Ndiaye, Globetrotters-Style Moves and Sobering Soccer Stats

YOU’RE TELLING US THERE’S A CHANCE?

Unless you’ve missed the footage of Iliman Ndiaye executing a backwards bouncing trick at Everton’s training ground, you should check it out. In executing a move so impressive that it would have been appropriate at a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition match, the skill instantly ended what was meant to be a lighthearted kickabout to conclude what had been – up to that point – an revealing conversation about how non-professionals can secure a fresh start after being released by professional academies.

Ndiaye, who featured in non-league games directly before being picked up by Sheffield United at 19, is expertly placed to discuss this topic. “Don’t concentrate on the rejection and one day your luck is going to materialize,” he advised a young player shortly before executing said ninja move on his teammate, in doing so clearly demonstrating the difference between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been attempting to dispel.

Ndiaye joins a list of professional footballer to push the boundaries. Prime Michael Owen cheerfully overwhelming a teenage keeper in front of a smouldering Neville Southall is undoubtedly the prime example in this unique area – 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 merciless tricks, although it’s thought that the latter was at least motivated by the Japanese player’s social media regretful message – “this frustration makes a person stronger” – and the related tag 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 trio lined up during the interval of their final match for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that contained Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were more competitive when they played against 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 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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