Ndiaye, Harlem Globetrotters-Style Skills and Revealing Soccer Statistics

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. By pulling off a move so nasty that it would have fit right in at a Harlem Globetrotters show game, the skill immediately shut down what was meant to be a casual practice to finish what had been – up to that point – an illuminating interview about how amateur players can earn a second chance after being let go from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who competed in amateur leagues directly before being picked up by Sheffield United at 19, is expertly placed to speak on this topic. “Avoid dwelling on the rejection and one day your luck is going to materialize,” he informed a young player just before deploying said ninja move on his victim, in doing so perfectly illustrating the gulf between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been working to minimize.

Ndiaye joins a list of professional footballer to push the boundaries. Prime Michael Owen cheerfully overwhelming a young shot-stopper in front of a fuming Neville Southall is obviously the gold standard in this particular niche – but the former Liverpool man is far from the only offender. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have caused kids to weep with a series of harsh skills, although it’s considered that the latter was at least driven by the Japanese player’s social media disgrace caption – “setbacks build character” – and the accompanying hashtag of #friendship.

Kagawa’s ex-BVB colleagues Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the good grace to lose their match against 100 children when the group lined up during the mid-game pause of their final match for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that included Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso showed less mercy when they took on 109 Chinese kids in a like situation. But coming full circle, it’s approximated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing competitive youth leagues in England will ever feature in the Premier League, a harsh truth for young players across the country.

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DAILY HIGHLIGHT

“The game guided me but it never deserted me because I never gave up on my goal. I went from location to location. The love of football carries you. I couldn’t always see where it was taking me. But today I have the solution” – head coach Veljko Paunovic takes time out from his planning to reflect on his path.

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