The Five Worst Dives In World Cup History

Unfortunately, "the beautiful game" isn't always pretty. We were reminded of this yesterday when Kaka, Brazil's premier player, was ejected late in the match thanks to a blatant flop by Ivory Coast forward Abdul Kader Keita. In (dis)honor of the ugly side of soccer, we've compiled the five worst dives in World Cup history.

Jurgen Klinsman (Germany, 1990 World Cup)

Whoever said cheaters never win is a liar. Just ask Germany's Jurgen Klinsmann, who helped his team win the 1990 World Cup with a ridiculous dive. Klinsmann flopped like crazy after a would-be tackle by Argentina's Pedro Monzon in the 65th minute of the championship game. The German's acting performance fooled the ref into giving Monzon a red card. Argentina, playing with ten men, conceded a goal in the 85th minute and went on to lose. Watch Klinsmann's theatrics below:

Diego Simeone (Argentina, 1998 World Cup)

Don't start feeling too bad for the Argentines. They've certainly had their own share of World Cup flops. A perfect example is Diego Simeone's 1998 dive in his country's Round Of Sixteen match against England, where he fell over after David Beckham tripped him. Yes, there was contact, but not enough to act like he was shot in the face. Argentina won that game in a penalty shoot-out, but was dispatched by the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. Check out Simeone's performance below:

El-Hadji Diouf (Senegal, 2002 World Cup)

In 2002, Senegal became just the second African nation to make it to the quarterfinals (Cameroon did it in 1990). They were able to accomplish this feat thanks to a little cheating. Striker El-Hadji Diouf earned a penalty after jumping in the air without being touched during Senegal's final group game against Uruguay. The African country drew with Uruguay, and that was enough to move them on to the next round. Cheaters. Watch Diouf's dive:

Rivaldo (Brazil, 2002 World Cup)

Brazil's Rivaldo earns the distinction of the worst World Cup dive in history. The Brazilian was hit in the leg with the ball as he waited for a corner kick. What follows is one of the worst displays of sportsmanship. Rivaldo falls down to the ground and clutches his face. Upon seeing the fallen player, referee Yung Joo Kim issues a red card to Hakan Unsal, the Turkish footballer who kicked the ball. Brazil went on to win the match and the World Cup. The worst part was what Rivaldo told reporters afterward:

Obviously the ball didn't hit me in the face, but I was still the victim. I did not hit anyone in the face! Nobody remembers what that Turk did to me. I'm not a player who fakes fouls.

To this day, we still wish that Rivaldo fucks off and dies. Watch the offensive flop below:

Fabio Grosso (Italy, 2006 World Cup)

No flopping list would be complete without the Italians. They're the kings of the dive and have four World Cup titles to prove it. Perhaps the most blatant display of cheating is their 2006 Round Of Sixteen match against Australia. The Socceroos played Italy toe-to-toe in that game but couldn't prepare against the Europeans' honed cheating skills. Italy's Fabio Grosso took a dive in Australia's area during stoppage time of the second half, mere seconds before the game went into overtime. The referee obviously bought it and granted Italy the penalty. They converted and went on to win the World Cup that year. Check it out: