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YOU’RE TELLING US THERE’S A CHANCE?

If you haven’t seen the footage of Iliman Ndiaye pulling off a backwards bouncing trick at Everton’s training ground, it’s worth viewing. Through performing a move so spectacular that it would have suited perfectly at a Harlem Globetrotters show game, 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 non-professionals can secure a fresh start after being dropped from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who played Sunday League football 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 materialize,” he told a young player shortly before deploying said impressive trick on his teammate, 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 push the boundaries. A younger Michael Owen cheerfully overwhelming a young shot-stopper in front of a smouldering Neville Southall is obviously the gold standard in this unique area – but the former Liverpool man is just one of many culprits. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have reduced toddlers to actual tears with a series of merciless tricks, although it’s thought that the latter was at least motivated by the Japanese player’s social media apologetic post – “difficulty breeds resilience” – and the related tag of #friendship.

Kagawa’s former Dortmund teammates Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the decency to lose their match against 100 children when the three competed during the interval of their last appearance 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 similar experiment. But back to the start, it’s calculated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing organized youth football in England will ever feature in the Premier League, a sobering statistic for young players across the country.

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DAILY HIGHLIGHT

“The game guided me but it never abandoned me because I never gave up on my goal. I went from team to team. The devotion to the game drives you. I couldn’t always see where it was taking me. But today I have the solution” – head coach Veljko Paunovic makes time from his preparations to discuss his career.

FAN FEEDBACK

“Nice to hear that Kevin Mac Allister isn’t going to be left home alone by Argentina. With luck, if he goes to the Bigliest Most Peaceful Cup next year, he’ll study how to get about the host cities – wouldn’t want him to end up lost in New York” – James Humphries.

“Reports indicate that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been banned due to suspected participation in a wagering issue. It would be wonderful if that number could be raised to the same level of characteristic precision associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my calculation, that’s about 33 more pedants. If I offer to be suspended 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 symmetry?” – Mike Wilner.

“As a daily reader and Florida resident, can I in advance protest about the next several days of published letters about which route 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 entire tale. There’s no rewarding moral to the tale. (I-4 links Tampa on the Gulf Coast to Daytona on the Atlantic via Orlando/Walt Disney World, and can have delays 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 known as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who recruited him. Reportedly he was an actor; he had a good left side. (Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis)” – Jason Steger.

“Together with some associates and companions, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our most senior member is pushing 80, while the least experienced are in their young adulthood. To ensure a positive atmosphere for everyone, we have a basic guideline regarding the ability standard: you can be speedy or technical, but ideally not both. We occasionally have players who break this guideline, but usually typically reduce them to our quality over time” – Lars Esbjerg.