For the duration of the World Cup, Slate will highlight the greatest dives by the world’s greatest players. We’ll score each dive in three categories: level of actual contact (1 if there’s no contact at all, 10 for a huge collision), level of simulated contact (1 for a stoic response, 10 for acting as if you’ve been shot), and dive duration (the time from first contact to when the player gets off the ground).
Rafik Halliche’s
dive was the second most
heinous act
committed by an
Algerian
player Wednesday, but it was a dive nonetheless. In the 61
st
minute, Halliche sprinted toward an onrushing Jozy Altidore and knocked the ball away. Altidore then appeared to stick his leg out in the direction of Halliche. Even though it seemed as if Altidore barely touched Halliche, if at all, the Algerian defender groaned as if he’d just stepped on a nail and tumbled onto the pitch. Altidore was given a yellow card on the play. The United States had the last laugh though,
winning 1-0
.
Level of actual contact:
3
Level of simulated contact:
8
Dive duration: a
bout 10 seconds
If you see a particularly egregious dive in a World Cup match, please e-mail diveoftheday@gmail.com . Make sure to include the names of the players involved and the time of the game when the dive occurred.
