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YOU’RE TELLING US THERE’S A CHANCE?

If you haven’t seen the video of Iliman Ndiaye pulling off a backwards bouncing trick at Everton’s training ground, it’s worth viewing. Through performing a move so impressive that it would have fit right in at a Harlem Globetrotters friendly display, the skill instantly ended what was meant to be a casual practice to wrap up what had been – up to that point – an illuminating interview about how amateur players can get another opportunity after being let go from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who competed in amateur leagues directly before being picked up by Sheffield United at 19, is perfectly positioned to discuss this topic. “Don’t concentrate on the rejection and one day your luck is going to come through,” he told a young player shortly before executing said spectacular skill on his teammate, in doing so vividly showing the gap between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been trying to bridge.

Ndiaye isn’t the first professional footballer to push the boundaries. Prime Michael Owen cheerfully overwhelming a teenage keeper in front of a fuming 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 considered that the latter was at least inspired by the Japanese player’s social media regretful message – “this frustration makes a person stronger” – and the associated label of #friendship.

Kagawa’s former Dortmund teammates Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the decency to be defeated against 100 children when the trio lined up during the mid-game pause of their final match for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that included Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were more competitive when they took on 109 Chinese kids in a comparable scenario. But returning to the beginning, it’s approximated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing competitive youth leagues in England will ever play in the Premier League, a stark reality for aspiring footballers across the country.

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DAILY HIGHLIGHT

“Football took me but it never left me because I never gave up on my goal. I went from location to location. The love of football propels you. I couldn’t always see where it was directing me. But today I have the answer” – head coach Veljko Paunovic makes time from his planning to share his journey.

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