🔗 Share this article

COULD IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN?

Should you have overlooked the footage of Iliman Ndiaye pulling off a backwards bouncing trick at Everton’s training ground, you should check it out. In executing a move so spectacular that it would have fit right in at a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition match, the skill instantly ended what was meant to be a casual practice to wrap up what had been – up to that point – an informative discussion about how Sunday league footballers can earn a second chance after being let go from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who featured in non-league games directly before being picked up by Sheffield United at 19, is ideally suited to discuss this topic. “Don’t focus on the rejection and one day your luck is going to come through,” he told a young player shortly before deploying said spectacular skill on his victim, in doing so perfectly illustrating the difference between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been working to minimize.

Ndiaye isn’t the first professional footballer to go slightly overboard. A younger Michael Owen cheerfully overwhelming a young shot-stopper in front of a smouldering Neville Southall is obviously the gold standard in this specific category – but the former Liverpool man 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 believed that the latter was at least motivated by the Japanese player’s social media disgrace caption – “difficulty breeds resilience” – and the related tag of #friendship.

Kagawa’s former Dortmund teammates Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the decency to lose their match against 100 children when the trio competed during the mid-game pause of their farewell game for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that featured Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were more competitive when they played against 109 Chinese kids in a similar experiment. But coming full circle, it’s calculated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing organized youth football in England will ever play in the Premier League, a stark reality for young players across the country.

STREAMING ON POPULAR SITE

Join Scott Murray from 19:45 Greenwich Mean Time for real-time tournament updates of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be tracking events for the other games happening later.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The game guided me but it never left me because I never abandoned my dream. I went from location to location. 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 training to discuss his journey.

FAN FEEDBACK

“Good to know that Kevin Mac Allister won’t be excluded by Argentina. With luck, if he goes to the major tournament next year, he’ll read up on how to travel around the venue locations – hopefully he won’t get confused in New York” – James Humphries.

“Information shows that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been banned due to potential connection in a wagering issue. It would be wonderful if that number could be increased to the same level of usual detail-orientation associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my estimation, that’s about 33 more perfectionists. If I volunteer to be banned from playing professionally in Turkey (not a huge sacrifice at my age and, um, skill level), are there 32 more folks willing to join in my search for harmony?” – Mike Wilner.

“As a daily reader and Florida resident, can I in advance protest about the coming period of published letters about which road 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 satisfying lesson to the tale. (I-4 links Tampa on the Gulf Coast to Daytona on the Atlantic via Orlando/Walt Disney World, and can have delays at any time)” – Rasteen Nowroozi.

“Concerning Wythenshawe FC, I recollect many years ago playing for a Sunday, very social side, Turnpike Lane Hibs, on Clapham Common. One morning a bloke presented as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who recruited him. Supposedly 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 most experienced participant is pushing 80, while the most junior are in their twenties. To ensure a good time for everyone, we have a straightforward principle regarding the ability standard: you can be fast or skilled, but ideally not both. We periodically have players who violate this rule, but usually manage to drag them down to our level over time” – Lars Esbjerg.