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IS THERE REALLY A POSSIBILITY?

Should you have overlooked the footage of Iliman Ndiaye pulling off a unusual dribbling move 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 friendly display, the skill instantly ended what was meant to be a informal game to conclude what had been – up to that point – an revealing conversation about how amateur players can get another opportunity after being dropped from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who played Sunday League football directly before being picked up by Sheffield United at 19, is expertly placed to speak on this topic. “Don’t focus on the rejection and one day your luck is going to come through,” he informed a young player immediately prior to deploying said spectacular skill on his teammate, in doing so vividly showing the difference between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been working to minimize.

Ndiaye isn’t the first professional footballer to go slightly overboard. A younger Michael Owen happily embarrassing a teenage keeper in front of a smouldering Neville Southall is undoubtedly the prime example in this specific category – but the ex-Anfield star 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 thought that the latter was at least driven by the Japanese player’s social media disgrace caption – “difficulty breeds resilience” – 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 lose their match against 100 children when the trio lined up during the interval of their farewell game for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that contained Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were more competitive when they faced 109 Chinese kids in a similar experiment. But returning to the beginning, it’s calculated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing structured junior soccer in England will ever feature in the Premier League, a sobering statistic for aspiring footballers across the country.

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DAILY HIGHLIGHT

“Soccer carried me but it never left me because I never abandoned my dream. 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 understanding” – national team manager Veljko Paunovic takes time out from his training to discuss his journey.

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

“Nice to hear that Kevin Mac Allister won’t be excluded by Argentina. Ideally, if he travels to the international competition next year, he’ll research how to navigate the host cities – let’s avoid him being disoriented in New York” – James Humphries.

“Information shows that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been prohibited due to alleged involvement in a betting scandal. It would be amazing if that number could be raised to the same level of usual detail-orientation associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my math, that’s about 33 more detail-oriented individuals. If I offer to be suspended from playing professionally in Turkey (hardly a difficult decision at my age and, um, ability), are there 32 more folks willing to participate in my quest for harmony?” – Mike Wilner.

“As a regular follower and Florida resident, can I proactively complain about the upcoming week-plus of published letters about which road one uses to get to various locations in your island nation? 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 entire tale. There’s no satisfying lesson to the tale. (I-4 connects Tampa on the Gulf Coast to Daytona on the Atlantic via Orlando/Walt Disney World, and can have congestion problems at any time)” – Rasteen Nowroozi.

“Apropos Wythenshawe FC, I recall many years ago playing for a Sunday, very casual team, Turnpike Lane Hibs, on Clapham Common. One morning a bloke presented as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who invited him. Supposedly he was an actor; he had a useful 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 senior member is nearing eight decades, while the least experienced are in their late-20s. To ensure a good time for everyone, we have a simple rule of thumb regarding the skill level: you can be speedy or technical, but ideally not both. We periodically have players who violate this rule, but usually succeed in bringing them to our standard over time” – Lars Esbjerg.