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Football News > Premier League's Favourite Divers

After both Luis Suarez and Sebastian Larsson came in for criticism over diving, we thought we'd take a look back at some of the Premier League's favourite divers. From Jurgen Klinsmann to Didier Drogba, and Arjen Robben to Cristiano Ronaldo, the dive is a part of our game and here are some of the players to have mastered it!

Luis Suarez - Suarez has made quite an impact since arriving in the Premier League, but after some fantastic displays the Uruguayan seems to be making more headlines for his on-field antics recently. Could Suarez have now become his own worst enemy, as referees see a dive over a legitimate foul, but either way it's not his passion that's called into question. 


Sebastian Larsson - Larsson's dive against Wolves was a blatant one, and many might feel justice was served as the penalty was saved. But it was a clear reminder of how the game has changed with a younger generation versus the old, Craddock stuck his leg out and despite pulling it back, he'd presented Larsson with the opportunity to go down. 



Jurgen Klinsmann - Perhaps the finest diver the game has known! Klinsmann's dives have become iconic, and despite the frustration at the time are now looked back upon with humour. Klinsmann was way ahead of his time when it came to simulation, and was diving in the early days of the Premier League back in 1994. 



Robert Pires - Frenchman Pires is often attributed with bringing the diving culture into the mainstream game in England. Pires joined Arsenal in 2000, and whilst he perfected leaving his trailing leg before going down, he was probably most famed for his play-acting against Portsmouth in 2003.



Arjen Robben - Robben spent 3 years with Chelsea between 2004 and 2007 and despite his clear ability, he often opted to go to ground when dribbling in an attempt to con the referee. Robben's most famous moment of play-acting in the Premier League, came during a heated contest between Chelsea and Liverpool, the Dutchman dropped to the ground after a slight touch from Liverpool keeper Reina!



Cristiano Ronaldo - When you're one of the best players in the game, you're going to come under extra attention from opposition players. In the earlier days of his career, the word dive was permanently attached to Cristiano Ronaldo, and there are too many incidents to just pick one. But recently Ronaldo has been staying on his feet just slightly more, so his fans get to see more of his sublime footballing ability.



Didier Drogba - Chelsea forward Didier Drogba is another player who is famed for his diving. What makes Drogba's dives more entertaining, is as a strong footballer he can be difficult to get the ball off when he feels like it, yet he's managed to perfect the arched back and facial expressions for an impressive dive.



El Hadji Diouf - Not one of football's more popular characters, El-Hadji Diouf's reputation on and off the field has made him a target for opposition football fans. Diouf appears to thrive on being the bad boy, which he demonstrates by attempting to win games at all costs.



Morten Gamst Pedersen - Blackburn's Norwegian winger Morten Gamst Pedersen is probably known equally for his crossing ability ashis play-acting.  Ever since the Premier League fixture with Arsenal, when he sprinted past Bacary Sagna took a look back, then belatedly hit the deck in dramatic style in an attempt to win a penalty.



Nani - Often compared with his former Manchester United team mate and fellow Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo but not always for the right reasons. Regularly accused of play acting, Nani most famous incident came when he head-butted West Ham captain Lucas Neill, before falling to the ground himself and trying to fool the ref into thinking he was the victim!


Is diving something that's a part of our game and we should salute those able to con a referee into winning a foul, or should it be condemned as bad sportsmanship and those caught attempting it punished? Share your thoughts online, on Twitter and on Facebook.

Only published comments... Dec 06 2011, 10:28 PM by Editor
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Comments

 

TREEZY said:

Ronaldo had to be in there...i consider diving a skill...corrupt yes but still a good dive takes some doing

December 6, 2011 2:24 PM
 

TREEZY said:

also just because Drogba is strong, it doesn't mean it's not a foul so i think that almost gives him the right to dive when he could stay on his feet

December 6, 2011 2:30 PM
 

Silvaware said:

hate divers

December 6, 2011 2:37 PM
 

WMizzi7 said:

torres should also be there

December 6, 2011 2:43 PM
 

meester said:

make a spanish league favourite divers and it would all come from fifalona

ahah

December 6, 2011 2:58 PM
 

Edison said:

What happened to Rooney? Dived too much till he drop his hair!

December 6, 2011 3:19 PM
 

CDRN23 said:

too bad dani alves doesn`t play in epl

December 6, 2011 3:28 PM
 

coolwat3r said:

Divin' should stop, and be punished hard, however, the ref has to be sure of that it is a dive.

