Iliman Ndiaye, Harlem Globetrotters-Style Moves and Revealing Football Statistics

IS THERE REALLY A POSSIBILITY?

Unless you’ve missed the footage of Iliman Ndiaye performing a reverse bouncing nutmeg at Everton’s training ground, it’s a good watch. By pulling off a move so nasty that it would have been appropriate at a Harlem Globetrotters friendly display, the skill immediately shut down what was meant to be a casual practice to conclude what had been – up to that point – an informative discussion about how amateur players can secure a fresh start after being let go from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who featured in non-league games directly before being signed by Sheffield United at 19, is perfectly positioned to address this topic. “Avoid dwelling on the rejection and one day your luck is going to materialize,” he advised a young player just before deploying said ninja move on his opponent, in doing so vividly showing the gulf between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been attempting to dispel.

Ndiaye joins a list of professional footballer to take things that little bit too far. Prime Michael Owen cheerfully overwhelming a teenage keeper 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 reduced toddlers to actual tears with a series of brutal nutmegs, although it’s thought that the latter was at least inspired by the Japanese player’s social media apologetic post – “setbacks build character” – and the associated label of #friendship.

Kagawa’s previous Borussia partners Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the good grace to suffer a loss against 100 children when the group played during the mid-game pause of their last appearance 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 similar experiment. 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 appear in the Premier League, a harsh truth for young players across the country.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Soccer carried me but it never deserted me because I never abandoned my dream. I went from location to location. The devotion to the game carries you. I couldn’t always see where it was directing me. But today I have the understanding” – national team manager Veljko Paunovic pauses briefly from his planning to reflect on his career.

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