Mathias Gidsel facts for kids

Mathias Gidsel (born February 8, 1999) is a famous Danish handball player. He plays as a right back for the German club Füchse Berlin. He is also a very important player for the Danish national team.

Mathias has won the World Championship twice with Denmark. In 2023, he was named the Best World Handball Player by Handball-Planet. Many people think he is one of the best handball players of his time.

At the 2024 European Championship, Mathias scored 54 goals, making him the top scorer of the tournament. He was also chosen as the best right back in the "All-Star Team." Denmark reached the final but lost to France in extra time.

Early Life and Training

Mathias Gidsel started playing handball at a high level when he was 15. He attended Oure Efterskole, a special school in Denmark. He planned to stay for only one year, but he loved it so much that he stayed for five years! This helped him join the top Danish handball club, GOG Håndbold.

Club Career Highlights

Mathias joined GOG Håndbold in 2014 while still at Oure Efterskole. By 2017, he was playing for the main team and quickly became a star. With GOG, he helped his team finish second in the Danish Championship twice.

In 2021, Mathias won a special award called 'Årets Fund' (Breakthrough of the Year) in Danish sports. This award is given by the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark, Team Danmark, and the newspaper Politiken. He was the first handball player to win it since 1957!

After playing for the Danish national team, Mathias moved to Germany to play for Füchse Berlin. He signed a contract with them until 2028. With Füchse Berlin, he won the EHF European League in the 2022-2023 season.

National Team Success

Mathias Gidsel played his first game for the Danish national team on November 7, 2020, against Finland, where he scored 3 goals. His first big tournament was the 2021 World Cup. There, he became a world champion with the Danish team!

In his first match at a major tournament, against Bahrain, he scored 10 goals. This was a record for a Danish player debuting in a major tournament. However, his record was broken just six days later by Emil Manfeldt Jakobsen, who scored 12 goals against Japan. During that tournament, Mathias was chosen for the "All-Star Team." A Danish handball expert, Lars Krogh Jeppesen, even called him the best Danish player in the tournament.

At the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Mathias won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. His team won silver medals at these games.

He continued his success by winning gold medals at the 2023 World Championship with Denmark. He was also the top scorer in that tournament, with 60 goals.

In the 2024 European Championship, he was the joint top scorer with 54 goals and was again part of the "All-Star Team."

At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Mathias won another Olympic gold medal with the Danish team. He was named the MVP again and was also the top scorer with 62 goals. This set a new record for the most goals ever scored in an Olympic handball tournament!

Awards and Achievements

Mathias Gidsel has won many awards throughout his career:

• Danish Handball League:
  • Winner: 2022
• EHF European League:
  • Winner: 2023

Individual Awards

• IHF World Player of the Year – Men: 2023
• All-Star Right Back of the World Championship: 2021
• All-Star Right Back of the European Championship: 2022, 2024
• Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Olympic Games: 2020, 2024
• Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the World Championship: 2023
• Top Scorer at the Olympic Games: 2024
• Top Scorer at the World Championship: 2023 (60 goals)
• Top Scorer at the European Championship: 2024 (54 goals)
• Handball-Planet - Best Young Player in the World: 2021
• Danish Player of the Year: 2021
• Danish National Team Player of the Year: 2022
• EHF Excellence Awards Best Right Back of the Season: 2022/23
• Handball-Planet – Best World Handball Player: 2023

See also

In Spanish: Mathias Gidsel para niños