SC Magdeburg, Germany
Gísli Þorgeir Kristjánsson, born 30 July 1999 is an Icelandic handball player who started his career for FH. He now plays for SC Magdeburg and the Icelandic national team. He was recently chosen as the athlete of the year 2023 in Iceland.
C E N T R E B A C K
Gísli Þorgeir Kristjánsson marked his entry into his childhood team FH Hafnarfjörður during the 2015/2016 season, but it was in the subsequent season that he truly emerged as a key player in the first team. In the summer of 2018, he made a move to the German Handball Bundesliga, joining THW Kiel and securing a three-year contract. During his time with Kiel, he achieved victory in the DHB-Pokal in 2019 and claimed the German championship in 2020.
In 2020, he switched to SC Magdeburg, where he experienced triumph by winning the IHF Super Globe in 2021 and the 2020–21 EHF European League. The following year, in 2022, he clinched a silver medal in the EHF European League and secured another German Championship. Additionally, he emerged victorious in the 2022 IHF Super Globe.
Gísli was chosen as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2022–23 Handball-Bundesliga and the 2022–23 EHF Champions League Final Four.
Gísli Þorgeir lives in Magdeburg. Could you share why you started playing handball? Certainly. I wanted to be like my dad. For those unfamiliar, his father, Kristján Arason, was a professional handball player for many years and also played with the Icelandic national handball team.
Do you have any favorite handball players? Yes, definitely. My teammate Aron Pálmason is one, and, of course, I have to mention my dad.
Can you tell us about your pre-game routine, like your warm-up and music choices? I always warm up the same way and listen to a specific type of music. It's my ritual for each game, and it has worked fine for me until now.
Speaking of favorites, do you have a favorite place in Iceland?It's a tough choice between Kaplakriki, the sports stadium of my childhood team in Iceland, and the countryside where I go to recharge.
And how about in Germany? Any favorite spots? Yes, my go-to coffee place in Magdeburg is "Thies."
We're curious if you have any hidden talents? Well, I can eat an endless amount of food!
I always listen to the Icelandic song "Popplag í G-dúr".
The author of this song is Valgeir Guðjónsson who also made the famous Icelandic handball song "Gerum okkar besta" which was the main song for the Icelandic National team when they won the B-World cup. Funny note, Gíslis dad, Kristján Arason, was playing with the team at this point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAcngV0NfTg
