Iliman Ndiaye, Globetrotters-Style Skills and Revealing Football Statistics
COULD IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN?
If you haven’t seen the clip of Iliman Ndiaye pulling off a reverse bouncing nutmeg at Everton’s training ground, it’s worth viewing. Through performing 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 informal game to wrap up what had been – up to that point – an informative discussion about how amateur players can secure a fresh start after being dropped from professional academies.
Ndiaye, who competed in amateur leagues directly before being picked up by Sheffield United at 19, is expertly placed to address this topic. “Don’t focus on the rejection and one day your luck is going to materialize,” he told a young player just before deploying said impressive trick on his victim, in doing so perfectly illustrating the gap between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been working to minimize.
Ndiaye is far from the only professional footballer to push the boundaries. Prime Michael Owen gleefully humiliating a teenage keeper in front of a annoyed Neville Southall is clearly the benchmark in this specific category – but the former Liverpool man is just one of many culprits. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have caused kids to weep with a series of merciless tricks, although it’s believed that the latter was at least driven by the Japanese player’s social media apologetic post – “difficulty breeds resilience” – and the accompanying hashtag of #friendship.
Kagawa’s previous Borussia partners Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the decency to suffer a loss against 100 children when the three lined up during the interval of their last appearance for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that featured 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 approximated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing organized youth football in England will ever play in the Premier League, a harsh truth for young players across the country.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Follow Scott Murray from 19:45 Greenwich Mean Time for live international football action of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be tracking events for the remaining evening matches.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Soccer carried me but it never left me because I never abandoned my dream. I went from team to team. The passion for soccer carries you. I couldn’t always see where it was directing me. But today I have the solution” – Serbia coach Veljko Paunovic makes time from his preparations to reflect on his journey.
FAN FEEDBACK
“Pleasant to learn that Kevin Mac Allister will be included by Argentina. With luck, if he travels to the international competition next year, he’ll research how to travel around the host cities – wouldn’t want him to end up lost in New York” – James Humphries.
“Information shows that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been suspended due to alleged involvement in a gambling controversy. It would be wonderful if that number could be raised to the same level of characteristic precision associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my math, that’s about 33 more perfectionists. If I offer to be suspended from playing professionally in Turkey (not much of a loss at my age and, um, ability), are there 32 more folks willing to participate in my quest for balance?” – Mike Wilner.
“As a regular follower and Florida resident, can I in advance protest about the upcoming week-plus of published letters about which road one uses to get to various locations in your island nation? I mean, I was delayed in congestion on I-4 at 2am on a Tuesday night driving through Orlando once, but that’s the entire tale. There’s no satisfying lesson to the tale. (I-4 joins Tampa on the Gulf Coast to Daytona on the Atlantic via Orlando/Walt Disney World, and can have delays at any time)” – Rasteen Nowroozi.
“Apropos Wythenshawe FC, I recall many years ago playing for a Sunday, very casual team, 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. Apparently he was an actor; he had a good left side. (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 approaching eighty, while the least experienced are in their twenties. To ensure a good time for everyone, we have a simple rule of thumb regarding the quality of player: you can be quick or talented, but ideally not both. We periodically have players who disregard this principle, but usually manage to drag them down to our level over time” – Lars Esbjerg.
