Wednesday, March 7, 2007

So why do soccer players fake injury?

By Lady Luck

On-the-field bluffer or off-the-field budding ‘star-in-the-making’ – let’s leave the acting to Hollywood, they are after all the real drama queens!


If you thought that the best actors and actresses in the world are restricted to
Hollywood, Nollywood and Bollywood; think again. They actually reside on the other side of the white picket fence, where the grass is really greener. A soccer field, their stage, and free reign to improvise on the script, their blossoming acting careers seem to be a little too perfect.

These so-called ‘actors’ are professional soccer players, also known as footballers, who fake injuries to get a free penalty kick for their team. It usually happens when a player loses the ball to an opponent. Their natural instinct is then to flop on the pitch, as if the victim of a horrible foul that appears to have caused a career-ending injury. The player will grab his ankle or head in a state of theatrical paralysis until the referee stops play, and orders that the player be carried off the field on a stretcher. The injury lasts precisely as long as it takes the stretcher to reach the touchline. Once off the field, the player bounds out of the stretcher, fully recovered, and ready to rejoin the game at the next opportunity.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the biggest 'bluffer' of the lotSo why is it so tempting to throw caution to the wind and just fake it? Well for the same reason poker player’s bluff – they don’t have the goods and they somehow have to trick their opponents or the referee into thinking they have. While soccer players fake injury because their acting could be rewarded by a penalty from the referee, with poker it’s a completely different ball game.

When poker players bluff, it means that they bet or raise with an inferior hand, or with a hand believed to be inferior. While it may seem like a good idea to bluff your opponents with a poker face, most players will find that bluffing isn’t really the way professional poker players make a living. Just ask James Bond what happened at the poker tables in the latest
Casino Royale movie.

While you might argue that you’ve seen poker professionals make huge bluffs and get away with it, like those that can be viewed on this
WSOP footage; poker pros have a different bluffing strategy.
A pro will loose the minimum on a bad hand because they are disciplined to stick to solid fundamentals and not get caught in dangerous situations. Their aim is to steadily increase their chip stack with minimal risk and to not lose their entire stack on one hand.

At the
2006 World Cup, the Italian soccer team coined the phrase ‘give him an Oscar’ with all the flopping they had going on. There’s even a video depicting how the Italian player’s practiced their famous swan dive.

If you’re caught in the act of faking an injury on a soccer field, you risk receiving a red card, and being sent off the field. On the other hand poker players who get caught bluffing, risk getting a certain reputation, and loosing a lot of money.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

always the same blabla!
It's just part of the show.
Americans should be the first to love it - as show is nearly everything in their lifes!!!

burnsRbeef said...

Part of the show?

I understand the concept of taking a foul or penalty to better your team. But then there are times where I watch a soccer game and see a player go down hard and stay down. Only to see the replay and he was hardly even touched! No twist of the ankle or knee, he just was simply tripped! OK, take a dive and go down to show you were tripped. THEN GET UP and continue playing. There is no need for you to be carried off on a stretcher and have some "magical" water squirted on your injury.

Rolf said...

I have two words for you: Terry Butcher. They don't make soccer players like they used to...

http://www.englandcaps.co.uk/TerryButcher.html

Unknown said...

soccer faking is for fags

Unknown said...

take it like a man

Barbaricino said...

I am fed up to hear about how Italian players like to dive, no because it is not true, but because players of any nationality do the exactly the same without getting the same criticsm. Have anybody watched the Premier League or the Spanish Liga? I don't see much of the spirit of De Coubertin playing there! What about Henry during the qualification match between France and Ireland? This post associating anti-sport behavior with the Italian team was really shockingly biased to say the least.

kk said...

just enjoy the goal and see who's the winner lol;-)
http://south-africa-world-cup-soccer-2010.blogspot.com/

Luke said...

Benglet, your almost as pathetic as the faking soccer players. You think if you blame it on americans, it will boost your own ego? I'm sorry but you will have to wake up and realize WE ARE JUST THAT GOOD.

Unknown said...

yeah when duncan kieth or ian laperiere got a slapshot to the face only to come right back in the game after losing teeth, it really makes you realize what pansies soccer players are

Melany Flemmings said...

Wooow! Here, I do not really imagine it is likely to have effect. Thanks for sharing this informative post with me.

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Unknown said...

The injury lasts precisely as long as it takes the stretcher to reach the touchline. Once off the field, the player bounds out of the stretcher, fully recovered, and ready to rejoin the game at the next opportunity. Alfie