PREMIERSHIP TOP 10 DIVERS
Diving is a phenomenon that is often used as a stick to beat the Premier League’s foreign players with. This week, however, it is Welsh wing wizard, Gareth Bale, taking the flack for being booked in consecutive games for alleged cases of theatrics. And diving is a problem for the English game that seems to be worsening; 19 players have been booked for ‘simulation’ this season, which places the Premier League second in Europe, behind only Italy’s top division. We’ve taken a giant tumble through the archives to pick our Top 10 Premier League divers of the competition’s history.
No.10 Ashley Young
You know things are bad when even Fergie is not defending the actions of a Manchester United player. Such was the case after Young’s display of diving against his former side Aston Villa last season. This particular shocker was ‘committed’ against Young’s former Aston Villa teammate, James Milner.
No.9 Wayne Rooney
Diving amongst English footballers is often overlooked, but the very best players have the spotlight on them, regardless of nationality. But Rooney has become somewhat of a repeat offender down the years. When asked if he’d ever taken a dive, he replied “on holiday, yeah”. A smart answer maybe, but not entirely accurate. Here’s a great dive from Wazza in his natural hair heyday.
No.8 Luis Suarez
Luis Alberto Suarez Diaz’s ability on the ball cannot be questioned. It’s his ability to take a tumble when there are seemingly no other players near his feet that so often riles fans up and down the country. Here’s a shameful dive against Stoke.
No.7 Robert Pires
Bobby Pires won two league titles and three FA cups during his time at Arsenal and was a key member of The Invincibles team of 2003-04. Unfortunately he often took his artistic talents too far and expanded into ‘modern theatrics’.
No.6 Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba had it all as Chelsea’s big game striker: strength, pace, and a potent strike. But he also had the curious ‘sack-of-spuds syndrome’ that only seems to affect the minority. Here are some incredible theatrics from the Ivorian target man
No.5 Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is without a doubt one of the greatest players of his generation, with only Lionel Messi arguably eclipsing his talent. At Manchester United, however, the Portuguese was equally notorious for his ‘step-over’, as he was for his ‘fall-over’.
No.4 Fernando Torres
Diving might be low on Torres’ list of woes right now, but having been booked twice already for simulation this season, it seems play acting is also a problem for El Niño
No.3 Steven Gerrard
Stevie G has won many accolades down the years for his ability to spray a pass, make a last-ditch tackle or make a lung-busting run into the box to score a vital winner. But his ability to take a tumble hasn’t gone unnoticed either. Gerrard is the only nominee in our list who gets the honour of a compilation video
No.2 Morten Gamst Pedersen
The Blackburn and Norway winger has made a name for himself for his wing trickery and majestic set pieces. There’s no denying, however, he’s prone to the occasional spot of simulation. This particular example (from a 4-0 defeat at Arsenal) was such a terrible dive, Sam Allardyce, Pedersen’s manager at Blackburn at the time offered no defence for the winger after the game
No.1 David Ginola
Ginola has come out in the press this week to defend Gareth Bale – and it’s easy to see why. Ginola was also hero-worshipped by the White Hart Lane faithful and it’s fair to say the Frenchman liked to take the occasional tumble himself.
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