5 worst divers in football right now

There are some players in the world, a very few in fact, that stay up despite being challenged harshly. Lionel Messi is a prime example of that. And then there are players who fall over due to a little gust of air.

To some, diving is an art. Obviously, when you are not caught, cheating is always considered an art. It is not that I am labelling it as cheating—the fine lines about diving and how much diving is cheating is explained eloquently in this article—but there are times when the blatancy of the act makes it hard to defend it.

Anything that exceeds limitations isn’t good. In this space, we shall look at the five players that aren’t really pioneers of this dark art.

So without further ado, here are the worst divers in the world of football right now.

---

#5 Casemiro

Usually, forwards are the ones that are more prone to using the dark arts of football than players who are supposed to guard the defence. In modern-day football, however, even the ones that inflict opponents with tackles are trying to pick up the art.

One such example is Casemiro. The Brazilian might be a decent holding midfielder, but when it comes to diving, he is as good as using a toothpick to dig a grave in the ground. Just look at that video above. Just look at it.

As a footballer, he is class. Stopping attacks of the opponents with his raw power and determination. He has, however, a lot to learn when it comes to mastering the art of simulation.

#4 Samuel Umtiti

Barcelona had struggled to fill up the void left by Carles Puyol... until Samuel Umtiti came in. The Frenchman has been a fine find for the Catalans and could go down as one of their best defenders in history.

He is, however, still a rookie when it comes to theatrics.

There is potential, however, as it can be viewed in the video. But like Brad Pitt in most movies, the Frenchman has a tendency to overdo it. Look at the third incident in the above video to get a clear view of what I am trying to convey.

Pray for Umtiti indeed.

#3 Leonardo Bonucci

The third player in this list that is not a forward. Leonardo Bonucci is frequently rated as one of the best defenders in the world. For Serie A enthusiasts, he is the best defender in the world and there is little to suggest otherwise.

He wasn’t always so good, mind you. In fact, it was under the tutelage of Antonio Conte that he became a stalwart in defence. He has developed a lot as a football, but when it comes to simulation, he is as terrible as 90% of the people singing in the bathroom.

When it comes to stopping goals, he is ace. It is the complete opposite when he tries to score a goal as he makes a meal of a one-on-one scoring chance against Palermo (in the above video).

He, however, topped that with one of the most comical dives of all time.

#2 Gareth Bale

When Gareth Bale was at Spurs, he made a name for himself as a world-class wing-forward that can score tons of goals with pace and precision. He, however, also had a notorious aspect towards his game: diving.

He was never really all that great at diving. Indeed, Gareth Bale holds the record of the most number of yellow cards for diving in the Premier League since the 2011-12 season with six yellow cards to his name. And he left the league in 2013, which means that he got six yellow cards in two seasons.

This is a testament that he was never really good at it. After all, how can you call him a good diver when he was booked so many times?

#1 Dele Alli

The reason for the sudden uproar on diving is because of this man’s antics against Liverpool. Dele Alli got a yellow card for simulation against the Reds. It is not only against Liverpool that he failed at convincing the referee.

The thing is, much akin to Bale, he is not good at it—and yet he does it. There is no explanation as to why he keeps doing it when each every time because each time he does it, he makes a worse dive that could easily be caught by the referee.

Given that Dele Alli is a class talent, he should perhaps refrain from diving at all if this is the best he could do.