2023 IHF Male Player of the Year Gidsel: "I have the coolest job in the world"

25 Mar. 2024

2023 IHF Male Player of the Year Gidsel: "I have the coolest job in the world"

In 2021, he was barely a rookie at the IHF Men’s World Championship, but he surprised everyone and took the competition by storm, helping Denmark secure their second consecutive title in the world handball flagship competition. But since that moment, Mathias Gidsel became a true force of the sport, helping reshape the sport with his skill, speed and handball IQ.

In less than three years, Gidsel cemented his status as one of the best players in the world, which was confirmed on Friday, when the Denmark right back was named the 2023 IHF Male Player of the Year, following in the footsteps of other two Danish players, Mikkel Hansen and Niklas Landin Jacobsen.

The 25-year-old right back is the first recipient of the new-look IHF Male Player of the Year award, which saw the winner decided by votes from fans, the coaches which led their national teams at the IHF Men’s World Championship and the IHF Women’s World Championship and the members of the IHF Commission of Coaching and Methods (CCM). All three categories had an equal share of the vote, 33%.

“This award may be individual and I might be in the history books, but this could not have been done without my teammates and without the coaches who helped me reach this form over the last years. It is incredible, unbelievable, something that I could not think about when I started playing handball, because I did not have the physical qualities other players had a few years ago,” says Gidsel.

“But to be there, winning this award, after some of my idols had also their names enshrined in the history of handball still feels surreal. Mikkel Hansen, Niklas Landin, Daniel Narcisse were also there, so just following in their footsteps is amazing. When I found out, I was surprised, but also very happy, because it is an amazing feeling and it proves that believing in yourself always works out.”

Gidsel is only 25 years old, but he has dominated handball in the past years. Making his debut for Denmark men’s senior national team in 2020, he won two titles at the IHF Men’s World Championship, the silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the silver at the EHF EURO 2024 and the bronze at the EHF EURO 2022.

He also made the All-Star team in every major international competition he has played in, as the All-Star right back at the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship, as well as the MVP at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, also being the top goal scorer in the latter competition.

“The matter of the fact is that I have the coolest job in the world. To be there, take the ball into my hands, with some sticky resin and try to play in the best way I can. It is something amazing, it is something that everybody would like. I do not think necessarily about trophies, titles and so on. Of course, they are important. But when I wake up every day, being able to play handball is something amazing,” adds Gidsel.

2023 has been fantastic for the right back, who came back from a knee injury and delivered some instant performances for club and country. At the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, Gidsel scored 60 goals and had a fantastic 75% shooting efficiency, continuing his excellent run of form. Basically, in two editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship, Gidsel scored 99 times from 129 shots, for a 76.7% shooting efficiency, which is undoubtedly one of the best performances from a high-volume scorer ever.

At club level, the right back was immense for Füchse Berlin, winning the EHF European League Men and finishing second at the 2023 IHF Men’s Super Globe, where he also was the top scorer.

Yet this whirlwind of a career could have gone very differently, as Gidsel had his own share of issues before breaking through and becoming one of the best players in the world. Due to his build, he was not deemed enough in Denmark to play on the right back position and had a choice to feature on the right wing.

“Not many believed that I can be a right back in my own respect and was asked to play on the right wing. However, I insisted to play as a right back, because I believed in myself, in what I can do. I had many uncertainties, I doubted myself because of this, therefore it is even more special to receive this award and be considered the best player in the world,” adds Gidsel.

“The system said that I did not have a chance, but I worked, I became better and with handball switching to a faster playing style, maybe the fastest ever, or for sure the fastest in the last decades, this suited me and I proved that I can belong. But, once again, I could not have done it without the help of the excellent coaches I had and my teammates. This is also their award. I know my name is there and it will be in the history, but in my heart, I know that I am not alone.”

While it may look impossible, Gidsel had to overcome these issues, which can serve as a model for any player who is starting their career. His ascendance to greatness is not necessarily unparalleled, but over the last years, the right back morphed from an unknown player, who had a lot of potential, to a true star.

But with so many medals, so many individual titles and now with the IHF Male Player of the Year under his name, what can Gidsel do in the future, despite being only 25 years old?

“Well, this also serves as a motivation, for sure. It is not about the titles necessarily, this is not my motivation. Of course, they come with playing good and getting more and more wins. But I am not waking up right now and saying that I have to win a medal or a title. No, it is about having the best job in the world and playing handball. This is something that I will do every day, because I love it and I have the coolest job in the world,” concludes Denmark’s right back.