Julien Gorius
Julien Gorius is a former French professional footballer who used to be sporting director for RWDM47 in the Belgian First Division B.
Having started his career at FC Metz, Gorius spent most of his career playing in Belgium, playing in the top–flight football. He moved to China, ending his eleven years spell in the country. However, it didn't last long and Gorius returned to Belgium to join OH Leuven, where he stayed there for two years. After leaving the club, he announced his retirement from professional football in 2019.
Club career
Metz
Born in Metz, France, Gorius started his career at FC Metz since he was five and progressed through the youth team and reserve side. Gorius reflected on his time at the club, saying: "I was trained at Metz and got my technical knowledge. The French youth work is top. The emphasis is on making progress. Talent can develop better there."Gorius then made his Metz debut on 23 May 2004, where he played 20 minutes after coming on as a substitute in the second half, in a 3–1 loss against Ajaccio in the last game of the season. Following this, Gorius signed his first professional contract with the club. However, Gorius struggled to make a breakthrough in the first team, as well as, facing his own injury concerns. At the end of the 2004–05 season, after just three appearances in all competitions, the club decided against extending his contract. Following this, Gorius, along with Jean-Philippe Caillet, went on trial at FC Saarbrücken and played a match.
Brussels
In July 2005, Gorius moved to Belgium when he was signed for Brussels by Manager Albert Cartier and was a replacement for Bjørn Helge Riise, who moved back to his native country.Gorius made his Brussels debut, in the opening game of the season, where he played the whole game, in a 2–0 win over Beveren. Since joining the club, Gorius became a first team regular for the club, playing in the midfield position. He then scored his first goal for Brussels on 19 November 2005, in a 3–1 win over Standard Liège. In his first season at the club, Gorius made thirty–two appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
In his second season at Brussels, Gorius started the season well when he set up the equalising goal and then scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Sint-Truidense on 19 August 2006. This was followed up by setting up the winning goal for Dieudonné Kalulika, in a 1–0 win against Lierse. Since the start of the 2006–07 season, he continued to established himself in the starting eleven, playing in the midfield position. Two months later on 22 October 2006, Gorius scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–1 loss against K.V. Kortrijk in the sixth round of Beker van België. Six days later on 28 October 2006, he scored twice for Brussels, as the club drew 3–3 against Gent. Gorius scored his first goals in five months, in a 4–1 loss against Club Brugge on 17 March 2007. He later scored two more goals, coming against Roeselare and Genk. Despite missing three matches through injuries and suspension during the 2006–07 season, he went on to make thirty–three appearances and scoring eight times in all competitions. Following this, Gorius extended a contract with the club for another three years.
At the start of the 2007–08 season, Gorius continued to establish himself in the starting eleven, playing in the midfield position. He then scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–0 win over Sint-Truidense on 22 September 2007. By the end of 2007, Gorius went on to score two more goals against Dender and Cercle Brugge. On 19 January 2008, he scored twice for Brussels, in a 7–2 loss against Westerlo. Gorius later added two more goals later in the season against Mons and Mechelen. Throughout the 2007–08 season, the club struggled in the top–flight league, ultimately resulted in their relegation. Despite facing setbacks with injuries and suspension along the way, Gorius went on to score seven times in thirty–two appearances in all competitions, although he suffered setback, due to injury and suspension. In the summer transfer of 2008, Gorius invoked a clause that can allowed him to leave the club, as he expressed his desire not to play in the Second Division.
KV Mechelen
On 18 July 2008, Gorius returned to top–flight football in Belgium when he joined KV Mechelen, signing a four–year contract with the club. Prior to the move, Gorius hinted of staying in Belgium to join a different club despite being linked with a move back in his homeland.He made his debut for the club, starting a match and played 80 minutes, in a 3–1 loss against Mouscron in the opening game of the season. A month later on 20 September 2008, Gorius scored his first goal for KV Mechelen and setting up the winning goal, in a 2–1 win over Gent. However, during the match, he suffered ankle injury and was sidelined for weeks. On 18 October 2008, Gorius made his return to the first team, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute, in a 3–1 loss against Westerlo. Having suffered a bad start to his Mechelen's career, he continued to be involved in the first team, with his playing time coming from the substitute bench. After going on a sixteen matches without scoring, Gorius finally scored a goal against Tubize on 7 February 2009, as the club won 5–1. He then scored two goals in two matches between 27 February 2009 and 7 March 2009 against Genk and Westerlo. A month later on 4 April 2009, Gorius scored his fifth goal for Mechelen, in a 1–1 draw against Kortrijk He played in both legs of the Beker van België semi–finals against Cercle Brugge and scored the penalty in the shootout, as the club won 5–3 on penalties to advance to the final. After missing a match through suspension on the last game of the season, Gorius returned to the starting line–up against Genk in the final, as Mechelen lost 1–0. His performance was praised by the Belgium media, Het Nieuwsblad. At the end of the 2008–09 season, he finished his first season at Mechelen, making thirty–four appearances and scoring five times in all competitions.
