Ndiaye, Harlem Globetrotters-Style Skills and Sobering Football Stats

YOU’RE TELLING US THERE’S A CHANCE?

Unless you’ve missed the clip of Iliman Ndiaye pulling off a reverse bouncing nutmeg at Everton’s training ground, you should check it out. By pulling off a move so nasty that it would have been appropriate at a Harlem Globetrotters friendly display, the skill quickly concluded what was meant to be a lighthearted kickabout to conclude what had been – up to that point – an informative discussion about how non-professionals can get another opportunity after being let go from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who featured in non-league games directly before being signed by Sheffield United at 19, is ideally suited to speak on this topic. “Don’t concentrate on the rejection and one day your luck is going to arrive,” he told a young player shortly before deploying said impressive trick on his victim, in doing so clearly demonstrating the difference between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been attempting to dispel.

Ndiaye joins a list of professional footballer to go slightly overboard. Peak Michael Owen cheerfully overwhelming a 13-year-old goalkeeper in front of a smouldering Neville Southall is undoubtedly the prime example in this particular niche – but the ex-Anfield star is far from the only offender. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have made young children cry with a series of merciless tricks, although it’s thought that the latter was at least driven by the Japanese player’s social media disgrace caption – “difficulty breeds resilience” – and the related tag of #friendship.

Kagawa’s former Dortmund teammates Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the good grace to suffer a loss against 100 children when the trio played during the interval of their farewell game for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that contained Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were more competitive when they took on 109 Chinese kids in a comparable scenario. But coming full circle, it’s approximated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing competitive youth leagues in England will ever feature in the Premier League, a sobering statistic for aspiring footballers across the country.

BROADCAST ON MAJOR PLATFORM

Join Scott Murray from 19:45 Greenwich Mean Time for live international football action of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be monitoring the action for the rest of the night’s action.

DAILY HIGHLIGHT

“Football took me but it never deserted me because I never stopped believing. I went from team to team. The passion for soccer carries you. I couldn’t always see where it was taking me. But today I have the solution” – head coach Veljko Paunovic takes time out from his preparations to share his path.

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

“Pleasant to learn that Kevin Mac Allister won’t be excluded by Argentina. Ideally, if he travels to the Bigliest Most Peaceful Cup next year, he’ll research how to travel around the tournament sites – hopefully he won’t get confused in New York” – James Humphries.

“Information shows that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been banned due to potential connection in a gambling controversy. It would be fantastic if that number could be raised to the same level of usual detail-orientation associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my estimation, that’s about 33 more perfectionists. If I agree to be excluded from playing professionally in Turkey (hardly a difficult decision at my age and, um, talent), are there 32 more folks willing to assist my effort for harmony?” – Mike Wilner.

“As a daily reader and Florida resident, can I preemptively object about the next several days of published letters about which highway one uses to get to various locations in your island nation? I mean, I was caught in a traffic jam on I-4 at 2am on a Tuesday night driving through Orlando once, but that’s the whole story. There’s no satisfying lesson to the tale. (I-4 links Tampa on the Gulf Coast to Daytona on the Atlantic via Orlando/Walt Disney World, and can have delays at any time)” – Rasteen Nowroozi.

“Concerning Wythenshawe FC, I recollect many years ago playing for a Sunday, very casual team, Turnpike Lane Hibs, on Clapham Common. One morning a bloke known as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who recruited him. Apparently he was an actor; he had a useful left foot. (Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis)” – Jason Steger.

“Together with some colleagues and friends, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our most senior member is pushing 80, while the least experienced are in their twenties. To ensure a good time for everyone, we have a basic guideline regarding the ability standard: you can be speedy or technical, but preferably not both. We periodically have players who violate this rule, but usually typically reduce them to our quality over time” – Lars Esbjerg.