The least convincing on-field injury you're ever likely to see Good new for Newcastle fans. Demba Ba and new signing Papiss Demba Cisse are both on their way back to Tyneside after Senegal crashed out of the African Cup of Nations. The Dembas secured their early return with last night's 2-1 defeat to Equatorial Guinea.

More than any other matchup, the coming together of Barcelona and Madrid forces apart the usually shared preferences of the cultfootball brain trust. So today's match was one where both sides could come away feeling they'd won some important battles, if not the war.

The game was not 90 minutes of pure flowing football.

It's how he'd want to be rememberedThe man who filled the coveted "Supervillain" role after Maxim Usanov left town has been unceremoniously dispatched himself. Without having to sabotage a giant laser, use a submarine Lotus or rake any moons, TFC waived Mikael Yourassowsky from the roster.

After pounding ACC tournament champion Florida State 3-0 on Friday night in the first semifinal of the College Cup, Stanford has a chance to play once again for the national title. The Cardinal advanced to soccer's version of the Final Four by completing its third straight unbeaten season, a feat that parallels the great University of North Carolina teams with Mia Hamm in the early 1990s.

By Alan Duffy

Alex Horne, with a little Madonna-esque microphone

FA big-wig Alex Horne believes that the much-debated goal-line technology could finally be introduced into top level football as early as next season. Horne says that if one of the current systems which are being tested is found to work reliably, then the technology is likely to be introduced.

When Dario brilliantly hit the back of the net on 5 minutes it looked as if at last Brisbane's time had come. Broich had said earlier in the week that they had been lucky. Perhaps that had run out?
But no. On when the pressure. Fox had asked would Brisbane be able to chase this season, well yes.

Olympiakos defender Francois Modesto dives before pulling down an angry AEK defenders shorts. Thankfully defender Cala seen the funny side of it, but why do players taking their shirts off get punished while a player inadvertently flashing receives a smile from the officials?

The controversy over Luis Suarez's alleged racial abuse of Patrice Evra may have overshadowed Liverpool's (forgettable) draw with Man United at the weekend, but it also took the focus away from two blatant acts of cheating during the game.
As you will see from the evidence below, United's Ashley Young and Liverpool's Stewart Downing were guilty of trying to con the referee with outrageous dives.

Javier Castrilli a.k.a. "El Sheriff"

There has been plenty of talk as to referees essentially dictating style of play. Not just of one game, but on entire leagues and at all levels. The implication is that this has direct influence on a coach's player selections and the style of play he implements.

By AVI CREDITOR

When Dwayne De Rosario fell to the ground flailing after hardly being contacted by Juan Pablo Angel on a cross and flicked-on header into the Chivas USA box in second-half stoppage time of a crucial game on Wednesday night, most figured the D.

Marcio Souza is back at Persela Lamongan. The Brazilian striker was previously there for four years, or was it five, before moving on to Semen Padang and last season Deltras.
I guess we can expect many more theatrical dives in the box at home games, the more theatrical the later the game...

After watching Darlington Nagbe and the Portland Timbers show how high the quality of play in the MLS can be, some of the other matches this weekend served as reminders of how lousy the play sometimes is.

The weekend featured more than its fair share of uninspired play, cynical dives in the penalty area, off-target shots that should have been no-doubters, and one keeper who decided to throw up his hands instead of attempt a save.

Until there is a serious crackdown on diving in professional and international soccer, we'll probably being seeing dives even more horrific than this one by Ryuji Bando in a recent AFC match between Cerezo Osaka v Jeonbuk FC. While all sports have a certain level of gamesmanship, a certain level of crossing the lines, the fact that players in club football, like Bando, think there is something to be gained if they take such a blatant, horrible dive is evidence enough that football officials need to crackdown and issue stiffer penalties for diving.

