D.C. United have announced the promotion of Loudoun United FC Assistant Coach Frédéric Brillant to D.C. United Assistant Coach. Brillant will join the Black-and-Red first team and work alongside Interim Head Coach Chad Ashton. Brillant joined the Loudoun United training staff on Jan 11, 2022, after announcing his retirement from professional soccer.
“Fred [Brillant] has already had a great start to his coaching career and made real strides with Loudoun United FC as an assistant coach alongside Ryan Martin this season,” Lucy Rushton, D.C. United General Manager, said. “Fred has a wealth of MLS experience and will be a valuable addition to our first team staff alongside Chad Ashton. He has strong relationships with the players on the first team roster and they respect him for his lengthy career as a player in MLS. We’re thrilled to add him to the first team staff and look forward to his continued contributions to the club.”
Brillant joined D.C. United on December 10, 2017, in a trade with New York City FC. In four seasons in the District, Brillant scored five goals and recorded two assists in 99 MLS Regular Season appearances for the Black-and-Red. In two MLS Cup Playoff appearances, Brillant scored one goal and recorded an assist. He was a stalwart in the D.C. United backline and represented the team as captain on multiple occasions. The 36-year-old made his debut for the club on March 3, 2018, and scored his first goal for the club against the Philadelphia Union on Aug. 4, 2019. In four seasons with the club, Brillant earned eight MLS Team of the Week selections; five times in 2019 and three times in 2020.
In a career that spanned 16 years, Brillant made over 400 professional appearances in the United States and Belgium. After starting his career in the lower divisions of Belgium with RE Bertrix, Brillant climbed up the Belgian divisions to represent Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende (K.V. Oostende) over two different stints in addition to Beerschot AC before making the move to MLS in 2016.
Brillant joined New York City FC on Jan. 28, 2016 from K.V. Oostende in Belgium and made his MLS debut in a win over Chicago on March 6, 2016. He became a mainstay in the NYCFC backline that season, starting 31 out of 34 regular season games for the Sky Blues in 2016 and helped lead the franchise to their first ever MLS Cup Playoff berth. In total, Brillant scored two goals and recorded an assist in 58 MLS appearances for NYCFC over two seasons.
Brillant joins Loudoun United FC as an assistant coach after completing his National B Coaching License certification through the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) in December 2021, as well as his National C Coaching License certification in January 2021. While still competing professionally for D.C. United, Brillant worked with the D.C. United Academy and USSF to gain his coaching accreditation.
