Iliman Ndiaye, Globetrotters-Style Skills and Revealing Football Stats

YOU’RE TELLING US THERE’S A CHANCE?

If you haven’t seen the video of Iliman Ndiaye performing a unusual dribbling move at Everton’s training ground, it’s worth viewing. By pulling off a move so spectacular that it would have fit right in at a Harlem Globetrotters friendly display, the skill instantly ended what was meant to be a informal game to finish what had been – up to that point – an revealing conversation about how amateur players can secure a fresh start after being released by professional academies.

Ndiaye, who played Sunday League football directly before being picked up by Sheffield United at 19, is expertly placed to address this topic. “Avoid dwelling on the rejection and one day your luck is going to arrive,” he told a young player shortly before executing said ninja move on his opponent, in doing so clearly demonstrating the gap between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been attempting to dispel.

Ndiaye isn’t the first professional footballer to take things that little bit too far. Prime Michael Owen cheerfully overwhelming a young shot-stopper in front of a fuming Neville Southall is clearly the benchmark in this particular niche – but the one-time Reds forward is just one of many culprits. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have caused kids to weep with a series of brutal nutmegs, although it’s believed that the latter was at least motivated by the Japanese player’s social media regretful message – “difficulty breeds resilience” – and the associated label of #friendship.

Kagawa’s previous Borussia partners Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the decency to be defeated against 100 children when the trio played during the interval of their final match for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that contained Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were not so generous when they faced 109 Chinese kids in a comparable scenario. But back to the start, it’s estimated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing structured junior soccer in England will ever feature in the Premier League, a harsh truth for toddlers and teenagers across the country.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Football took me but it never left me because I never abandoned my dream. I went from location to location. The passion for soccer propels you. I couldn’t always see where it was taking me. But today I have the solution” – national team manager Veljko Paunovic takes time out from his preparations to reflect on his path.

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“Together with some co-workers and mates, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our most experienced participant is nearing eight decades, while the least experienced are in their young adulthood. To ensure a positive atmosphere for everyone, we have a simple rule of thumb regarding the skill level: you can be quick or talented, but preferably not simultaneously. We periodically have players who break this guideline, but usually succeed in bringing them to our standard over time” – Lars Esbjerg.