As anyone who’s watched football will testify, diving is probably the most divisive aspect of the game.
In fact, you can’t even spell the word ‘divisive’ without ‘dive’.
It’s become so commonplace in the sport that it feels we see players diving on a Daley basis. Geddit, Daley, like the… oh, never mind.
We will forever maintain that diving is good, and fight anyone who disagrees (before going to ground under minimal contact), but there are levels of simulation.
On one hand you have the likes of Danny Welbeck, who went down to win Arsenal an important penalty against AC Milan in the Europa League, or a player like Arjen Robben, an expert in initiating contact (not least at the 2014 World Cup).
However, neither comes close to the exploits of Jean Meneses, the Chilean football who will now forever hold the title ‘King of Diving’.
Meneses was playing for Universidad de Concepción against Colo Colo in Chile’s top flight when he spotted his opportunity.
Lesser players might wait for a leg to dive over or initiate being clipped, but why even bother with that when you can just get a passing ghost to fling you to the ground?
You’re going to watch the clip back, thinking you must have missed something.
Did the Colo Colo defender trip him while lying on the ground? You’d think so, but no.
Fernando Manríquez scored the resulting penalty to ‘earn’ Universidad de Concepción a late victory, but this was all Meneses’ work.
Give that man a raise.
(Images: YouTube)
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