Thursday, October 04, 2007
Dida He Really Do That?
My first reaction on seeing this footage was simply to laugh. However, when you think about it, Dida's behaviour is an absolute disgrace to his team and to the sport.
The Brazilian custodian has never been averse to a bit of cheating, incidentally. In the rogues' gallery of contemporary goalkeepers who blatantly move off their lines at penalty kicks, Dida's name features prominently. But some sly creeping at penalties is one thing, an attempt to influence a result through faking a fan-related injury is quite another.
There is a not-so-proud history of goalkeepers engaging in such behaviour, however. The Chilean goalie Roberto Rojas was famously banned for life after his attempt to have a World Cup qualifier against Brazil either abandoned or awarded to his team. Some years later, a Tunisian 'keeper, Chokri El-Ouaer, tried the same trick in an African Champions League match. He, too, received a richly-deserved ban.
Hopefully Dida too will suffer a ban for his antics, but recent precedents suggest otherwise. In the 2002 World Cup, Rivaldo's memorable play-acting at the corner flag resulted in the dismissal of Turkey's Hakan Unsal. FIFA reviewed the incident, gave the Brazilian star a slap-on-the-wrist fine...and, shamefully, no ban.
Then there's the case of Claude Makelele, whose despicable histrionics got Andreas Zikos of Monaco sent off in the 2004 Champions League semi-final (see here for a description of the incident). No subsequent punishment was meted out to Makelele whatsoever (see here).
Play-acting in order to induce sanctions against the opposition is one of the most pernicious aspects of modern football. Yet when it comes to punishing such cynical behaviour, governing bodies have been sadly toothless of late.
Let's hope that, after they've fined Celtic for the behaviour of one silly fan, UEFA comes down hard on the real villain of the piece.
The Brazilian custodian has never been averse to a bit of cheating, incidentally. In the rogues' gallery of contemporary goalkeepers who blatantly move off their lines at penalty kicks, Dida's name features prominently. But some sly creeping at penalties is one thing, an attempt to influence a result through faking a fan-related injury is quite another.
There is a not-so-proud history of goalkeepers engaging in such behaviour, however. The Chilean goalie Roberto Rojas was famously banned for life after his attempt to have a World Cup qualifier against Brazil either abandoned or awarded to his team. Some years later, a Tunisian 'keeper, Chokri El-Ouaer, tried the same trick in an African Champions League match. He, too, received a richly-deserved ban.
Hopefully Dida too will suffer a ban for his antics, but recent precedents suggest otherwise. In the 2002 World Cup, Rivaldo's memorable play-acting at the corner flag resulted in the dismissal of Turkey's Hakan Unsal. FIFA reviewed the incident, gave the Brazilian star a slap-on-the-wrist fine...and, shamefully, no ban.
Then there's the case of Claude Makelele, whose despicable histrionics got Andreas Zikos of Monaco sent off in the 2004 Champions League semi-final (see here for a description of the incident). No subsequent punishment was meted out to Makelele whatsoever (see here).
Play-acting in order to induce sanctions against the opposition is one of the most pernicious aspects of modern football. Yet when it comes to punishing such cynical behaviour, governing bodies have been sadly toothless of late.
Let's hope that, after they've fined Celtic for the behaviour of one silly fan, UEFA comes down hard on the real villain of the piece.
Comments:
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Great post I always enjoy reading your blog and you are spot on again. Dida has just come back from a shoulder injury and in flinging himself to the ground may have aggravated it (in which case he got what he deserved). It doesn't make his actions any less disgraceful but it may have been the reason he left the ground. He did however seem to be moving both arms and he was holding an icepack on his cheek where he was slapped.
One gripe though the title "Dida He Really Do That?" doesn’t work for me, sorry. I would have gone with something along the lines of Black Panther is a Pussy, lacking in class but accurate I feel, or Nelson Dida’s falling down.
One gripe though the title "Dida He Really Do That?" doesn’t work for me, sorry. I would have gone with something along the lines of Black Panther is a Pussy, lacking in class but accurate I feel, or Nelson Dida’s falling down.
# posted by 
: October 4, 2007 at 3:49 PM
: October 4, 2007 at 3:49 PM
Great post but I really think some attention to the fact that our own Scott McDonald scored the goal to give Celtic the win over the champions of Europe.... which is no small feat.
# posted by : October 4, 2007 at 4:16 PM
: October 4, 2007 at 4:16 PM
...One gripe though the title "Dida He Really Do That?" doesn’t work for me, sorry. I would have gone with something along the lines of Black Panther is a Pussy, lacking in class but accurate I feel, or Nelson Dida’s falling down....
"Caught on Candida Camera"? ;-)
...Great post but I really think some attention to the fact that our own Scott McDonald scored the goal to give Celtic the win over the champions of Europe...
A nice feather in his cap, for sure, but in all honesty it was a tap-in.
"Caught on Candida Camera"? ;-)
...Great post but I really think some attention to the fact that our own Scott McDonald scored the goal to give Celtic the win over the champions of Europe...
A nice feather in his cap, for sure, but in all honesty it was a tap-in.
I'm not suprised by Dida's antics. His ineptness in dealing with the high crossed ball lead to both Celtic goals and I guess he might have tried anything to save the match for Milan after that.
I wonder why he is so bad at this aspect of 'keeping? He is tall and fairly fleet of foot but still makes dealing with crossed look so difficult. Remember that WC 1/4 against France? Brazil might have rather undeservedly made much further if he had of made a routine catch in his six yard box.
I wonder why he is so bad at this aspect of 'keeping? He is tall and fairly fleet of foot but still makes dealing with crossed look so difficult. Remember that WC 1/4 against France? Brazil might have rather undeservedly made much further if he had of made a routine catch in his six yard box.
# posted by : October 4, 2007 at 7:37 PM
: October 4, 2007 at 7:37 PM
I have often wondered why Milan would pay dida when he is such a poor keeper.
These antics should get him a ban. I would ban him for the whole season and not because Spider would be goalkeeper
These antics should get him a ban. I would ban him for the whole season and not because Spider would be goalkeeper
# posted by : October 5, 2007 at 7:39 AM
: October 5, 2007 at 7:39 AM
Great article mikey, what was Dida thinking was he hoping the game would get banned or the result overturned due to one supporter touching him?
Reminded me of Rivaldo falling to the ground clutching his face after somebody kicked the ball into his leg.
Reminded me of Rivaldo falling to the ground clutching his face after somebody kicked the ball into his leg.
# posted by : October 5, 2007 at 2:21 PM
: October 5, 2007 at 2:21 PM
Not only was it a display of blatant, cynical cheating, it was also one of extreme slow-wittedness.
If you ARE going to go down, do it straight after the slap, you turkey, not after giving chase for a couple of yards.
I'm not sure if it was the desperation of the attempt or its poor execution that was the most laughable/depressing.
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If you ARE going to go down, do it straight after the slap, you turkey, not after giving chase for a couple of yards.
I'm not sure if it was the desperation of the attempt or its poor execution that was the most laughable/depressing.
# posted by : October 5, 2007 at 4:35 PM
: October 5, 2007 at 4:35 PM << Home
