FC Helsingør has signed a senior contract with Mathias “Mac” Christensen, who has simultaneously been permanently promoted to the first-team squad.
Mathias Christensen has been at FC Helsingør for almost three years, and has been one of the students in the collaboration between Helsingør Elite Academy, which is a municipal project focused on young potential elite athletes, and FC Helsingør. Mathias Christensen received the Sparekassen Sjælland Talent Award for talent of the year this summer.
Mathias Christensen is happy to have been promoted to the first team:
– FCH is a great club to be at. I have spent a lot of time training with the first team over the past year, and I have been made to feel very welcome. I thought it made the most sense to stay and continue being part of something I have already been part of for some time, while also having coaches I know I can trust. Overall, I have had some really good coaches, first with Marc Thevis, who was my U19 coach in recent years, and later with Morten and Thyge on the senior team. The good cooperation between U19 and the senior squad has been good, which makes it easy to move up to the senior team.
– And then it has meant a great deal that Helsingør Gymnasium is supportive. It takes away a lot of the stress that can come when you have to manage both school and football, that you do not have to worry about what the school says. The cooperation between the club and HEA has been perfect, and has among other things meant that I have been able to have two morning training sessions a week, which has been important for my development.
– Now the goal is to keep the success going on the senior team, and for me to get closer and closer to the senior team, get minutes, and learn from the experienced players. And then I just have to be patient, even if there are a couple of matches where I am not selected. I will get games here and there, and then it is up to me to show what I can do.
Sports manager Brian Gellert is pleased that one of the club’s own talents has been promoted to the first team:
– “Mac” is exactly the type of player we want to develop for our first team. He is thoroughly professional and works hard and sensibly both with school and with his football. We work with a philosophy that we should bring these young players into matches, and one of the best examples of that is that “Mac” started in our crucial promotion match against Jammerbugt last season, and put in a really good performance in that game.
– It has been crucial for his development that we have had the really good cooperation with HEA that we do, as well as the principal at Helsingør Gymnasium also being a strong partner. It is a huge plus for us that we can offer an elite environment, both on the school and football side, which means that these players want to stay here and do not have to move away from the city to chase their dream, but can achieve it right here in Helsingør Municipality. Initially, Mathias has received a one-year contract, so both he and we can get an overview of the transition to senior football, but I do not think we have seen the last success story, neither from him nor from our school collaboration.
Mathias Christensen will play in number 19 in the upcoming season.
Photo: FC Helsingør