Gorius started the 2009–10 season well when he scored in the opening game of the season, in a 4–1 win over Westerlo. Gorius scored two more goals by the end of August, coming against Club Brugge and Germinal Beerschot. Since the start of the 2009–10 season, he continued to establish himself in the starting eleven, playing in the midfield position. Gorius also began taking responsibilities by becoming the club's penalty taker. He added three more goals by the end of the year, all coming from penalties. His next goal came on 16 January 2010, in a 2–1 win over Roeselare, which was followed up by scoring twice, in a 3–2 win over Westerlo in the quarter–final of the Beker van België first leg. However, Gorius suffered an injury that saw him miss one match; up until then, he started in every match since the start of the 2009–10 season. Gorius returned to the starting line–up against Westerlo in the return leg in the Beker van België quarter–final and helped Mechelen draw 0–0 to advance to the next round. Two weeks later on 9 February 2010, he scored once in the Beker van België match against Gent in the first leg of the semi–finals, as the club drew 2–2. A month later on 7 March 2010, Gorius scored against Gent for the second time this season, as Mechelen drew 2–2. Despite missing two more matches in the UEFA Europa League play-offs, he scored three more goals, as Mechelen finished second place behind Westerlo, failing to finish first place. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Gorius made thirty–eight appearances and scoring fourteen times in all competitions, making him the club's top scorer this season. For his performance, he was awarded the Most Deserving Player of the Year by the club's supporters.
In the 2010–11 season, Gorius started the season well when he scored in the opening game of the season, in a 2–0 win over Lokeren. Three weeks later on 22 August 2010, Gorius scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against Club Brugge, However, he was required to wear a mask after suffering an injury. Despite this, Gorius continued to establish himself in the starting eleven, playing in the midfield position since the start of the 2010–11 season. His third goal of the season came on 22 September 2010 against Cercle Brugge, as Mechelen drew 2–2. He scored five goals in three matches, including two braces against Germinal Beerschot and Racing Waregem. Following his good performance in the first half of the season, Gorius signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2014. He then scored three goals out of Mechelen's four matches between 2 February 2011 and 15 February 2011 against Kortrijk, Cercle Brugge and Lierse. Gorius added two more goals throughout March against Standard Liège and Eupen. In the UEFA Europa League play-offs, he added three more goals, coming against Cercle Brugge and Lierse, as Mechelen finished third place. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Gorius scored sixteen times in thirty–eight appearances in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Gorius was linked with a move return to France throughout the summer from such clubs as Lens, and two unnamed Belgium clubs, which one of them revealed to be Standard Liège. He ended up staying at Mechelen by signing a new contract, keeping him until 2016. Gorius started the 2011–12 season well when he scored three goals in the first five league matches against Sint-Truiden, Lierse and OH Leuven. He made his 100th appearance for the club, coming against Genk, as Mechelen drew 0–0 on 27 August 2011. However, Gorius injured his right abductors that saw him sidelined between three and four weeks. He scored on his return from injury against Cercle Brugge, as the club lost 2–1 on 15 October 2011. Following this, Gorius’ goal scoring form continued by the end of the year, scoring against Beerschot, Gent, Zulte Waregem and Lierse. Since the start of the 2011–12 season, he continued to captain the club, as well as, regaining his first team place. Gorius later scored five more goals between 14 January 2012 and 21 March 2012, coming against Mons, Genk, Beerschot, Westerlo and Standard Liege. Gorius then captained Mechelen, as the club finished fourth place in the UEFA Europa League play-offs. During which, he scored twice against OH Leuven, which saw Mechelen lost 4–2 on 21 April 2012. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Gorius finished the season, scoring fifteen times in thirty–five appearances in all competitions.