastle Jets	46	(0)
2014–2016	Fiorentina	2	(0)
2015	→ Empoli (loan)	1	(0)
2015–2016	→ Como (loan)	21	(0)
2016–2019	Sydney FC	79	(3)
2019–2020	Melbourne City	28	(1)
2020–2021	Xanthi	18	(1)
2021–2023	Melbourne Victory	50	(5)
2023–	Western Sydney Wanderers	18	(1)
International career‡
2011–2013	Australia U20	18	(2)
2014–2016	Australia U23	10	(1)
2013–2014	Australia	5	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 December 2017

Joshua Brillante (born 25 March 1993) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for A-League club Western Sydney Wanderers. Brillante holds dual citizenship due to his Italian heritage.

Club career

Gold Coast United

Brillante made his A-League debut for Gold Coast on 3 December in a 1–0 loss to the North Queensland Fury. ^[3]

Newcastle Jets

On 12 May 2012 it was announced he had signed for A-League club the Newcastle Jets. ^[4]

ACF Fiorentina

On 15 July 2014, it was announced that Brillante decided to join Italian Serie A club Fiorentina. ^[5] He made his debut for La Viola against Roma in their 2014–15 Serie A opener at the Stadio Olimpico. He was subbed after 35 minutes.

Loan to Empoli

Joshua Brillante went on loan to Empoli whom are also in the Serie A during the January 2015 mid season transfer period. ^[6]

Loan to Como

Initially starting the 2015–16 season on loan from Fiorentina to Empoli, Joshua Brillante signed a new loan deal on 28 August 2015 with Como of the Serie B for the remainder of the season. ^[7]

Joshua Brillante made his debut for Como on 12 September 2015 away to Livorno.

Sydney FC

On 12 July 2016 Brillante returned to the A-League, joining Sydney FC on a three-year deal. ^{[8] [9]} He scored his first domestic league goal against the Brisbane Roar on 19 November that year. He scored his second goal of the season against Perth Glory in the semi-final.

Melbourne City

At the end of his contract with Sydney FC, Brillante was in talks to extend, but in the end was signed by Melbourne City, reportedly on a multi-year season contract. ^[10]

Xanthi

In September 2020, Brillante left Melbourne City to join Greek club Xanthi under the coaching of Tony Popovic. ^{[11] [12]}

Melbourne Victory

In July 2021, Brillante returned to his home country to play for the Melbourne Victory also under coach Tony Popovic. ^[13] He was named captain ahead of the 2021/22 season despite not having played a competitive game for the team. ^[14] After 50 league games for the club and despite having a year remaining on his contract, Brillante mutually terminated his contract with the club. ^[15]

Western Sydney Wanderers

Shortly thereafter, on 9 July 2023, he signed a 2-year contract with Western Sydney Wanderers, becoming the sixth A-League Men club he will have represented. ^[16]

International career

Brillante with the Young Socceroos in 2013

Brillante represented Australia at U20 level at the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship in United Arab Emirates ^[17] and at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. ^[18] In May 2018 he was named in Australia’s preliminary 26 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. ^[19]

Career statistics

Club

As of 11 December 2023 ^{[20] [21]}

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Gold Coast United	2010–11	A-League	2	0	—		—		2	0
	2011–12		12	0	—		—		12	0
	Total		14	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
Newcastle Jets	2012–13	A-League	22	0	—		—		22	0
	2013–14		24	0	—		—		24	0
	Total		46	0	0	0	0	0	46	0
Fiorentina	2014–15	Serie A	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Empoli (loan)	2014–15		1	0	0	0	—		1	0
Como (loan)	2015–16	Serie B	21	0	0	0	—		21	0
Sydney FC	2016–17	A-League	26	2	5	0	—		31	2
	2017–18		26	1	5	0	6	0	37	1
	2018–19		27	0	0	0	4	0	31	0
	Total		79	3	10	0	10	0	99	3
Melbourne City	2019–20	A-League	28	1	5	0	—		33	0
Xanthi	2020–21	Super League Greece 2	18	1	0	0	—		18	1
Melbourne Victory	2021–22	A-League Men	26	2	3	2	1	0	30	4
	2022–23		24	3	1	0	—		25	3
	Total		50	5	4	2	1	0	55	7
Western Sydney Wanderers	2023–24	A-League Men	7	1	3	0	—		10	1
Career total			266	11	22	2	11	0	299	13

International

As of 15 October 2014 ^[20]

Australia national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2013	1	0
2014	4	0
Total	5	0

Honours

Club

Gold Coast United

• National Youth League: 2009–10, 2010–11

Sydney FC

• A-League Premiership: 2016–17, 2017–18
• A-League Championship: 2016–17, 2018–19
• FFA Cup: 2017

Melbourne Victory

• FFA Cup: 2021

Individual

• FFA Male U20 Footballer of the Year: 2013
• PFA A-League Team of the Year: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2021–22 ^[22]

References

1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 List of Players: Australia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 June 2013. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2013.
2. "J. Brillante". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
3. Habermann, Vince. (2010-12-04) Brillante makes his A League debut. News-mail.com.au. Retrieved on 2013-08-25.
4. Gardiner, James. (2012-05-11) Newcastle bank on more fresh legs | Newcastle Herald Archived 13 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine . Theherald.com.au. Retrieved on 2013-08-25.
5. "Newcastle Jets' Josh Brillante moves to Serie A's Fiorentina". The Guardian. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
6. "Fiorentina loan Brillante to Empoli". Goal.com. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
7. "Brillante Seals Como Switch". FourFourTwo Australia. 28 August 2015. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
8. "Sydney FC sign Aussie from Italian club". Football Federation Australia. 12 July 2016.
9. Bossi, Dominic (12 July 2016). "Sydney FC signs Socceoro Joshua Brillante from Serie A club Fiorentina". The Sydney Morning Herald .
10. Lewis, Dave (3 July 2019). "Melbourne City snatch Brillante from under Sydney's noses on monster deal". The World Game . SBS.
11. "Brillante departs Melbourne City". Melbourne City . 23 September 2020.
12. Oglos, Peter (23 September 2020). "Xanthi FC make first Aussie purchase acquiring A-League legend". The Greek Herald .
13. "Melbourne Victory signs Josh Brillante". Melbourne Victory. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
14. "Melbourne Victory announces its 2021/22 Club Captains". Melbourne Victory. 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
15. apavlidis (9 July 2023). "Josh Brillante departs Melbourne Victory". Melbourne Victory. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
16. D'Urbano, Nick (9 July 2023). "Wanderers bolster midfield stocks with arrival of ex-Victory captain Brillante". Keep Up. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
17. NSW, Football (23 October 2012). "Paul Okon names Qantas Young Socceroos squad for AFC U-19 Championship". Football NSW. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
18. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013™: Australia". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
19. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists | Goal.com".
20. "J. Brillante". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
21. Joshua Brillante at Soccerway
22. "PFA reveals player-voted Austraffic A-League Men Team of the Season on eve of Grand Final". Professional Footballers Australia . 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

External links

• Joshua Brillante at Soccerway
• Josh Brillante – FIFA competition record (archived)