Ten honest footballers who don’t dive for penalties

Lionel Messi-Barcelona

Simulation has become a regular feature of modern football, and there are an array of players – likes of Neymar, Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo – who have made a career out of it. Yet, few players don’t prefer to dive without a cause, mainly for penalty appeals. Here we take a look at ten of them.

Lionel Messi

Despite being one of the finest players of the game, Lionel Messi has earned the reputation for not making unnecessary dives to con the referees. The Argentine perhaps is the most fouled player around, yet he prefers to dribble and move along in the tighter situations until the opponents bring him down.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan’s a towering presence is intimidating, and to be fair, he can’t be easily brought down to the ground. The AC Milan star has been to all the top leagues barring Bundesliga, in his playing career. There aren’t many complaints about him regarding simulation.

Andres Iniesta

Opponents would often target the legendary Barcelona midfielder due to his tendency to dribble and carry the ball yet, as his gentleman demeanour suggests, he won’t dive for unnecessary reasons such as penalties.

Miroslav Klose

The former German striker and the World Cup’s top scorer has maintained his courteous behaviour in his playing career and rarely faked to receive favourable verdicts from referee.

Edin Dzeko

The Bosnian has played in both Italy and England, yet he never earned a remark for being a cynical diver. Dzeko, who currently plays for Roma, is a tall striker and seldom gets down easily to the ground.

Raul

The legendary Real Madrid striker and one who held the record for being the Champions League’s top scorer for a while has been excellent with his conduct on the pitch.

Dirk Kuyt

The former Liverpool player is the one who doesn’t keep whining to the referees for cynical fouls. Instead, he chose to dust himself off after being brought down to the ground.

John Terry

Terry can be a pugnacious player on his day, but he hasn’t supported the art of diving in his career. During his time at Chelsea, he has been spotted yelling at Didier Drogba for making cynical dives.

Dimitar Berbatov

There was no room for things like cynical dives in Berbatov’s repertoire during his time at Manchester United. Although he is more tackle-prone, the Bulgarian doesn’t confront the referees over penalty calls.

Carlos Tevez

Following up Berbatov is another former Manchester United player Carlos Tevez. The Argentine doesn’t give the impression of an earnest player, yet he won’t dive purposefully for penalties and fouls.