De Nooijer played for Alkmaar before moving to HC Bloemendaal. After the 1998 Hockey World Cup he played for a couple of months in Germany, at Harvestehuder THC. In the final of the 1998 Hockey World Cup in Utrecht he scored the golden goal in the final against Spain. De Nooijer was named "World Hockey Player of the Year" in 2003, 2005 and 2006 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). De Nooijer created history when he won the award, which was presented by Jacques Rogge for a record third time. Jamie Dwyer, however, equaled this record when he won the award for the third time in 2009, and surpassed it when he won the award again in 2010. The only other man to have won the award more than once is de Nooijer’s former team mate Stephan Veen (1998, 2000).