🔗 Share this article

COULD IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN?

Unless you’ve missed the video of Iliman Ndiaye performing a unusual dribbling move at Everton’s training ground, it’s worth viewing. In executing a move so nasty that it would have suited perfectly at a Harlem Globetrotters friendly display, the skill immediately shut down what was meant to be a casual practice to finish what had been – up to that point – an revealing conversation about how amateur players can get another opportunity after being released by professional academies.

Ndiaye, who featured in non-league games directly before being recruited by Sheffield United at 19, is ideally suited to address this topic. “Avoid dwelling on the rejection and one day your luck is going to come through,” he told a young player just before deploying said ninja move on his teammate, in doing so clearly demonstrating the gap between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been trying to bridge.

Ndiaye joins a list of professional footballer to go slightly overboard. A younger Michael Owen gleefully humiliating a teenage keeper in front of a fuming Neville Southall is obviously the gold standard in this specific category – but the one-time Reds forward 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 thought that the latter was at least driven by the Japanese player’s social media apologetic post – “difficulty breeds resilience” – and the accompanying hashtag of #friendship.

Kagawa’s previous Borussia partners Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the manners to suffer a loss against 100 children when the group lined up during the half-time break 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 comparable scenario. But returning to the beginning, it’s calculated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing structured junior soccer in England will ever appear in the Premier League, a harsh truth for aspiring footballers across the country.

BROADCAST ON MAJOR PLATFORM

Tune in with Scott Murray from 19:45 Greenwich Mean Time for live international football action of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be tracking events for the other games happening later.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Soccer carried me but it never left me because I never stopped believing. I went from team to team. The devotion to the game carries you. I couldn’t always see where it was taking me. But today I have the solution” – Serbia coach Veljko Paunovic makes time from his preparations to discuss his path.

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

“Pleasant to learn that Kevin Mac Allister won’t be excluded by Argentina. Ideally, if he participates in the major tournament next year, he’ll study how to travel around the host cities – hopefully he won’t get confused in New York” – James Humphries.

“Sources state that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been suspended due to alleged involvement in a wagering issue. It would be fantastic if that number could be increased to the same level of typical pedantry associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my calculation, that’s about 33 more pedants. If I offer to be suspended from playing professionally in Turkey (not a huge sacrifice at my age and, um, skill level), are there 32 more folks willing to participate in my quest for symmetry?” – Mike Wilner.

“As a frequent consumer 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 country? I mean, I was delayed in congestion on I-4 at 2am on a Tuesday night driving through Orlando once, but that’s the complete account. There’s no satisfying lesson to the tale. (I-4 joins 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.

“Concerning Wythenshawe FC, I remember 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 invited him. Supposedly he was an actor; he had a useful left foot. (Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis)” – Jason Steger.

“Together with some co-workers and mates, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our most senior member is approaching eighty, while the youngest are in their late-20s. To ensure a positive atmosphere for everyone, we have a basic guideline regarding the ability standard: you can be fast or skilled, but preferably not simultaneously. We periodically have players who violate this rule, but usually succeed in bringing them to our standard over time” – Lars Esbjerg.