10 most embarrassing dives of 2014

Football is not about just goals. It’s also about what it takes to get those goals.Sometimes footballers are willing to do whatever it takes to score those goals and win matches for their team, be it faking dives to earn penalties or feigning injury after innocuous tackles or confrontations. From Cristiano Ronaldo to Luis Suarez, all the big players dove to get decisions in their favour this year.Let’s look at some of the best (or worst) dives, instances of simulation this year:

#10 Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) vs Arsenal

People call him a cheat, a diver and what not. But in practicality, Robben is actually very good at what he does. With his trickery, Robben coaxes defenders to tackle him, some catch him and some don’t, but Robben goes down anyway. The Flying Dutchman added to his glittering repertoire of dives with a quite splendid effort against Arsenal in the Champions League. It was executed with so much elan that even Arsene Wenger couldn’t help but chuckle at the mastery of the Dutchman.

Watch his dive here:

#9 Luis Suarez (Liverpool) vs Aston Villa

Suarez scored some brilliant individual goals to win games for Liverpool, but he could also take tumbles to produce the same effect. The Uruguayan did just that against Aston Villa in a league game earlier this year. Just when Liverpool seemed to be heading towards a shock home loss, Villa keeper Brad Guzan made the costly mistake of rushing towards Suarez in a one-on-one situation in front of the intimidating Kop. Even a last-second withdrawn hand and a theatrical dive couldn’t save Villa from conceding a penalty.

Watch the incident here:

#8 Pepe (Real Madrid) vs Atletico Madrid

The King of Controversy with severe anger management issues showed the other side of his game when he barged into the back of Diego Godin and to everyones surprise, collapsed on the pitch himself! Call it disgusting, disgraceful or embarrassing; it certainly made for a very hearty laugh, more so because it came from Pepe.

Watch his over-reaction here:

#7 Fred (Brazil) vs Croatia

Brazil’s home World Cup campaign started on a winning note against Croatia but not without a contentious moment involving striker Fred and Croatian defender Dejan Lovren. When both players seemed to be jostling inside the penalty area, Fred suddenly went down appealing for a penalty. The referee unfairly awarded the home side a penalty which eventually proved to be the winning goal. In reality, Fred had gone down ever so delicately and Lovren hardly had a hand to play in the incident.

Watch Fred’s dive here:

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#6 Adryan (Leeds) vs Derby

The title of this post says ‘embarassing’. Adryan, a Brazilian playing for Leeds United, was caught on the heels by a Derby player during a league game and nothing can be close to the word ‘embarrassing’ than the reaction that followed.

Adryan went down hilariously, then rolled over twice, jumping off the ground like a dolphin on the high seas. This act left everyone watching in splits and continues to draw applauds from football fans all over the world. A sure-shot winner for the prestigious Fallon’d Floor award.

Watch the hilarious over-reaction here:

#5 Nicolas Otamendi (Valencia) vs Barcelona

If one were to crown an incident as the epitome of football simulation, the tussle between Neymar and Nicolas Otamendi would be the winner, hands-down. After Neymar pulled in one of his old diving tricks, the Argentinean defender went down to the striker to give him a piece of his mind.

Neymar looked to have brushed Otamendi’s face with a delicate push of the head but what ensued was nothing short of hilarious. Otamendi was quick to hold his face in his hands and plunge towards the ground, signaling a Zidane-esque headbutt. Both players went away from the episode without a booking, but gave football viewers a moment to savour.

Watch their altercation here:

#4 Gary Cahill (Chelsea) vs Hull City

The England international escaped a suspension in a Premier League match against Hull City when referee Chris Foy failed to notice a blatant dive by Gary Cahill. Cahill was already on a yellow card and if the referee had spotted his simulation act, the centre-back would have received his marching orders.

Interestingly, two other Chelsea players were booked for simulation in the same game, which Chelsea went on to win by two goals to one. Hull manager, Steve Bruce, made his feelings clear in the post-match conference. "When a player like Hazard is flying at you maybe a slight touch can knock him over. But this was the England centre half. Everybody in the ground saw it.”

See the incident here:

#3 Luis Suarez (Uruguay) vs Italy

Luis Suarez always carries with himself three things wherever he goes; his magical boots, his shadow and controversy.

The Uruguayan found himself at the center of a huge controversy as he bit off Giorgio Chiellini’s shoulder in a group stage encounter at the World Cup. What made matters worse was the way in which Suarez reacted to his own doing, by diving to the ground and indicating that it was the Italian defender who had knocked him in the jaw. The cameras were not to be fooled as Suarez was suspended by FIFA for this dreadful act.

Watch the incident here:

#2 Arjen Robben (Netherlands) vs Mexico

Often hailed as modern football’s ‘King of Diving’, Arjen Robben, for all his talent and football ability, still hasn’t stopped diving around to win penalties for both club and country.

He showed his uncanny ability to con referees in his country’s last-16 match against Mexico in this year’s FIFA World Cup, as his last-minute dive following a Rafael Marquez challenge tricked the referee into awarding a penalty, which eventually proved to be the winner for the Dutch and a terrible nightmare for an indefatigable Mexico side.

Watch the incident here:

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) vs Celta Vigo

He has his own army of fans and many others consider him to be the best footballer of his generation, but there is no denying the fact that Ronaldo does possess a detestable habit which he’s failed to leave behind as he’s grown in stature over the years.

The World Footballer of the Year was at it again when he deliberately went down after the slightest of touches from a defender during a La Liga match against Celta Vigo. The official refereeing the game misjudged the event and awarded a penalty to Real Madrid. Viewers, football fans and the media were, however, quick to stigmatize the Portuguese for his repeated failures to control this aspect of his game.

Here is the incident: