Mathias Gidsel

Mathias Gidsel
Gidsel in 2025
Personal information
Born (1999-02-08) 8 February 1999
Skjern, Denmark
Nationality Danish
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Right back
Club information
Current club Füchse Berlin
Number 19
Youth career
Years Team
–2014
 Skjern Håndbold
2014–2017
 GOG Håndbold
Senior clubs
Years Team
2017–2022
 GOG Håndbold
2022–
 Füchse Berlin
National team 1
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–
 Denmark 106 (660)
Medal record
Olympic Games
2024 Paris Team
2020 Tokyo Team
World Championship
2021 Egypt
2023 Poland/Sweden
2025 Croatia/Denmark/Norway
European Championship
2026 Denmark/Norway/Sweden
2024 Germany
2022 Hungary/Slovakia
Youth World Championship
2017 Georgia
1 National team caps and goals correct
as of 1 February 2026

Mathias Gidsel (born 8 February 1999) is a Danish professional handball player who plays as a right back for Füchse Berlin and the Danish national team. He is considered one the best players of all time and is the first player to win the IHF World Player of the Year award three years in a row (2023, 2024,2025), a three-time IHF World Champion (2021, 2023, 2025), and an Olympic gold medalist (2024). At the 2025 World Championship, he was named MVP and top scorer with 74 goals, helping extend Denmark's streak to four consecutive titles. Renowned for his exceptional shooting efficiency, high-volume scoring, and extraordinary stamina, Gidsel has been described as a "machine" by peers and coaches.[1][2]

Early life

Gidsel attended Oure Efterskole at the age of 15, where he focused on developing his handball skills. Although he initially planned to stay for one year, he remained for five years, during which he attracted the attention of Danish club GOG Håndbold.[3]

Career

GOG Håndbold

Gidsel joined GOG Håndbold in 2014 while still attending Oure Efterskole. In 2017, he was promoted to the first team, where he established himself as a key player. He finished as runner-up in the Danish Championship on two occasions.[4] When he played youth handball, several coaches had concerns about his size, and suggested retraining him to a wing-player. He did however continue as a back.[5]

In 2021, he was awarded Årets Fund (Breakthrough of the Year), a prize given by the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark, Team Danmark, and Politiken. He became the first handball player to receive the award since 1957.[6]

In January 2022, Gidsel suffered a knee ligament injury that kept him out for most of the season.[7] He returned in May and contributed to GOG winning the 2021–22 Danish Championship.[7]

Füchse Berlin

After debuting for the Danish national team, he joined German side Füchse Berlin,[8] where he signed a contract until 2028 with the club.[9] With the club, he won the 2022/23 EHF European League.[10] In the 2023–24 Bundesliga season, he scored the second-most goals overall with 263, but the most excluding penalties.[11] In 2025, he extended his contract until 2029.[12] The same year, he was named IHF World Player of the Year for the second time in his career.[13] In the 2024–25 season, he broke the record for most open-play goals scored in a single Bundesliga season with 264 goals.[14] That season, he won the 2024–25 Handball-Bundesliga, which was the first in club history.[15] The same season, he played in the 2024–25 EHF Champions League final, where Füchse lost to league rivals SC Magdeburg.[16] In 2025 he was named the Danish Sports Name of the Year, which was the first time a handball player won it as an individual.[17] In 2026 he was named IHF Player of the year, and became the first player ever to win the award three times in a row.[18]

He plays in number 19 because of his admiration of the French player Luc Abalo.[19]

National team

Gidsel debuted for the Danish national team on 7 November 2020 against Finland, where he scored 3 goals.[20] His first major tournament was at the 2021 World Cup where he became a world champion with the Danish team.[21] His first match at a major tournament was against Bahrain, where he scored 10 goals, which was the record for the most goals for a major tournament debutant ever for the Danish national team,[22] although he did only hold the record for 6 days when Emil Manfeldt Jakobsen scored 12 against Japan. In that tournament, he was included in the All Star team and the Danish handball expert Lars Krogh Jeppesen called him the best Danish player at the tournament.[23]

At the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Gidsel won the MVP award, while winning silver medals with the Danish team.[24]

He won gold medals at the 2023 World Championship with the Danish team. He was the top scorer at the tournament with 60 goals.[25]

At 2024 European Championship he was the joint top scorer together with Portugal's Martim Costa with 54 goals, and was in the all star team.[26] Denmark did however only win silver medals, losing to France in the final after extra time.[27]

At the 2024 Olympics he won Olympic gold with the Danish team and won the MVP once again.[28] Additionally he was the top scorer with 62 goals, which is the record for most goals at an Olympic tournament, beating the record of his teammate Mikkel Hansen.[29]

