Iliman Ndiaye, Globetrotters-Style Skills and Revealing Soccer Stats

COULD IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN?

Should you have overlooked the video of Iliman Ndiaye executing a unusual dribbling move at Everton’s training ground, it’s a good watch. In executing a move so nasty that it would have fit right in at a Harlem Globetrotters show game, the skill quickly concluded what was meant to be a informal game to finish what had been – up to that point – an informative discussion about how non-professionals can earn a second chance after being dropped from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who played Sunday League football directly before being picked up by Sheffield United at 19, is expertly placed to discuss this topic. “Avoid dwelling on the rejection and one day your luck is going to come through,” he informed a young player shortly before deploying said impressive trick on his opponent, 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 take things that little bit too far. Prime Michael Owen happily embarrassing a young shot-stopper in front of a fuming Neville Southall is obviously the gold standard in this specific category – but the ex-Anfield star is just one of many culprits. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have reduced toddlers to actual tears with a series of harsh skills, although it’s believed that the latter was at least driven by the Japanese player’s social media regretful message – “this frustration makes a person stronger” – and the associated label of #friendship.

Kagawa’s former Dortmund teammates Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the manners to be defeated against 100 children when the group competed during the interval of their final match 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 coming full circle, it’s estimated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing organized youth football in England will ever appear in the Premier League, a harsh truth for toddlers and teenagers across the country.

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Follow Scott Murray from evening UK time for hot Geopolitics World Cup qualifying coverage of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be on clockwatch duty for the remaining evening matches.

FEATURED STATEMENT

“The game guided me but it never left me because I never abandoned my dream. I went from team to team. The love of football propels you. I couldn’t always see where it was leading me. But today I have the answer” – head coach Veljko Paunovic pauses briefly from his training to share his path.

READER CORRESPONDENCE

“Good to know that Kevin Mac Allister won’t be excluded by Argentina. Hopefully, if he travels to the international competition next year, he’ll research how to navigate the host cities – let’s avoid him being disoriented in New York” – James Humphries.

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“As a daily reader and Florida resident, can I in advance protest about the next several days of published letters about which route 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 entire tale. There’s no rewarding moral to the tale. (I-4 links 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 remember 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 invited 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 experienced participant is nearing eight decades, while the least experienced are in their twenties. To ensure a enjoyable experience for everyone, we have a simple rule of thumb regarding the skill level: you can be speedy or technical, but preferably not both. We sometimes have players who disregard this principle, but usually typically reduce them to our quality over time” – Lars Esbjerg.