Until there is a serious crackdown on diving in professional and international soccer, we'll probably being seeing dives even more horrific than this one by Ryuji Bando in a recent AFC match between Cerezo Osaka v Jeonbuk FC. While all sports have a certain level of gamesmanship, a certain level of crossing the lines, the fact that players in club football, like Bando, think there is something to be gained if they take such a blatant, horrible dive is evidence enough that football officials need to crackdown and issue stiffer penalties for diving.

What a Mess Much has been made of the fact that Lionel Messi 'never' dives, especially in comparison to his nearest rival as the world's best player. And now we know why. It turns out he's not very good at it. Messi attempted to win a penalty in Barcelona's 2-2 draw at Real Sociedad on [...]

With over £110m spent over the summer and more to come, Liverpool impressively outplayed Bolton at Anfield over the weekend. As a true measure of Liverpool's stylish performance, Kevin Davies was substituted in that match. Liverpool completely subdued the Trotters' captain and talisman!

So there is general consensus among the Galaxy fans I talked to that Robbie Keane is a good signing for the squad. One, however, admitted to being a disgruntled West Ham fan and said that the Galaxy would regret the move. There's a bit of extra pressure on Robbie tonight, perhaps, because the player moved in order for him to be signed, Juan Pablo Angel, scored tonight for Chivas USA.

So there is general consensus among the Galaxy fans I talked to that Robbie Keane is a good signing for the squad. One, however, admitted to being a disgruntled West Ham fan and said that the Galaxy would regret the move. There's a bit of extra pressure on Robbie tonight, perhaps, because the player moved in order for him to be signed, Juan Pablo Angel, scored tonight for Chivas USA.

Denis Doyle/Getty Image (Bleacher Report)While some of these may not have been as embarrassing at first, in the time since they have become much more laughable as in most cases the replay footage does not lie.
The truth comes out when you get put into slow motion, and with so many to choose from it is hard to even stop at 14.

Denis Doyle/Getty Image (Bleacher Report)While some of these may not have been as embarrassing at first, in the time since they have become much more laughable as in most cases the replay footage does not lie.
The truth comes out when you get put into slow motion, and with so many to choose from it is hard to even stop at 14.

Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that performance this weekend from the Dynamo. I'm not complaining of course and I've never been happier to be so wrong about a game, especially when it's beating up the Sounders. In case you missed it, and I doubt if you're reading this blog that you did, Houston took it to Seattle on Saturday, thumping the inventors of all things soccer, 3-1.

Twente's Peter Wisgerhof dives against Ajax

The football season has not even started in England and was barely one day old in Holland when one of football's biggest taboos reared its ugly head.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-08-01 13:30:27 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Jurgen Klinsmann may have been a great striker and now the toast of the US, but he was also one of the guy's who invented the most theatrical dives which he is mostly remembered for. Watch below how he got an Argentine player sent off in the 1990 World Cup Final, one which the German's won 1-0 after an Adreas Brehme goal from the Penalty spot.

Their Words I was adamant I would not speak to the BBC until the matter was resolved to my satisfaction so I am pleased an apology has been issued today. Rangers manager Ally McCoist Other Sources Player Dives. Is this the end of the world? - from Soccer America's Paul Gardner: This always puzzles me.

By Chris Wright

Japan 'keeper Ayumi Kaihori watches on helplessly as Abby Wambach's thumping drive comes back off the crossbar

Alex Morgan chases down Megan Rapinoe's lofted throughball and cracks a fine finish back across the goal to open the scoring

Aya Miyama capitalises on a defensive ricket to poke home Japan's equaliser

Abby Wambach scores her fourth header in as many games to put the US back in front during extra-time

Homare Sawa flicks home Japan's second equaliser of the night at the near post

Referee Bibiana Steinhaus shows Azuza Iwashimizu the red card after chopping down the goal-bound Alex Morgan on the edge of the area

Hope Solo dives in vain as Saki Kumagai's winning penalty sails into the roof of the net

Sawa, Wambach and Solo poses with their gold, silver and bronze 'Player of the Tournament' awards

Highlights.

