Isabelle Gulldén (32) terminated her venomous snake contract due to cancer in the family. Now he is happy that his sister will be in the stands in the Champions League final.
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The last few months have been better after the handball star’s two-year-old sister, Rebecca, diagnosed with cervical cancer last fall. The little sister’s illness situation improved. Isabelle Gulldén has also become increasingly important to the Kristiansand club.
– It will be better and in the right direction. It would be great to be closer and more with him, Gulldén told VG.
The Viper ended the season with the Champions League Final Four in Budapest at Pentecost. Rebecca will be at the MVM Dome when Viper meet Metz in the semifinals on June 4. The next day the final was played. Gulldén’s final match in pink was played with a “syrran” in the crowd.
– It’s so liberating that he goes like that. She is going to Budapest with my mother, father, son and husband, says Isabelle Gulldén who has Lias (2) with her Linus Gulldén.
Her husband is a former goalkeeper and played for the same club as Viborg Denmark and Bucharest Romania. After the season, they take the cargo home for good. He would work and play for Lugi who lived in Lund two miles from Malmö.
Isabelle Gulldén has played outside Sweden for 11 seasons. Now the most important thing is being able to be near little sister.
– For once, we don’t have to plan on being seen. There will be a working day ahead. I just hope everything goes well and we get years where we can enjoy each other, he explained.
The deal with Viper initially lasted until the 2022/23 season, but according to the Swede, it is very easy to link when there is an illness in the immediate family.
– This club is great. No problem with coming back to Sweden when I needed it. Everyone has been very supportive. It also helps, he said.
According to Aftonbladet, she became the highest paid female handball player in the world when she signed for Brest in 2018. But according to her, happiness is not on the same level. Gulldén thinks he is much better at Sørlandet.
– Now I have spent three years in France which was “hell” and then I came here and lived it well, he explained.
– Why is it so much better to play on Viper than on Brest?
– The club is professional, but still intimate. “You have guarded your heart, the players should be fine, you respect the people,” he said.
On Saturday, he won NM gold after showing strength against Molde. On Thursday, he will meet romsdalingene again with Viper in the playoff semifinals.
Gulldén has made his name with gold in the Champions League (Bucharest) and Cup Winners’ Cup (Viborg). He has won 10 league championships in five different countries. Now he’s back on track with a draw and NM gold with the Viper.
– He tends to do the right thing when we need him, says Viper coach Ole Gustav Gjekstad.
– Bella is good at managing play and an important contributor off the pitch as well. He has great composure in what he does. It doesn’t matter when and where. This is important for us, the coach believes.
Gjekstad also had great success with the very experienced girls in Larvik. He drew on a quote from the Apple founder to explain.
– Steve Jobs said that «we don’t hire smart people what to do. We hire smart people to tell us what to do ». There might be a little in it. Good handball players with long experience should be allowed to shape the days and weeks they are in. Bella did that for the most part, she believed.
– I try not to think about it too much, says Isabelle Gulldén who two years ago joined the national team after 224 games and 846 goals.
– But of course it came to me. I’ve started unpacking things. It’s cool to play big games, he described and admitted that he also felt a sense of melancholy.
– But I try not to think too much about them. Then it could affect me, he thought.
Now he dreams of new Champions League gold.
“It would be a dream end to take everything and finish with a gold medal after so many years at this level,” he said.
– He might be extra triggered by the upcoming match now. We look forward to it. Then we wish him a good ending at the Viper,” said Ole Gustav Gjekstad.
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