Dirty Players in Football: Part 2
Javier Mascherano
The little Argentinean’s dirty credentials can be seen in many of his diving photos all over the internet. In most of these pictures, the Barcelona man is already looking at the ref’s whistle and wondering if he should feign an injury
or not. No need to add anything further, case closed!
Michael Ballack
The German is one of the finest player from the country of this decade but that doesn’t stop him from revealing himself as a player who wants to take advantage of the position he is in a match and often does so with great intelligence.
On a regular basis, the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich star makes reckless and ruthless tackles and still manages to avoid punishment. And when the ref is looking somewhere else, he loves to let his elbow do the talking.
Didier Drogba
Like any good striker, the Ivorian powerhouse does get hit hard by defenders and even held by his opponent but his diving is a stuff of legends with his high lying leaps and breathtaking falls.
As an over-emotional guy, Didier Drogba has always something to say to the ref if he doesn’t get the call he thinks he should get. The Chelsea striker can be a good diving instructor if some space of this field opens up in football.
Cristiano Ronaldo
An icon, a poster boy and a megastar, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most talented football players in the world and after he retires, he will definitely be in the history books as a footballing genius.
But like so many football stars of this millennium, Ronaldo is a sore loser, biggest flopper and a cry baby, driving fans crazy with his theatrics. The Portuguese international is a great actor and is extremely talented at pleading to
the referee to get a call.
Michel Salgado
The ex-Real Madrid right back is a true relic from an era bygone. The physicality of his game play would have been better suited to 70s or 80s. But this doesn’t stop the Spaniard from making reckless tackles and he continues to be confronted
b officials of the modern game who never welcome the Blackburn man’s brutish style of play
Lee Bowyer
Lee Bowyer is one of the most hated players in England where fans from all clubs (Bar the one he plays for- Birmingham City for now) jeer and boo him whenever he makes a tackle or has the ball. His style of play makes him end up at the
wrong side of the official. The Englishman seldom gets the ball and often gets the man with his ruthless and bad tackles more often than not.
Jamie Carragher
The Liverpool man is definitely a great defender but is also definitely not the fastest man on earth. When someone gets past him, he reaches his bag of extremely limited tricks and usually gets a trip out of it just to keep hold of the
opponent, something that irritates everyone. People term such fouls as tactical fouls but in all honesty, it’s a dirty tactic or a dirty foul.
Kevin Davies
Kevin Davies of Bolton Wanderers is a big strong forward who has the habit of bullying around defenders who are smaller than him around the box. He loves pushing opponents and sometimes his elbow can be seen flying around.
Karl Henry
The man from Wolverhampton Wanderers is a fairly recent addition to the list of dirty players after his brutal season long run of bone crushing tackles. Ask Bobby Zamora, who was on the receiving end of one of those tackles.
Marc Van Bommel
The Dutchman is a very cunning instigator and knows how to take revenge on a player and then lie down and feign injury. It always angers fans, players and commentators how he gets away from everything so easily.
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