Bertrand Gille (handballer)

Bertrand Fabien Gille (born March 24, 1978 in Valence, Drôme) is a handball player from France. Very strong physically (1.87m, 98 kg), he is considered one of the best pivot players in the world, and was honored with the title of World Player of the Year in 2002.

His career as a handball player started very early: as early as 1984, he played for HBC Loriol and followed sport étude as a scholar path. From 1996 to 2002, he played for Chambéry SH (under the umbrella of Philippe Gardent, another famous French handball player) before joining the German club of HSV Hamburg. He has been playing together with his brother, Guillaume Gille, since they were little. They have been playing together in HBC Loriol, Chambéry SH and now HSV Hamburg.

Member of the national team since 1997, "Gilou" was again pivot on the team which, among others, won the handball competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he was also named best pivot of the tournament. He decided to suspend his international career after a physical injury contracted during the Handball-Bundesliga of 2009. His successor on the team was Cédric Sorhaindo. Now, 2010, Bertrand Gille is back on the team. He was a part of the team, who won European Championships 2010.

Personal life

He has two brothers; Guillaume Gille, born in 1976 and Benjamin Gille, born in 1982. Bertrand Gille is married with three children. His nickname is "Bobo".

Honours

• French Handballchampions 2001
• World Player of the Year 2002
• Vicechampion in Germany 2004 und 2008
• Supercupwinner in Germany 2004, 2006 und 2009
• German Cupwinner 2006, 2010
• French Cupwinner 2002
• Winner of Cup Winners Cup 2007
• Bronzemedal from European Championships 2008
• Goldmedal from Summer Olympics 2008
• European Champion 2010

Seasons for HSV Hamburg

References

• sports-reference
• nbcolympics.com
• Portrait on the French handball federation site (in French)