At the 2025 World Championship he won his third World Championship gold medal in a row, and was top scorer at the tournament.[30][31]

At the 2026 European Men's Handball Championship he won gold medals, meaning that Denmark held both the World, European and Olympic titles at the same time, as only the second team ever after France's 'Les Experts'.[32] He was selected to tournament MVP, and was the top scorer with 68 goals. This was the most goals for a single player at any European Championship, taking the record from Norwegian Sander Sagosen.[33] He also played the most minutes at the tournament and had the second most assists with 56.[34]

Honours

Individual awards

League statistics

Season Club League GP Goals 7-Meter OPG
2017–18 GOG Håndbold Håndboldligaen 4 4 0/0 (-%) 4
2018–19 34 28 0/0 (-%) 28
2019–20 24 51 0/0 (-%) 51
2020–21 35 173 3/3 (100%) 170
2021–22 22 116 1/1 (100%) 115
2022–23 Füchse Berlin Bundesliga 26 139 0/0 (-%) 139
2023–24 34 263 0/0 (-%) 263
2024–25 33 274 0/0 (-%) 274
2017–2025 combined combined 212 1048 4/4 (100%) 1044

Note: Games Played and Goals include Play-offs[53][54]

Major tournament statistics

Legend
 Tnmt Tournament  GP Games played  Gls  Goals
 Sh  Shots  G%  Goal percentage  7G  7-meter goals
 7S  7-meter shots  As  Assists  AG  Assists and Goals
 St  Steals  Bl  Blocks  2M  2 Minute Suspensions
 RC  Red Cards  Pl  Placement of National Team  Bold  Career high
    Led the Tournament     Tournament MVP     On All-Star Team
As of conclusion of 2026 European Men's Handball Championship (February 2026)[30][25][55][56][57][58]
Tnmt GP Gls Sh G% 7G 7S As AG St Bl 2M RC Pl
2021 WC 9 39 49 80 0 0 27 66 4 1 0 0 1st
2020 OG 8 46 57 81 0 0 34 80 3 1 0 0 2nd
2022 EC 7 38 43 88 0 0 35 73 3 0 1 0 3rd
2023 WC 9 60 80 75 0 0 42 102 9 0 1 0 1st
2024 EC 8 54 66 82 0 0 35 89 5 0 1 0 2nd
2024 OG 8 62 83 75 0 0 39 101 5 1 1 0 1st
2025 WC 9 74 107 69 1 1 45 119 6 0 1 0 1st
2026 EC 9 68 95 72 0 0 56 124 4 0 1 0 1st

