Dissecting the dive: two takes on soccer fakery
Rare is the World Cup match that's without a player collapsing to the pitch, clutching his leg in agony as though he's been shot in the shin. The ubiquitous soccer dive - a performance by a player typically looking to get his opponents sanctioned - is as infuriating as it can be entertaining. Earlier this week the fury was ignited...
Rare is the World Cup match that's without a player collapsing to the pitch, clutching his leg in agony as though he's been shot in the shin. The ubiquitous soccer dive - a performance by a player typically looking to get his opponents sanctioned - is as infuriating as it can be entertaining. Earlier this week the fury was ignited once again when The Netherlands' Arjen Robben flopped on the field in a match against Mexico. But is diving always reviled? Are there places where it's revered? We ask Simon Kuper, co-author of Soccernomics. And Dr. Daryl Rosenbaum, sports doctor at Wake Forest and former soccer team physician breaks down his surprising study on the dive's gender divide.