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IS THERE REALLY A POSSIBILITY?

If you haven’t seen the footage of Iliman Ndiaye executing a backwards bouncing trick at Everton’s training ground, it’s worth viewing. By pulling off a move so spectacular that it would have been appropriate at a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition match, the skill quickly concluded what was meant to be a informal game to finish what had been – up to that point – an revealing conversation about how non-professionals can secure a fresh start after being dropped from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who competed in amateur leagues directly before being recruited by Sheffield United at 19, is ideally suited to address this topic. “Avoid dwelling on the rejection and one day your luck is going to materialize,” he informed a young player just before using said ninja move on his teammate, in doing so clearly demonstrating the gulf between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been trying to bridge.

Ndiaye joins a list of professional footballer to take things that little bit too far. A younger Michael Owen happily embarrassing a teenage keeper in front of a fuming Neville Southall is undoubtedly the prime example in this particular niche – but the ex-Anfield star is far from the only offender. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have made young children cry with a series of harsh skills, although it’s considered that the latter was at least driven by the Japanese player’s social media regretful message – “setbacks build character” – and the related tag of #friendship.

Kagawa’s former Dortmund teammates Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the decency to suffer a loss against 100 children when the trio played during the half-time break 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 similar experiment. But back to the start, it’s estimated 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 aspiring footballers across the country.

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE

Follow Scott Murray from 19:45 Greenwich Mean Time for live international football action of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be monitoring the action for the other games happening later.

FEATURED STATEMENT

“Soccer carried me but it never left me because I never stopped believing. I went from location to location. The devotion to the game drives you. I couldn’t always see where it was leading me. But today I have the understanding” – head coach Veljko Paunovic makes time from his planning to discuss his path.

READER CORRESPONDENCE

“Nice to hear that Kevin Mac Allister will be included by Argentina. With luck, if he travels to the major tournament next year, he’ll research how to navigate the host cities – hopefully he won’t get confused in New York” – James Humphries.

“Sources state that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been banned due to potential connection in a betting scandal. It would be amazing if that number could be bumped up to the same level of characteristic precision associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my math, that’s about 33 more perfectionists. If I agree to be excluded from playing professionally in Turkey (hardly a difficult decision at my age and, um, ability), are there 32 more folks willing to join in my search for harmony?” – Mike Wilner.

“As a frequent consumer and Florida resident, can I preemptively object about the upcoming week-plus of published letters about which route one uses to get to various locations in your homeland? I mean, I was caught in a traffic jam on I-4 at 2am on a Tuesday night driving through Orlando once, but that’s the complete account. 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 delays at any time)” – Rasteen Nowroozi.

“Concerning Wythenshawe FC, I recall many years ago playing for a Sunday, very casual team, Turnpike Lane Hibs, on Clapham Common. One morning a bloke introduced as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who recruited him. Supposedly he was an actor; he had a decent left foot. (Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis)” – Jason Steger.

“Together with some colleagues and friends, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our most experienced participant is nearing eight decades, while the most junior are in their young adulthood. To ensure a good time for everyone, we have a basic guideline regarding the ability standard: you can be speedy or technical, but ideally not both. We periodically have players who disregard this principle, but usually typically reduce them to our quality over time” – Lars Esbjerg.