Why Soccer Players Dive & How To Do It Yourself

The recently finished FIFA World Cup has resurfaced an age-old question in the beautiful game—the question of why soccer players dive. Why do the best soccer players in the world risk their global reputation by resorting to cheating when nothing stays hidden from cameras in the modern game? The answer is not so simple, and we will try to explore why soccer players dive, as well as the complex art of diving.

At the FIFA World Cup, there were multiple instances of diving but none of the players attracted as much attention as Neymar did with his repeated diving. So much so that the Brazilian team was reduced to a meme due to his theatrics in Russia.

What is the purpose of diving?

Soccer players dive to deceive referees into giving them favorable decisions. Whenever a soccer player commits a foul, the opposition is granted a free kick, or a penalty if the foul is committed in the penalty area of the guilty party. A dive can also result in a yellow or red card for an opponent.

Most dives are committed by attacking players who spend more time with the ball at their feet, in the opposition half. In all honesty, attack-minded players are also fouled more than their teammates, and thus, they have more opportunities to dive. In contrast, defenders don’t stand to gain much by diving in their own halves, and they mostly resort to diving when they are the last man defending their goal.

Are all dives bad? Is there a good one?

There is a huge grey area when it comes to diving in soccer. There are some dives which can be called blatant cheating, while there are some which are not so clear-cut.

Again and again we see players go down rather easily in the opposition’s box following a genuine foul from an opponent, in order to win a penalty. Some would describe it as a simulation, while some would explain that the striker is within the laws of the game to go down as the foul has already been made. These same observers of the game would claim that all dives are not cheating.

Nimble and fast players such as Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo are usually on the receiving end of a lot of unnecessary challenges from the opposition. Fans of such players would also argue that these players need to dive to protect themselves from the consistent fouling. Neymar was at the receiving end of one such foul in the 2-1 win over Columbia in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He suffered a broken bone in his back and it very nearly left him in a wheelchair. In his absence, Brazil lost 1-7 to Germany in the semi-finals.

Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo, one of the best players who never won the World Cup, gave the same defense for his countrymen during the World Cup. He explained that Neymar was among most-fouled players in the tournament and he needed more protection.

"There are many ways to see football and interpret it," Ronaldo told reporters. "I am against all these opinions [on Neymar acting]. He is an intelligent player in his movements and on how to defend himself from being tackled. I don't think referees have been protecting him enough."

"When people repeatedly hit me, I would feel a sense of unfairness. Criticism is nonsense. TV shows and newspapers just want to fill the space."

There is also a moral debate surrounding the issue. Some followers of the game term dive as cheating and unsportsmanlike, while some follow 'win at any cost' philosophy and they believe that diving is a part of the game. This debate might never settle but one thing is certain—that cheating does spoil the game for most of the audience.

The reaction to diving might differ from culture to culture, but it’s fair to say that there are players on every side who dive in the game. Usually, British and US media remain at the forefront when it comes to criticizing players for cheating, but players from these two nations have been responsible too for some pathetic attempts at diving in the past.

Is diving a cultural thing?

There has been a huge debate surrounding this issue in England. Many in English football fans believe that foreign players tend to dive more in Premier League. Former Liverpool star and current commentator Michael Owen has claimed that diving in Premier League has increased with players from South America, Spain, and Italy coming into the league more frequently in recent years.

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson also once claimed that foreign players dive more in Premier League.

Is there any research and study to suggest this claim? A 2012-article from Daily Mail suggests that among all major professional leagues in Europe, Italian league Serie A is most tolerant of diving and sees more cases of simulation as compared to Premier League and La Liga. There is another interesting research done by people from Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective in the very same field. This half-conclusive research, which was published on Deadspin, claims that attacking players from South America, Italy and Spain draw more fouls than remaining players in Premier League.

Can we put an end to diving in soccer?

It is a nearly improbable task to totally eradicate diving from the game of soccer. However, we are headed towards a future where players won’t be able to deceive match officials in defining moments of the game. The introduction of VAR at the World Cup was a huge step towards achieving that goal.

VAR came to the rescue of match-referees on numerous occasions in Russia. However, it is still not a perfect system, and FIFA needs to keep working on its development and incorporation into the game.

Robbie Wilson, another researcher on the subject of diving in soccer, suggested retrospective punishment for divers in 2012. The Premier League introduced a retrospective ban for stimulation last summer, and we should positive results in the coming years. The FA is hopeful that this rule is going to curb diving in the league.

If you are looking to hone the dark arts of the game, then this soccer training drill is a perfect way to start your preparations. It may not be a traditional soccer drill you can practice at home, but it will help you master the art of diving.

Additionally, we would suggest that you watch videos of masters of diving such as Luis Suarez, Neymar, Ashley Young, Arjen Robben, Raheem Sterling, Marcelo etc. on YouTube with close attention. Check out how these players first bring their body across their opponent’s and then go down at the slightest of touches.

This 6-step guide on how to dive in soccer is also a valuable tool-guide for any admirer of the art.