Of all the things that impressed and elated me about the play of the U.S. team yesterday against Brazil, one might come as a bit of a surprise. It was this: during the waning minutes of the game, before Rapinoe's cross and Wambach's brilliant header, at least two players did their best to draw penalty kick calls against Brazil.

Entering the Gold Cup, the United States wasn't the team to beat. That moniker fell on Mexico, whether they embraced it or not. Following Mexico's 4-2 victory over the U.S. in Saturday's final, not only is Mexico clearly the team to beat in CONCACAF, but the United States should be very concerned about the near future
That the U.

Entering the Gold Cup, the United States wasn't the team to beat. That moniker fell on Mexico, whether they embraced it or not. Following Mexico's 4-2 victory over the U.S. in Saturday's final, not only is Mexico clearly the team to beat in CONCACAF, but the United States should be very concerned about the near future
That the U.

With these dives, Davies is starting to push his luck in the eyes of many MLS fans.

I'm so glad Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives is back. It's like food porn...Let's begin with a quick FSC report on transfer interest in Clint Dempsey. I can not actually watch the video here, so I have no idea if it's worth anything - no reason to keep it from you.<a href="http://msn.

Grant Wahl may not get the credit he deserves, but his discoveries on the madness of FIFA politics carried heavy influence on USSF's decision to stand up and fight as an independent organization in its most recent dealings with CONCACAF. In the vote for FIFA president and for what may take precedent for future decisions, the USSF is making a power play for more influence inside CONCACAF.

This week's episode of Special 1 TV dives into the global conspiracy that was at the center of the defeat of Jose Mourinho, while The Boy Wayne is back to cool the nerves of a studio in meltdown. The Voyeur's brain, meanwhile, is turning into a...
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Many who don't follow the beautiful game intensely would still have made time to catch a game of this magnitude with two teams as highly rated and with such cherished histories as Real Madrid and Barcelona. This game should have been a spectacle not only for the hard core fans of both sides but also for the lovers of football around the world and even for the casual observers.

This young season saw a celebration of the league's founding, but the topics are typical.

• There is parity, well except for Real Salt Lake. Sure, other teams have points, but they aren't manhandling their opponent's like Kreis' team is. With 3.00 PPM and +2GD per GAME, they are the class of the league.

Fernando Torres was guilty of two blatant dives in Manchester United's 1-0 victory over Chelsea last night. The referee booked him for the second and gave him a strong talking to after the first.

In what was yet another dismal night for Torres, following his £50m transfer fee from Liverpool, he was incredibly lucky to remain on the field.

Fernando Torres was guilty of two dives in the last night but the referee chose to only book him for one of these.

On top of being let off for one of his dives, Torres should have seen a straight red for raising his hand to Rio Ferdinand's face.

PICTURE: Sorry Chelsea Fans, It Wasn't A Pen

"PICTURE: Chelsea's Torres Should Have Been Sent Off" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia.

What a bloody awful game this was. Dire, painful. Excruciating.
FIFPro, the players union in Indonesia, had just held a meeting in Jakarta and, with recent events in the country there was no doubt a lot to talk about.
I wonder if the topics of player simulation ever cropped up? Of diving? Of falling to the ground when the other team had a break on to try and break up the momentum?

The Goalkeeper's Jonathan Tannenwald is reporting that Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre is reporting that the Union are moving to sign Carlos Ruiz.

Ruiz has allegedly ended his contract with Greek club Aris through mutual consent to sign with Philadelphia.

Rumors linking Ruiz to the Union surfaced last year as well, but no deal was ever worked out.

For anyone who might have missed it, Theo Walcott had this to say after Arsenal's FA Cup third round match against Leeds:

"I want to apologise to the managers because I actually dived. I was trying to win the penalty.

"I had a little joke with the referee afterwards saying ‘that was my first dive, can you tell?

By now everyone must have read Theo Walcott's apology for a ‘dive' against Leeds. The reaction that I've read has been mixed. Some people just needed an excuse for Arsenal bashing, others including yours truly thought it was a silly thing to say, but there were also those who found this act praiseworthy.