Julien Gorius

Julien Gorius (born 17 March 1985 in Metz) is a French footballer who plays for Changchun Yatai in the Chinese Super League.

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 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 on 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, with just made three appearance 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. Gorius 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 scored, as well as, setting up a goal on 19 August 2006, in a 2–2 draw against Sint-Truidense and scored a brace on 28 October 2006, in a 3–3 draw against Gent. It wasn’t until on 17 March 2007 when he scored again, in a 4–1 loss against Club Brugge. After scoring two more league goals against Roeselare and Genk., Gorius went on to score eight goals in thirty–four appearances in all competitions. Following this, Gorius extended a contract with the club for another three years.

In the 2007–08 season, Gorius started the season well when he 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. Gorius then scored a brace on 19 January 2008, in a 7–2 loss against Westerlo and later added two more goals later in the season against Mons and Mechelen Despite the club’s struggles in the top–flight league, ultimately resulted in their relegation, Gorius went on to score seven times (in which he was the club’s top–scorer in the 2007–08 season) 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 not to play in the Second Division.

KV Mechelen

On 18 July 2008, Gorius returned to top–flight football when he joined KV Mechelen, signing a four–year contract with the club. Previously, he hinted that he would stay in Belgium, although he was linked with a move back in his homeland.

Gorius made his Mechelen debut, in the opening game of the season, where he made his first start and played 80 minutes, in a 3–1 loss against Mouscron. It wasn’t until on 20 September 2008 when he scored his first goal, as well as, setting up a goal, in a 2–1 win over Gent. Despite suffering from injury, Gorius continued to remain in the first team and it wasn’t until on 7 February 2009 when he scored again, in a 5–1 win over Tubize. Gorius scored again on 27 February 2009, in a 2–1 win over Genk, followed up by scoring in a 1–0 win over Westerlo on 7 March 2009. Gorius’ fifth goal later came on 4 April 2009, in a 1–1 draw against Kortrijk and finished his first season at Mechelen, making thirty–four appearance and scoring five times in all competitions.

In the 2009–10 season, Gorius started the season when he scored in the opening game of the season, in a 4–1 win over Westerlo and scored two more goals by the end of August. By the first half of the season, Gorius made twenty appearance and scoring five times in all competitions. Gorius then scored on 16 January 2010, in a 2–1 win over Roeselare, followed up by scoring twice, in a 3–2 win over Westerlo in the quarter–final of the Beker van België first leg. Later in the 2009–10 season, Gorius went on to score five more goals in all competitions. By the end of the season, he made thirty–eight appearance and scoring fourteen times in all competitions, making him the club’s top scorer this season. For his performance, Gorius was awarded the Most Deserving Player of the Year by the club’s supporters.

In the 2010–11 season, Gorius continued to impress at the start of the season for the club when he scored in the opening game of the season, in a 2–0 win over Lokeren. Despite suffering an injury that resulted him wearing a mask, Gorius then scored seven goals by the first half of the season in all competitions against Club Brugge, Cercle Brugge, Westerlo, Germinal Beerschot (twice) and Racing Waregem (twice). For his performance with the club in the first half of the season, Gorius signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2014. Following this, Gorius scored six goals in five appearance in all competitions throughout February against Kortrijk, Cercle Brugge Kortrijk|Kortrijk]] and Lierse. Later in the 2010–11 season, Gorius scored against Standard Liège, Eupen, Cercle Brugge and Lierse At the end of the 2010–11 season, Gorius scored sixteen times (where he was top scorer for the second time) 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, Metz and two unnamed Belgium clubs. Gorius ended up staying at the club when he signed a new contract, keeping him until 2016. At the start of the 2011–12 season, Gorius started the season well when he scored three goals against Sint-Truiden, Lierse and OH Leuven. However, after weeks on the sidelined with an injury, Gorius went on to score five goals by the end of the year against Cercle Brugge, Beerschot, Gent, Zulte Waregem and Lierse. During the season in which, Gorius was captain throughout the 2011–12 season. Later in the 2011–12 season, Gorius scored eight goals against Mons, Genk, Beerschot, Westerlo, Standard Liege and OH Leuven (twice). At the end of the 2011–12 season, Gorius finished the season, scoring fifteen times (where he was top scorer for the third time) in thirty–five appearances in all competitions.

