Handball: Why Mathias Gidsel extended in Berlin in the long term

Like any other handball player from Denmark, Mathias Gidsel used to look at Flensburg. In the Danish The handball league If life is rather tranquil when it comes to the size of the league and the halls. But next door in Flensburg, in the largest and strongest league in the world, the mail is off. Many Danish talents initially move a few kilometers from the border to Flensburg and from there to the wide world. Gidsel, 25, also said that Flensburg was a “dream club” for him.

This sentence has caught up in Gidsel in recent months when the industry has been more loudly as quietly that the SG Flensburg-Handewitt is planning the biggest transfer coup in its club’s history: Mathias Gidsel, the world handball player, who has been in the Bundesliga since 2022 the foxes Berlin plays. That makes sense, a Dane at the “dream club” in Flensburg, right? He could understand the rumors, said Gidel.

Nevertheless, shortly after the World Cup, he clarified his future. The dream marriage does not come about, the Dane remains with the foxes, even by 2029. First of all, this is an excellent news for the Berliners, but also for the Bundesliga: the world handball player, the best of his field, remains the league. A transfer within the Bundesliga would have been kidnapped from a marketing perspective, but not a change to one of the financially strong major clubs abroad, Paris Saint-Germain or FC Barcelona. This scenario is averted.

There is currently no coveted handball player as Gidel

He is extremely pleased that “the best handball player in the world has ended all speculation on his own,” said Füchse managing director Bob Hanning. The working paper was valid until 2028 anyway, now it was extended prematurely by one year, certainly more attractive. Gidsel has returned as a world champion and “MVP” (most valuable player) of the World Cup tournament; At the Olympics he had already grabbed this double pack (Olympic gold and MVP). There is currently no coveted handball player as Gidel.

At first glance, the fact that the 25-year-old does not automatically switch to one of the largest handball clubs. He knew that “consultants of all clubs in the world personally chew their ears to the boy,” said Füchse sports director Stefan Kretzschmar a few months ago. But Gidel estimates anonymity in the giant city of Berlin; At home in Denmark (or in Flensburg or Kiel) he could hardly go to the supermarket undisturbed without being recognized. In addition, Gidsel deliberately faces the challenge that he wants to lead the Berliners to the first championship title in the club’s history, even though other clubs have a larger budget available. He “has great confidence in this project,” said Gidel. In four years he will be 29 years old, then there would still be time to get to know another club or another league.

As far as the championship is concerned, everything runs according to plan: the foxes are second in the table; The re-entry into everyday league life has just been successful with a 36:19 win against the bottom of the table Potsdam. The gap to leaders MT Melsungen is currently four points. A disadvantage for Berlin: The increased stress from the Champions League, here the foxes are still in competition. One advantage: you have Mathias Gidsel.