References

  1. ^ "Mathias Gidsel: 'I first had to learn that I am a human and not a machine'". Handball-Planet.com. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  2. ^ "German handball star profile praises Mathias Gidsel: 'He is a machine'". Flashscore.dk. 12 April 2025. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  3. ^ "Mathias Gidsel" (in Danish). Hbold.dk. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Mathias Gidsel extends with GOG". Handball Planet. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
  5. ^ "For fem år siden vejede Gidsel 67 kilo og spillede på 2. holdet: Nu viser landsholdsspilleren, at de 'bedrevidende' tog fejl" (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Ekspert jubler over Gidsel-kåring: – Det var uden konkurrence" (in Danish). TV 2 Denmark. 29 December 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Ramt af to alvorlige skader i 2022" (in Danish). Ugeavisen. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  8. ^ "Mathias Gidsel to join Fuchse Berlin". Handball-Planet.com. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Mathias Gidsel ist ein Berliner - bis 2028!" (in German). Füchse Berlin. 11 December 2022. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Füchse Berlin Win EHF European League Against BM Granollers". handball-world.news. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Mathias Gidsel nærmer sig mytisk rekord i Bundesligaen". sport.dk. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  12. ^ Artmann Haugaard, Mads (9 February 2025). "Gidsel forlænger med Füchse Berlin" (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Gidsel, Uscins, Reistad and Simon clinch the 2024 IHF Player of the Year awards". International Handball Federation. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  14. ^ Patrick Andersen (6 June 2025). "Gidsel slår vild Bundesliga-rekord inden guldkamp" (in Danish). Hbold.dk. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  15. ^ "40 Minuten Rückstand: Füchse nach hartem Kampf deutscher Meister" (in German). Handball-World. 8 June 2025. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Magdeburg win all-German final to take third title". eurohandball.com. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  17. ^ a b Selmann, Philip (3 January 2026). "Mathias Gidsel vinder Årets Sportsnavn 2025: 'Den største anerkendelse'" [Mathias Gidsel wins Sports Name of the Year 2025: 'The greatest recognition']. DR (in Danish). Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  18. ^ "Gidsel kåret som verdens bedste for tredje år i træk" (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. 13 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  19. ^ "Fransk legende årsag til Gidsels valg af nummer på trøjen" (in Danish). hbold.dk. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  20. ^ "Mathias Gidsel". eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  21. ^ "Danmark er verdensmester!" [Denmark are World Champions!] (in Danish). dr.dk. 31 January 2021.
  22. ^ Asbjørn Hjøris Schmidt (15 January 2021). "Kongen af Kairo: 21-årige Gidsel med historisk slutrundedebut" [King of Cairo: 21 year old Gidsel in historic major tournament debut] (in Danish). DR.dk. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  23. ^ Nørgaard, Malte (1 February 2021). "De endelige karakterer. Kometen var bedste dansker til VM" [The final grades. The comet was the best Dane at the World Cup] (in Danish). DR.dk.
  24. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Men's All-Star Team". ihf.info. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  25. ^ a b "IHF Top Scorers Statistics World Championships". ihf.info. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  26. ^ "EHF Euro 2024: Individual statistics". eurohandball.com. EHF.
  27. ^ Euro 2024 Final match report - EHF
  28. ^ Fonager, Olav (11 August 2024). "Gidsel får plads på OL's officielle All Star-hold" (in Danish). tvmidtvest.dk. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  29. ^ Fonager, Olav (11 August 2024). "Gidsel slår OL-rekord" [Gidsel breaks Olympic record] (in Danish). tvmidtvest.dk. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  30. ^ a b c "29th IHF Men's Handball World Championship - Goalscorers". International Handball Federation. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  31. ^ a b "Gidsel named MVP, as 2025 IHF Men's World Championship All-Star team announced". International Handball Federation. 2 February 2025. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  32. ^ "Euro 2026 Final - Match Report". European Handball Federation. 1 February 2026. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  33. ^ "Gidsel slår EM-rekord – Sagosen er imponeret" (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. 1 February 2026. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  34. ^ Mathias Sørensen (1 February 2026). "Her er statistikkerne fra EM – danskere med i toppen" (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  35. ^ "2023 IHF WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS REVEALED". ihf.info. International Handball Federation. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  36. ^ "Gidsel and Reistad at the treble, while Costa and Leuchter cruise to 2025 IHF Player of the Year awards". ihf.info. International Handball Federation. 13 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  37. ^ "Egypt 2021 All-star Team". ihf.info. International Handball Federation. 31 January 2021.
  38. ^ "MVP Gottfridsson leads seven-nation All-star Team". eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. 30 January 2022.
  39. ^ "Six nations featured in the EHF EURO 2024 All-Star Team". eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. 28 January 2024.
  40. ^ "Paris 2024 Men's All-Star team revealed". ihf.info. International Handball Federation. 11 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  41. ^ "Poland/Sweden 2023 All-Star Team Revealed". ihf.info. International Handball Federation. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  42. ^ "Men's EHF EURO 2026 All-star Team revealed". ehfeuro.eurohandball.com. 1 February 2026.
  43. ^ "Player Statistics". eurohandball.com. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  44. ^ "Best young player 2021". handball-world. 1 April 2022. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  45. ^ "Mathias Gidsel er årets mandlige håndboldspiller 2021" [Mathias Gidsel is the male handball player of the year 2021]. hbold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  46. ^ "Årets mandlige landsholdsspiller er fundet: – Den mest fortjente kåring længe, understreger ekspert" [The male national team player of the year has been found: - The most deserved award for a long time, emphasizes the expert]. hbold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  47. ^ "Reistad and Gidsel revealed as EHF Excellence Awards 2025 MVPs". EHF. 27 June 2025.
  48. ^ "Danish players snap up big awards". eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  49. ^ "EHF Excellence Awards 2025: Men's Team of the Season revealed". EHF. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  50. ^ "Mathias Gidsel is HP World Handball Player 2023". Handball-planet.com. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  51. ^ "Mathias GIdsel is HP WORLD HANDBALL PLAYER 2024". Handball Planet. 30 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  52. ^ "Gidsel vinder endnu en pris". sport.tv2.dk (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2025 – via Ritzau.
  53. ^ "Spiller data: Mathias Gidsel" [Player data: Mathias Gidsel]. tophaandbold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  54. ^ "Mathias Gidsel ends 2023/24 Handball-Bundesliga regular season with 263 goals". Handball-World. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  55. ^ "IHF Top Scorers Statistics Olympics". ihf.info. International Handball Federation. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  56. ^ "EHF EURO 2024 Statistics". eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  57. ^ "Paris 2024 Top Assists". ihf.info. International Handball Federation. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  58. ^ "EHF EURO 2026 Statistics". eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
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