Earlier this season, Neymar perhaps set a high bar for one of the worst dives possible in a season.
The Brazilian notoriously known for being a master of the dark arts outdid himself by pulling off a ridiculous dive during one of PSG’s pre-season warm-up games in Japan.
As the winger tumbled to the ground inside the opposition box without any sort of contact, it did not even require a slow-motion replay to confirm that it was indeed a dive.
Similarly, as Barcelona hosted Manchester City in August for a charity game, new signing Erling Haaland pulled out another clear dive inside the Blaugrana penalty area.
While making a run past Andreas Christiansen, the Norwegian international simply hit the ground in dramatic fashion.
What makes this case worse than Neymar’s is that Haaland’s attempt managed to fool the match referee who awarded City with a penalty that Riyad Mahrez converted from the spot.
Since it looks to be a season of spectacular dives, the latest contender for the worst of the lot came on Thursday from the MLS.
At one point during the fixture between Toronto FC and LA Galaxy at the BMO Field, Mexican international Javier Hernandez “Chicharito” hit the ground in true Hollywood style.
After Toronto captain Michael Bradley and Canadian international Richmond Laryea approached Chicharito in an attempt to convince him to not waste time and continue with the game, the former Man United star went on to do exactly that.
Soon after Laryea held the 34-year-old’s arm, the striker quickly became animated and fell to the ground in an attempt to waste time on the clock and even get the Toronto man sent off.
Moreover, it was a bizarrely quick turn of emotions for Chicharito who went from smiling to ‘appearing in agony’ within seconds during his stage drama on the pitch at BMO Field.
While the Galaxy man may not have been able to convince the referee or the supporters present watching the drama unfold, the dive has surely been a hit with the footballing community online who are confident of it being an early contender for ‘dive of the season’.
The choice to dive in the presence of Michael Bradley appears to be no coincidence. Both players have clashed and shared heated moments on the pitch during Mexico vs USA fixtures.
The 31-year-old who plays in midfield was a regular part of the USMNT until his retirement in 2019 which coincided with Chicharito’s time with the Mexican national team before he was frozen out.
Back in 2015, the American posted a rallying message on Instagram in favour of the rivalry between Mexico and the USA in international competitions and picked a picture of him squaring up to Chicharito to accompany the motivational post.
With both Bradley and Chicharito reuniting in the MLS, it looks like such animated moments will continue to follow the players whenever Toronto and LA Galaxy clash.