December 6, 2011 3:30 PM
 

Lou_Puyol said:

ronaldo wins it. he is the most p*ssiest one of them all :P

December 6, 2011 3:44 PM
 

Lou_Puyol said:

ronaldo wins it. he is the most p*ssiest one of them all :P

December 6, 2011 3:44 PM
 

nxtneymar said:

suarez takes the cake

December 6, 2011 3:46 PM
 

swegman86 said:

F***** pansies, man up if you lose the ball bc youre being stupid with it or not man enough to take a hit get off the pitch.

December 6, 2011 3:48 PM
 

traesongs said:

its a pity barcelona isn't in the epl. this page would have been full of the red and blue stripped kit

December 6, 2011 3:48 PM
 

howieg2 said:

Diving is stupid. it cheapens the game. Fifa should review games after they are played and award huge fines to obvious dives and even questionable ones too. Throwing out huge fines in the NFL has stopped all the helmet to helmet hits. maybe throwing out fines for diving could prevent all the terrible hand to face, watch me roll around and cry, then get up and sprint to the ball *** in the game.

December 6, 2011 3:50 PM
 

Lou_Puyol said:

@swegman86- dude thats what im saying. why are you gonna ask for the ball if youre gonna be a diver. get your *** in the bench

@traesongs- little scrub know your soccer! barca plays the best soccer in the world. what smurfy *** team do you like? -.-

December 6, 2011 3:58 PM
 

johnnyx1352 said:

Divers make people think football isnt a mans sport!

December 6, 2011 5:01 PM
 

messi712 said:

i HATE divers

December 6, 2011 5:22 PM
 

SindreV said:

Feels great to have a fellow norwegian on this list.

December 6, 2011 5:33 PM
 

madridista7 said:

LUIs SUAREZ IS THE WORST DIVER. *** SUAREZ

December 6, 2011 5:43 PM
 

Butler952 said:

Ruins great players reputations, Ronaldo would be like by so many more people if he didn't dive

December 6, 2011 5:48 PM
 

MUMUCHI12 said:

suarez is so ugly man i just dont like him as, a player i dont like him

December 6, 2011 6:01 PM
 

Schnitzelmann said:

Got to be Klinsmann, he even created a "diving celebration"

Most iconic Bundesliga diver: Andreas Moeller:

www.youtube.com/watch

Secret Italy Training Session:

www.youtube.com/watch

December 6, 2011 6:53 PM
 

MattMooney said:

suarez is the winner. yesterday he was backing a fulham fullback down and just flopped

December 6, 2011 7:35 PM
 

Gunners FC said:

Haha yes all these players are very good divers. I can't remember how much Liverpool paid for L.S. but his attitude hasn't changed at all. When he was in the Eredivisie with Ajax, he was the main man for Ajax and the one to stop, but his acting skills and continuous problems with others has never changed. Good player when he actually plays though.

December 6, 2011 8:40 PM
 

traesongs said:

@Lou_Puyol...i never said they don't play the best football, because they do. but how much better could it be if alvez, pedro and busquets didnt throw themselves all over the place??

December 6, 2011 8:40 PM
 

JR7 said:

Ronaldo is the best in everything he does

December 6, 2011 9:09 PM
 

weenerman said:

 Look up best dives on youtube.  Its hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!  also  nani is the worst diver

December 6, 2011 9:30 PM
 

Pete1888 said:

too bad Rangers isn't in this.  the whole team would be here

December 6, 2011 9:52 PM
 

YBJ_92112 said:

The whole barca team would take up the la liga divers list  + ronaldo lol... but barca are disgraceful when it comes to 'falling' over

December 6, 2011 10:31 PM
 

gooner4life said:

 They should have done these in videos! I can't remember some of these:) This sure is a funny idea.

December 6, 2011 10:35 PM
 

daniel2754 said:

i hate all these divers

December 6, 2011 10:58 PM
 

dalong1 said:

i hate divers, must be stopped, fines and bans must be implemented. i watch every single premier league match every weekend, i have tried watching other european league matches but i get too angry with all the diving that i cant even sit  through a whole game, spanish matches in particular. refs dont even seem to discourage it with bookings.

