Why would people want to dive around in soccer? Anyone who does is ruining there reputation as a footballer.?
440756
There is too much money in the game and it is my belief that managers encourage their players to dive maybe not as spectacularly as some do, but as there is alot of pulling of shirts and other tricks players use to gain a defensive advantage so I guess some plyers may feel justified by simulating as they feel they have been cheated first. A free kick takes pressure off or can allow the use of a set piece and as I said at the top with the money involved free kicks and any part of the game that can be used to gain an advantage will be used.
1013533
First question: they do that because if their opponent gets one more fall then he gets a red card then the other team is short on a player.\n\nSecond question: because if there was a score then someone would have made a goal. So there is NO score!!
1000028
They don't dive its looks like but they have a totall controll on the ball and no one can take it from them so the only way to take it from them is with a foul like the mexicans did today. The ones that think that they dive is because they are jealous about the quality of Argentinian football....
338775
oh please, you've never seen an English player dive.  You sound just like a lot of the EPL managers.  "Personally, I didn't see the incident".
968290
Because unlike soccer, when a player falls down it probably means someone else hit him, rather than just falling down in an attempt to draw a foul or card an opponent. Oh yeah, less head butts into opponent's chests (Zidane).
1149675
i think that this trend obviously mainly centers around europe & s.america, because in these countries, kids grow up playing soccer. it's just a really popular sport (in my dad's country in europe, kids play it every chance they get- even in the dead of winter on 2 feet of snow-i've actually seen this), and so a lot of patriotism & pride comes to play during the world cup. saying "my country kicks @$$ at the most popular sport in the world!!" is really just another reason for people to go "MY COUNTRY ROCKS!!!" basically, loads of people (sometimes myself included, i'm ashamed to say) perceive their country's soccer-playing skills as part of how "good" their country is. & so if another country whips them at soccer, they get mad cause it's almost like a diss to their country. the more aggressive (or just drunk =P) types get "mad" or start a fight, & it's obviously NOT healthy to get this excited about a sport both physically & mentally (remember manuel the crazy  fan who divorced & lost his job 2 see every one of Spain's soccer games? also see http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/19062006/6/n-odds-doctors-probe-heart-attack-risk-soccer-fans.html), but, well, people do it anyway. maybe it's just in the blood of certain countries to place such importance on a sport? lol i hope this made at least some sense...
367160
I think in order to be considered "best," you should be able use both feet if not equally well..pretty close. Yes those guys a good but I can think of people that names arent as high on the radar that I consider much better. No one can touch Maradona..or Pele to me..that is soccer. The tricks of today are nice but that was pure soccer
1002211
Many good players get spoiled after they get famous. Look at Ronaldo or Oliver Kahn the goalkeeper from Germany. They start getting paid too much and stop caring about soccer so they don't train as much and hence are not as good or they gain weight.
224266
I think most of them play for the love of the sport.\n\nYou can't be a good sportsperson if you do not have the passion.\n\nThe money side is a bonus to them.\n\nI know a couple of sportspeople, who make a lot of money\n\nBUT they are excellent at what they do and they also have a passion for it.\n\nOnce they lose the passion, they no longer play well, because they need to play from the heart.\n\nI hope this helps.
1164853
I see many INCOMPETENT comments (like the one from Michael B) and I am just wondering why people talks about soccer when they have no idea what the game is about!\nUnless you are INCOMPETENT like many of the answerers, if you know about soccer you should know when a player commit obstruction in the penalty box, the other team is awarded with penalty kick! It is so simple. But it is simple for those who understand the game. The others are just INCOMPETENT and express their arrogance and frustration with comments without any logic. \n\nbtw: why don't you guys go to the official FIFA site and watch again the highlights of the game? You will notice that Materazzi's red card was a non-sense: on his tackle he touched Zambrotta's leg and did not touch at all Bresciano. The yellow card (dangerous play) would have been already too harsh. Then watch again the foul on Grosso: clearly penalty kick (again, only if you have some knowledge about the game).
1056679
Pride my friend. To much pride.  A lot of people after playing a sport for so long begin to think that other sports that are in contrast to theres are inferior. No harm in ignoring them and rockin out in what ever sport you play.  \n\n         I know where your coming from I played soccer for 12 years :)
1011912
love the spelling!!\n\nRooney hands down.... Robben would get more praise in the olympic diving team than a football team!
479535
let me tell you something! stop being a baby and show everyone that you are the best!!!! i am Italian and had the same problem but coz i was a goalkeeper and during a game we lost coz of mine mistake. everyone was making a fool of me but i knew that i was better than that so for the next 5 games i saved 2 penalty and made a lot save that the all team was surprised. i was ready to sign a contract with the parma an Italian team and the pay was great but i hurted my knee and couldn't go. i love soccer more then anything but i cant play professional anymore and you that can do it dint let other people stop you. and if you have more problem give me a call i ll come there and kick some ass
1079011
it is never a good idea to slide tackle opponent in your goal area , it may fetch your opponent a chance to get even with you , so we shoud keep our cool n avoid this .
1004402
I agree and disagree. Soccer is a contact sport. If you have ever played, you would know what I mean. Regardless, the European players are very good at flopping. I think you could relate it to how Dennis Rodman used to play defense. They make the fouls look a lot worse than they actually are. It brings attention to them. It takes away from the purity of the game, but most refs, like the one in the US and Italy game, overreact. I hate it when someone gets red carded for what the ref thinks is  bad challenge, then all of a sudden the player gets supposed injured player gets up like nothing happened. If you think soccer is a non contact sport, did you see when McBride got elbowed in the face? You my friend do not know what you are talking about.
1022916
You know, this , besides the refereeing is becoming what the tournament is all about and will be remembered for. It should not be seen as an acceptable part of the game. I do not see it as creating opportunities. I see it as cheating also. If you can not win with skill and talent then perhaps they need to rethink their careers. It is spoiling games as it happens with increasing frequency.\n\nAs for FIFA crunching down that just a line they feed fans and media to keep them happy. They are too politically inclined to do anything serious about this problem. Big name teams make them big big dollars. Do you really think they are concerned.\n\nAnd the referee's, well if they have not got the experience and common sense to see it and not fall for it, as we are seeing, the game will suffer. It would be good if they could implement a sin bin for these offences. Officials can monitor and control that without any fuss. If they had to sit off for 5 or 10 minutes, I bet you would see a huge reduction in these incidences and penalties can once again be awarded for real rule breaches. Tradition is great and important but some modern changes need to be implemented. This (the sin bin) would not involve to much of a change to upset those that don't want technology brought into the game. The only down side is the referee still has to have the sense to call a real dive from a fall or challenge.
146482
Maybe it cannot be stopped, but it can be more severly penalized and more closely observed. Maybe if their was a fifth official who could make use of Tv replays to determine whether there was really a fowl etc, this would reduce the diving, but some players would still go down... haha but at least they would be caught.