Christopher Jullien – An Appreciation

Christopher Jullien, it would be fair to say, had one of the more unusual Celtic careers – and certainly one of the more unfortunate – but he should be looked back upon with affection and we wish him well in the future with Montpelier in his native France.

He joined us in summer 2019, and took full part in the treble of the following season 2019/2020 – but what an unusual treble it was! There was never any dramatic winning of the League in a nail-biting finish to the season. Celtic were simply declared Champions! He scored the only goal of the game in the Scottish League Cup final in December 2019 (Rangers wheeked about offside, but then again they would, wouldn’t they?) but had to wait more than a full year before the treble could be completed when we won the Scottish Cup at an empty Hampden on December 20 2020.

Christopher Jullien of Celtic celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Betfred Cup Final on December 08, 2019. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Less than a fortnight after that, in the last game of that horrendous year of 2020, he collided with a post, left the field with a nasty looking knee injury, and although we did see him again (briefly) his Celtic career effectively ended with that awful injury against Dundee United in late December 2020.

By the time that Christopher recovered (and there were times when, as he himself admits, it looked like he wouldn’t recover) things had moved on. The disastrous season of 2020/21 (with Jullien fit, possibly some of the worst catastrophes might have been avoided) meant changes at managerial level and new players introduced.

 Ange Postecoglou, manager of Celtic shakes hands with Christopher Jullien after the Scottish Cup match between Celtic and Raith Rovers at Celtic Park on February 13, 2022. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Sadly, Ange simply could not wait for Jullien to recover and replacements had to be brought in. Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfeld (after an uncertain start in Starfeld’s case) did an adequate job, and now Moritz Jenz looks the part as well. In addition, I have never seen all that much wrong with Stephen Welsh. All this means that the central defence is a bit crowded, and it is clear business sense for Celtic and Jullien to part company.

Phrases like “surplus to requirements” do not help, for they imply that he was not good enough. This is emphatically not true. He was and remains much loved and admired by the Celtic fans, and he is well worth his three medals that he won with the club.

 Christopher Jullien of Celtic scores his team’s second goal during the UEFA Europa League group E match between Celtic FC and Lazio Roma at Celtic Park on October 24, 2019 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The memory will remain of a strong, commanding centre half with ability in the air and on the ground, and the scorer of the occasional goal – 10 of them according to Wikipedia in his 62 games for the club.

2020 ruined many lives (not just footballers’ careers) and it certainly was not kind to the loveable French giant. We wish him well.

David Potter

Celtic’s French defender Christopher Jullien is mobbed by teammates after scoring their second goal to win the UEFA Europa League group E football match between Celtic and Lazio at Celtic Park on October 24, 2019. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)

About Author

David was a distinguished Celtic author and historian and writer for The Celtic Star. He lived in Kirkcaldy and followed Celtic all my life, having seen them first at Dundee in March 1958. He was a retired teacher and his other interests were cricket, drama and the poetry of Robert Burns. David Potter passed away on 29 July 2023 after a short illness. He was posthumously awarded a Special Recognition award by Celtic FC at the club's Player of the Year awards in May 2024. David's widow Rosemary accepted the award to huge applause from the Celtic Supporters in the Hydro.

Comments are closed.