December 6, 2011 11:06 PM
 

pcm19 said:

DROGBA IS KING

December 6, 2011 11:10 PM
 

ongushi said:

Academy Award for Best Actor

I love it :)

December 7, 2011 12:27 AM
 

BT13 said:

In some cases you have to dive, like if your a strong player and it's a foul. If you are in the box and have no angle sometimes you have to take a dive

December 7, 2011 2:06 AM
 

ZlatanRonaldinho said:

if Barcelona was in the EPL a majority of this list would be their players

December 7, 2011 2:09 AM
 

cat824 said:

i reckon if suarez gets mentioned, it is only fair if busquets did too XD

December 7, 2011 2:40 AM
 

Red Devils 4 Life said:

^ Agreed couldn't agree more and take it easy on Nani his leg got fked pretty bad by fkin Carragher

December 7, 2011 3:17 AM
 

Becksstillthebest23 said:

@Lou_Puyol: Remember Mascherano's dive? Or Alves' dive against madrid?

You're just a barca fan and you don't want people insulting your favourite team that's all. So to think that barca maybe have the best divers.ou don't want people insulting your favourite team taht's all. So to think that barca maybe have the best divers.

December 7, 2011 5:40 AM
 

Becksstillthebest23 said:

@Lou_Puyol: I'm also a bit suprise that there aren't any barca players here in the list, eventhough barca plays in the Primera..

If barca plays in the EPL. Maybe 2-5 players would be here in the list.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Remember Busquets' dive? It was hilarious.

December 7, 2011 5:48 AM
 

Tear707 said:

Now barca can add to their shortlist :p,

December 7, 2011 9:01 AM
 

Tangerine4Life said:

Hahahahaha! Quality article! Love Ronaldo's boots on the pic of him by the way - they were class

December 7, 2011 11:37 AM
 

EliteFootballSeries said:

no one beats barca

December 7, 2011 11:58 AM
 

A_Di_Natale said:

Nani top Divers

December 7, 2011 12:58 PM
 

Lou_Puyol said:

@Becksstillthebest23, traesongs

the only reason why they barca players fall is cause of how many touches they do. they touch and play the ball like no other team does. and when the opposite team notices that the possesion is like 90%-10% they get pissed and go with everything they got to the ball. who wouldnt do that?

December 7, 2011 3:39 PM
 

I-con7 said:

If you soccerbible want to know a divers ....go to barcelona full of divers, actors and cheaters i hate Barcelona they are s***

i love the football they played but they are s***

December 7, 2011 5:02 PM
 

Juveboy17 said:

You should have a list that has more current players in the EPL *** why is Pique here? And FIFA does not have enough time to replay every game to check for divers. Shame theres no one from the Basel- United game it was full of dives

December 7, 2011 10:13 PM
 

diegobarca10 said:

      u guys all hate divers..........but i bet that all of u guys

      have dived at least once when playing football

December 8, 2011 12:29 AM
 

gooner4life said:

 How do you dive?

December 8, 2011 2:00 AM
 

ceezy said:

it should be all about the way barca's players dive

December 8, 2011 3:53 AM
 

tottenham hswhat said:

peter crouch is possibly the worst, but that may be because he i such a weak ***

December 8, 2011 4:34 AM
 

LFC-forlife said:

I would be willing to bet that half the people who hate divers, have hacked a diver down in the box themselves.......i hate them.... and im guilty of hacking a few down

December 8, 2011 8:58 PM
 

LFC-forlife said:

I would be willing to bet that half the people who hate divers, have hacked a diver down in the box themselves.......i hate them.... and im guilty of hacking a few down

December 8, 2011 8:58 PM
 

mex8645 said:

@Lou_Puyol

Barcelona is supposed to be the best team in the world so why would they dive? because they're puss*s, they play really good but i hate they're acting against a lot of other teams in UCL

December 8, 2011 10:25 PM
 

mex8645 said:

I play wing and I think it's divers are just a bunch of girls that don't want to be touch, when someone tackles me i always try to stay on my feet... i have never thought of diving idk why but its the way i am

December 8, 2011 10:28 PM
 

Lou_Puyol said:

@mex8645 dude i respect that you say that you play that way. i try to stay on my feet as long as possible too. but is because of the way and style that barca plays that other teams go in for the ball sooooo hard at them. what scrubby a** team do you like? -.- dont tell me, madrid cause theyre a bit worst than barca!

December 9, 2011 6:55 PM
 

ChangTrafford41226 said:

this thing is crap and hell

December 10, 2011 12:37 AM
 

mex8645 said:

@Lou_Puyol, i don't go for any spaniards teams, i like the EPL is more interesting and I go for Manchester City, the spanish is league is boring, there is only two teams there and it's more interesting what happens at the bottom of the table than on the top.

December 11, 2011 8:42 PM
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