The 2006 World Cup will be remembered for a lot of things - Brazil’s failure (unexpected), England’s failure (expected), France’s renaissance (unexpected), the wonderful fans and the great goals (somehow less means better).

But the one thing it will be remembered for most is the diving.

I was thinking of doing this myself, but the guys at Independent beat me to it. No harm done though - I’ve already copped enough flak from readers on diving to last me a lifetime

Here’s their top ten:

10. Pauletta (Portugal vs France)

9. Arjen Robben (Holland vs Portugal)

8. Thierry Henry (France vs Portugal)

7. Helder Postiga (Portugal vs France)

6. Miroslav Klose (Germany vs Sweden)

5. Mark van Bommel (Holland vs Portugal)

4. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal vs France)

3. Thierry Henry (France vs Spain)

2. Asamoah Gyan (Ghana vs Brazil)

1. Fabio Grosso (Italy vs Australia)

I don’t agree with rankings (it misses Sorin, it misses Joe Cole, and it misses Podolski and Lahm, not to mention Ribery as well) but the fact that there is so much competition for the ‘top 10′ worst dives is a statement no one wanted the World Cup to make.

Maybe a more elaborate rant on diving some other time. For now, here’s the article:

World Cup Diving Awards