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

YOU’RE TELLING US THERE’S A CHANCE?

If you haven’t seen the clip of Iliman Ndiaye executing a backwards bouncing trick at Everton’s training ground, you should check it out. 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 illuminating interview 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. “Avoid dwelling on the rejection and one day your luck is going to arrive,” he advised a young player immediately prior to using said impressive trick on his opponent, in doing so vividly showing the gulf 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 happily embarrassing a teenage keeper in front of a annoyed Neville Southall is obviously the gold standard in this particular niche – but the ex-Anfield star is not alone in this. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have reduced toddlers to actual tears with a series of brutal nutmegs, although it’s believed that the latter was at least driven by the Japanese player’s social media disgrace caption – “setbacks build character” – and the associated label of #friendship.

Kagawa’s former Dortmund teammates Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the manners to suffer a loss against 100 children when the three lined up during the mid-game pause of their farewell game for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that featured Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were not so generous when they faced 109 Chinese kids in a similar experiment. But returning to the beginning, it’s approximated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing structured junior soccer in England will ever feature in the Premier League, a stark reality for toddlers and teenagers across the country.

BROADCAST ON MAJOR PLATFORM

Tune in with Scott Murray from evening UK time for live international football action of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be on clockwatch duty for the rest of the night’s action.

FEATURED STATEMENT

“Soccer carried me but it never left me because I never gave up on my goal. I went from location to location. The love of football drives you. I couldn’t always see where it was leading me. But today I have the solution” – national team manager Veljko Paunovic makes time from his preparations to reflect on his career.

FAN FEEDBACK

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“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 stuck in gridlock on I-4 at 2am on a Tuesday night driving through Orlando once, but that’s the whole story. There’s no meaningful conclusion to the tale. (I-4 links Tampa on the Gulf Coast to Daytona on the Atlantic via Orlando/Walt Disney World, and can have congestion problems at any time)” – Rasteen Nowroozi.

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

“Together with some associates and companions, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our most experienced participant is nearing eight decades, while the least experienced are in their late-20s. To ensure a positive atmosphere for everyone, we have a basic guideline regarding the ability standard: you can be speedy or technical, but preferably not both. We sometimes have players who violate this rule, but usually succeed in bringing them to our standard over time” – Lars Esbjerg.