Goalkeeper Andries Noppert spoke briefly about the experiences as goalkeeper of Foggia. The current closing post of Go Ahead Eagles was under contract with the Italian club between January 2018 and June 2019, which is currently completing its competition matches in the Serie C. The period in the southern Italian Foggia was a unique experience for Noppert in various aspects, such as he says in conversation with ESPN.
On the final day of the winter transfer market of 2018, the keeper suddenly made the transfer-free transfer from NAC Breda to Foggia. In the village of the same name, the mafia, la Società Foggiana, emphatically holds sway, as Noppert became clear when he arrived at the team that was still active in Serie B at the time. “I bought a car in the Netherlands. I was able to drive it for three weeks, then it was stolen. Then I was able to buy my own car back from the mafia. That was just not a success, because they had already stripped the whole car. Then it became an insurance issue.”
Andrew Noppert Italian mafia???? “My car was stolen, then I was able to buy it back from the mafia.” pic.twitter.com/ZhT0QRtXvW
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) February 2, 2022
It was not the only remarkable situation etched in the memory of the 27-year-old goalkeeper. “If we lost a game, you could be met, your tires punctured or you could find an incendiary bomb in your backyard. It was just huge there. The passion is a bit different there than here, but beautiful,” says Noppert in an almost nostalgic way.
The adventure in Puglia was not an undivided success for the keeper, who returned to the Netherlands in September 2019. He started working for FC Dordrecht, where, partly due to a lingering knee injury, he only played two matches in the Kitchen Champion Division. After Noppert and Dordrecht parted ways in the summer of 2020, he was given the opportunity to show himself at Go Ahead six months later. On behalf of the club from Deventer, Noppert played three cup matches this season and keeps a match in the Eredivisie.