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

YOU’RE TELLING US THERE’S A CHANCE?

If you haven’t seen the footage of Iliman Ndiaye performing a backwards bouncing trick at Everton’s training ground, it’s worth viewing. In executing 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 finish what had been – up to that point – an illuminating interview about how non-professionals can secure a fresh start after being let go from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who featured in non-league games directly before being picked up by Sheffield United at 19, is perfectly positioned to speak on this topic. “Don’t focus on the rejection and one day your luck is going to materialize,” he told a young player just before executing said impressive trick on his teammate, in doing so clearly demonstrating the difference between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been attempting to dispel.

Ndiaye isn’t the first professional footballer to go slightly overboard. A younger Michael Owen gleefully humiliating a teenage keeper in front of a smouldering Neville Southall is clearly the benchmark in this unique area – but the one-time Reds forward is not alone in this. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have reduced toddlers to actual tears with a series of harsh skills, although it’s thought that the latter was at least driven by the Japanese player’s social media disgrace caption – “setbacks build character” – 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 lose their match against 100 children when the three lined up during the interval of their last appearance for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that contained Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso showed less mercy when they played against 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 young players across the country.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

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

FAN FEEDBACK

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

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