Oct 31, 2023 at 5:31 AM Update: 23 minutes ago
Andries Noppert went from hell to heaven in record time, with a starting place at the World Cup as the highlight. Eleven months later, the SC Heerenveen goalkeeper has been passed over for the pre-selection of the Dutch team. “A sports psychologist? I have always solved my problems myself.”
When Noppert arrived in Zeist two weeks ago for the Dutch international matches, he wanted to avoid any jokes from his teammates about his poor form at SC Heerenveen. “I said: I hope we will train with skippy balls, then I can hold something back,” Noppert said laughing. Just before that, he had beaten Heracles (3-0) with SC Heerenveen and kept a clean sheet for the first time since August 20.
It is the gallows humor that the 29-year-old Fries loves, even the day after he was told that he was not part of the Dutch pre-selection for the European Championship qualifiers with Ireland and Gibraltar. This happened to him before after his participation in the World Cup in Qatar, but an inguinal hernia was the culprit. In the previous international match, the goalkeeper was missing from the final Dutch squad.
Then Noppert was allowed to show up at the last minute due to Mark Flek’s illness. “I already saw it coming that I wasn’t going to be there,” says Noppert. “Patrick Lodewijks (the Dutch goalkeeper coach, ed.) called me to explain. I appreciate that, but there was little to say. If you want to be in the Dutch national team, you have to deliver. I didn’t do that. .”
Andries Noppert tries to distract eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi from his concentration just before his penalty kick against the Netherlands. Photo: Getty Images
‘It got stuck in my head’
The five-time international explains it in his characteristic down-to-earth manner. Yet his decline is surprising. De Fries played football for years at fringe clubs such as NAC, FC Dordrecht and Foggia. But after the World Cup he seemed to become a regular Oranje customer. National coach Louis van Gaal surprisingly threw the ‘Tower from the Jouwer’ to the lions and Noppert showed that he could handle the Oranje level.
He kept a clean sheet on his debut against Senegal (0-2 win). In the subsequent matches, Noppert proved himself to be a decent goalkeeper. One with self-confidence. In the quarter-final against Argentina, he even praised eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi with bravado for his (used) penalty against the Dutch team. But little of that bravado remained after the World Cup.
Noppert suffered an inguinal hernia, which cost him almost the entire remainder of the season. As a result, the goalkeeper from Joure was unable to cash in on his World Cup in the form of a transfer that was dreamed of both sportingly and financially. And to make matters worse, he barely stopped balls after that.
“It has gotten into my head a bit,” says Noppert, who has already scored 21 goals in ten matches this season. “That’s the worst thing that can happen, because you always have to have faith in yourself.” Noppert lacks that, according to Heerenveen coach Kees van Wonderen.
“Of course quite a lot has happened to him,” says Van Wonderen. “Andries has gone from a modest to the highest level in a short time and is now falling away again. That is special in a football career.” What doesn’t help is that the goalkeeper from Joure became a national hero at the World Cup and eyes have been focused on him ever since. Noppert: “The opinions cannot only be positive. If I receive criticism, I have to take it like a big man.”
A beaming Noppert thanks the Heerenveen crowd after the victory over Heracles (3-0) on Saturday.
‘Orange was the good medicine’
No matter how convincing Noppert tells it, according to Van Wonderen the goalkeeper struggles with his changed status. “He knows that if he makes a mistake now, it will be said: “Aren’t you the Dutch goalkeeper?” Making mistakes becomes extra painful for him. But he has to get out of that negative spiral himself and that’s where he is. I think we’re working hard on it.”
And Noppert does this on his own, without a sports psychologist. “Nothing against such a person, but I have solved my problems myself all my life,” the goalkeeper explains. Noppert prefers to look for things in a familiar place, with his wife and family. “I have had difficult moments before. I can discuss everything with my family. I am convinced that they can help me out of this situation.”
Although real help came recently thanks to Flek’s cancellation. Noppert had previously decided in consultation with the Heerenveen staff that it would be good to ‘reset’ for a week with his wife and son Daan. But he still had to report for the Dutch team. Noppert: “In retrospect, that was the best medicine for me. I was able to grab a lot of balls at the Dutch team and therefore gained confidence. That was what I needed.”
Coincidence or not: Noppert looked as usual against Heracles. Strong in the air, calm in playing football and razor sharp in his reflexes. And cheerful, constantly enjoying the match. “Whether the old Noppert is coming? Let’s hope that I find him again soon and I can show that I belong in Oranje. I really have to make sure that I get back into the picture myself.”
‘Who knows, Van Gaal may be following me from a distance’
Noppert is still grateful to Van Gaal for the opportunity to be the first Dutch goalkeeper at the World Cup, but no longer has contact with the 72-year-old coach. “That’s a shame in a way, but in football something like that gets diluted. Maybe it’s also bad of me that I didn’t contact him anymore. I had a good relationship and click with him. Who knows, he may still follow me from a distance.”
2023-10-31 04:31:51
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