Genk

On 1 May 2012, it was announced that Gorius was transferred to league rivals side Genk for an undisclosed fee, signing a four–year contract with a one–year option. Gorius was previously in a transfer subject from Genk when they made a move for him in January, but Mechelen rejected a move from Genk for him.

Gorius made his Genk debut, in the opening game of the season against Cercle Brugge and played the whole game, in a 3–3 draw. Three days later, Gorius made his UEFA Europa League debut, in a 2–1 win over Aktobe in the first leg, followed up by helping the club win 2–1 in the second leg, where he set up one of the two goals. It wasn’t until on 26 August 2012 when he scored his first Genk goal, in a 2–0 win over Zulte Waregem. Gorius then scored his second goal for the club on 23 September 2012, in a 2–1 win over Charleroi, followed up in the next match by assisting twice, in a 2–1 win against his former club, Mechelen. By the end of 2012, Gorius later scored against RAEC Mons, Lierse and Zulte Waregem. Gorius struggled to score in the past few months and then ended his ten match goal drought on 9 March 2013, in a 3–2 win over Gent, followed up, with a 5–1 win over RAEC Mons. After scoring against Standard Liege on 16 May 2013, Gorius finished his first season, making fifty–four appearances and scoring eight times in all competitions. During the season, Gorius also helped the club win the Belgium Cup final after beating Cercle Brugge 2–0.

In the 2013–14 season, Gorius started the season well when he provided two assists in the first two matches of the season against Oostende and OH Leuven. Gorius then scored seven goals in all competitions against Zulte Waregem, Dynamo Kyiv, Mechelen, Thun, Rapid Wien, RAEC Mons and OH Leuven (twice). Despite suffering from an injury during a match against Oostende, Gorius returned to the first team and then scored three more goals against RAEC Mons and Kortrijk (twice) and finished the 2013–14 season, scoring twelve times in forty–nine appearances in all competitions.

In the 2014–15 season, Gorius continued to remain in the first team at the club and then assisted a goal on 16 August 2014, in a 1–1 draw against Kortrijk. It wasn’t until on 19 October 2014 when he scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–1 win over Westerlo. However, in a match against Mechelen on 23 November 2014, Gorius suffered an injury and was substituted in the first half, which saw him sidelined throughout the whole year. Despite being sidelined twice later in the 2014–15 season, due to injuries, Gorius remained in the first team and then scored again on 2 May 2015, as well as, setting up one of the goals, in a 7–1 win over Waasland-Beveren. At the end of the 2014–15 season, Gorius finished the season, making thirty–one appearance and scoring two times in all competitions.

In the 2015–16 season, Gorius started the season well when he scored the opening game of the season, with a 3–1 win over OH Leuven. After missing one game, Gorius then returned to the first team and scored again on 28 August 2015, as well as, setting up a goal, in a 2–0 win over Charleroi. However, Gorius’ first team opportunities was limited under the new management of Peter Maes and was reduced to the substitute bench for the first half of the season, as well as, his own injury concern.

Changchun Yatai

After spending 10 years in Belgium, Gorius moved to China on 23 February 2016 when he joined Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai for an undisclosed fee. Gorius was previously linked with a move to Turkish side Bursaspor before moving to China.

Gorius made his debut for Changchun Yatai, in the opening game of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Hangzhou Greentown, where he played 33 minutes after coming on as a substitute in the second half. Gorius then scored his first Changchun Yatai goal to score the only goal in the game, in a 1–0 win over Shijiazhuang Ever Bright on 29 May 2016. However, with twelve appearance and scoring once, Gorius was sent to the reserve to keep himself fit for the rest of the season following the arrivals of new foreigner players, Mislav Oršić and Bruno Meneghel in the summer. At the end of the season, Gorius was released by the club after spending one season there.

After leaving China, Gorius later reflecting his time at China, stating that it was difficult to do well there. Following this, Gorius was linked a return move to Belgium when both of his former clubs, Mechelen and Genk, were keen on signing him.

Gorius has a daughter, Lena, (born in 2014), but suffered an illness.

• Belgian Cup (1): 2012–13