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

Barachet has been made an Officer of the Ordre national du Mérite.

Career His career as a handball player started very early: in 1984, he played for HBC Loriol and followed sport étude as a scholastic path. From 1996 to 2002, he played for Chambéry SH (under the guidance of Philippe Gardent, another famous French handball player) before joining the German club HSV Hamburg. In 2012 he returned to Chambéry. He retired in 2015.

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. He was also part of the French team that won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

He has been playing together with his brother, Guillaume Gille, since they were little. They played together in all three of Bertrand Gille's clubs, HBC Loriol, Chambéry SH and HSV Hamburg. At Chambéry they also played with their third brother, Benjamin Gille.

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 Handball Champions 2001 IHF World Player of the Year 2002 Vicechampion in Germany 2004 and 2008 German Super Cup winner 2004, 2006 and 2009 German Cup winner 2006, 2010 French Cup winner 2002 Winner of EHF Cup Winners' Cup 2007 Bronze medal from European Championship 2008 Gold medal from Summer Olympics 2008 and 2012 European Champion: 2010

Seasons for HSV Hamburg Season Club League Games Goals 7-Meter All 2002/03 HSV Hamburg Bundesliga 32 154 6 148 2003/04 HSV Hamburg Bundesliga 34 139 0 139 2004/05 HSV Hamburg Bundesliga 26 126 3 123 2005/06 HSV Hamburg Bundesliga 27 101 7 94 2006/07 HSV Hamburg Bundesliga 32 124 0 124 2007/08 HSV Hamburg Bundesliga 29 99 3 96 2008/09 HSV Hamburg Bundesliga 27 76 0 76 2002–2009 total Bundesliga 207 819 19 800

References

nbcolympics.com Portrait on the French handball federation site (in French)

External links