The story of Protos Weering: an excellent goalkeeper, who is normally a striker for the second team. Frank Leffers is the name. Much has been said and written about it, but we look back, now for the last time, with the main character himself.
“You suddenly get a lot of attention. The newspaper, RTV Drenthe and Radio Hoogeveen want to interview you. I like it, but it doesn’t make me a different person or anything,” says Leffers.
What many people don’t know is that Leffers plays goalkeeper in the hall all year round. During the live broadcast of RTV Drenthe on the final day, he said that HZVV 2 futsal is his team. Leffers corrects: “What I said wrongly in the livestream, but will now say correctly: I keep in the hall at HZVV 1. That is a team of friends at a nice level and I can also keep goal there.”
The difference with other goalkeepers at Protos Weering is the diving. “I stand for a long time. This gives me a good overview of the field and the ball. This way I can see it coming from a distance. Most boys who normally keep goal on the field dive much faster. That’s where I make the difference.”
HZVV had a rough start to the prestigious tournament. They struggled to get through the quarter-finals and even had to qualify for the final through the intermediate round.
Leffers: “As a result, we really grew in the tournament. I think it was certainly an advantage on the final day.” The red-white formation was awarded a questionable penalty in the match against FC Zuidwolde in the intermediate round: “Sometimes you have to be a bit lucky,” laughs Leffers.
On that final day, HZVV turned out to be a strong team. After penalties it won against Germanicus in the absolute final and was crowned champion of ‘PWZ’. Two great saves from Leffers were the deciding factor. “Amazing, really fantastic. Indescribable. I think the interaction with the audience is the most beautiful thing. Normally I would sit there myself. I have not missed an edition of Protos yet.”
He is also doing well on the field with 12 goals in the first half of the season. “I don’t care about my speed,” he laughs. “I have a fairly good grip on the ball and sometimes I accidentally head a ball in.”
When asked whether he will be behind the bar again next time during the Protos Weering Indoor Football Tournament, Leffers answers: “It also depends a bit on what the other goalkeeper (Xander Jager) does. This year he did not want to risk an injury, but I obviously hope that I will be back in December. We’ll see!”