🔗 Share this article

COULD IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN?

If you haven’t seen the video of Iliman Ndiaye pulling off a unusual dribbling move at Everton’s training ground, you should check it out. In executing a move so spectacular that it would have been appropriate at a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition match, the skill instantly ended what was meant to be a informal game to finish what had been – up to that point – an illuminating interview about how Sunday league footballers can get another opportunity after being released by professional academies.

Ndiaye, who played Sunday League football directly before being signed by Sheffield United at 19, is expertly placed to speak on this topic. “Don’t concentrate on the rejection and one day your luck is going to arrive,” he told a young player shortly before using said impressive trick on his teammate, in doing so clearly demonstrating the difference between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been working to minimize.

Ndiaye is far from the only professional footballer to go slightly overboard. A younger Michael Owen happily embarrassing a young shot-stopper in front of a smouldering Neville Southall is clearly the benchmark in this unique area – but the one-time Reds forward is not alone in this. 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 driven by the Japanese player’s social media disgrace caption – “this frustration makes a person stronger” – and the accompanying hashtag of #friendship.

Kagawa’s previous Borussia partners Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the good grace to lose their match against 100 children when the trio played during the mid-game pause of their farewell game for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that contained Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were more competitive when they took on 109 Chinese kids in a comparable scenario. 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 appear in the Premier League, a sobering statistic for toddlers and teenagers across the country.

STREAMING ON POPULAR SITE

Join Scott Murray from evening UK time for real-time tournament updates of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be monitoring the action for the other games happening later.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Soccer carried me but it never abandoned me because I never abandoned my dream. I went from place to place. The devotion to the game carries you. I couldn’t always see where it was directing me. But today I have the solution” – national team manager Veljko Paunovic takes time out from his training to reflect on his journey.

FAN FEEDBACK

“Pleasant to learn that Kevin Mac Allister won’t be excluded by Argentina. Ideally, if he travels to the Bigliest Most Peaceful Cup next year, he’ll read up on how to travel around the tournament sites – hopefully he won’t get confused in New York” – James Humphries.

“Reports indicate that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been banned due to suspected participation in a gambling controversy. It would be fantastic if that number could be increased to the same level of characteristic precision associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my math, that’s about 33 more detail-oriented individuals. If I volunteer to be banned from playing professionally in Turkey (hardly a difficult decision at my age and, um, skill level), are there 32 more folks willing to join in my search for harmony?” – Mike Wilner.

“As a regular follower and Florida resident, can I preemptively object about the upcoming week-plus of published letters about which highway one uses to get to various locations in your homeland? I mean, I was delayed in congestion on I-4 at 2am on a Tuesday night driving through Orlando once, but that’s the whole story. There’s no rewarding moral 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 casual team, Turnpike Lane Hibs, on Clapham Common. One morning a bloke presented as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who invited him. Apparently 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 most junior are in their young adulthood. To ensure a good time for everyone, we have a straightforward principle regarding the skill level: you can be quick or talented, but preferably not simultaneously. We sometimes have players who violate this rule, but usually typically reduce them to our quality over time” – Lars Esbjerg.