Iliman Ndiaye, Harlem Globetrotters-Level Skills and Revealing Football Statistics

COULD IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN?

Unless you’ve missed the footage of Iliman Ndiaye performing a unusual dribbling move at Everton’s training ground, it’s worth viewing. By pulling off a move so impressive that it would have been appropriate at a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition match, the skill quickly concluded what was meant to be a casual practice to finish what had been – up to that point – an informative discussion about how non-professionals can earn a second chance after being let go from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who competed in amateur leagues directly before being recruited by Sheffield United at 19, is ideally suited to discuss this topic. “Don’t concentrate on the rejection and one day your luck is going to arrive,” he advised a young player shortly before executing said ninja move on his victim, in doing so vividly showing the difference between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been trying to bridge.

Ndiaye is far from the only professional footballer to push the boundaries. Peak Michael Owen gleefully humiliating a teenage keeper in front of a annoyed Neville Southall is undoubtedly the prime example in this specific category – but the ex-Anfield star is just one of many culprits. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have made young children cry with a series of harsh skills, although it’s thought that the latter was at least motivated by the Japanese player’s social media disgrace caption – “difficulty breeds resilience” – and the accompanying hashtag of #friendship.

Kagawa’s former Dortmund teammates Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the good grace to be defeated against 100 children when the three competed during the interval of their last appearance for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that included Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were not so generous when they took on 109 Chinese kids in a similar experiment. But coming full circle, it’s estimated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing organized youth football in England will ever feature in the Premier League, a harsh truth for aspiring footballers across the country.

STREAMING ON POPULAR SITE

Join Scott Murray from 7.45pm GMT for real-time tournament updates of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be tracking events for the other games happening later.

FEATURED STATEMENT

“Soccer carried me but it never left me because I never gave up on my goal. I went from place to place. The devotion to the game drives you. I couldn’t always see where it was directing me. But today I have the understanding” – Serbia coach Veljko Paunovic pauses briefly from his planning to reflect on his career.

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

“Nice to hear that Kevin Mac Allister won’t be excluded by Argentina. With luck, if he travels to the Bigliest Most Peaceful Cup next year, he’ll read up on how to get about the venue locations – hopefully he won’t get confused in New York” – James Humphries.

“Information shows that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been suspended due to suspected participation in a betting scandal. It would be wonderful if that number could be bumped up to the same level of typical pedantry associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my calculation, that’s about 33 more perfectionists. If I volunteer to be banned from playing professionally in Turkey (not a huge sacrifice at my age and, um, ability), are there 32 more folks willing to join in my search for symmetry?” – Mike Wilner.

“As a frequent consumer and Florida resident, can I proactively complain about the coming period of published letters about which highway one uses to get to various locations in your homeland? 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 complete account. There’s no satisfying lesson to the tale. (I-4 connects Tampa on the Gulf Coast to Daytona on the Atlantic via Orlando/Walt Disney World, and can have traffic issues at any time)” – Rasteen Nowroozi.

“Apropos Wythenshawe FC, I recall many years ago playing for a Sunday, very social side, Turnpike Lane Hibs, on Clapham Common. One morning a bloke presented as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who brought him along. Supposedly he was an actor; he had a good left side. (Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis)” – Jason Steger.

“Together with some associates and companions, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our oldest player is nearing eight decades, while the youngest are in their late-20s. To ensure a positive atmosphere for everyone, we have a straightforward principle regarding the skill level: you can be speedy or technical, but preferably not both. We sometimes have players who violate this rule, but usually typically reduce them to our quality over time” – Lars Esbjerg.