Iliman Ndiaye, Globetrotters-Style Moves and Sobering Soccer Statistics
COULD IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN?
If you haven’t seen the clip of Iliman Ndiaye pulling off a unusual dribbling move at Everton’s training ground, it’s a good watch. In executing a move so nasty that it would have fit right in at a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition match, the skill immediately shut down what was meant to be a informal game to wrap up what had been – up to that point – an illuminating interview about how Sunday league footballers can secure a fresh start after being dropped from 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. “Don’t focus on the rejection and one day your luck is going to materialize,” he informed a young player shortly before using said ninja move on his opponent, in doing so perfectly illustrating the difference between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been trying to bridge.
Ndiaye joins a list of professional footballer to go slightly overboard. Peak Michael Owen cheerfully overwhelming a teenage keeper in front of a annoyed Neville Southall is undoubtedly the prime example in this specific category – but the former Liverpool man is just one of many culprits. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have caused kids to weep with a series of brutal nutmegs, although it’s considered that the latter was at least motivated by the Japanese player’s social media regretful message – “setbacks build character” – 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 suffer a loss against 100 children when the three lined up during the interval of their final match for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that included Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso showed less mercy when they faced 109 Chinese kids in a similar experiment. But back to the start, it’s calculated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing structured junior soccer in England will ever play in the Premier League, a sobering statistic for aspiring footballers across the country.
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