Diver (soccer)
The Diver (ger .: diving ) is a form of jubilation in football , where the player (mostly from the penalty spot) with a stretched body lying face down (preferably wet) over the slips lawn. The former Premier League player Jürgen Klinsmann is considered to be the "inventor" of the Divers .
History of origin
When Jürgen Klinsmann moved to the London football club Tottenham Hotspur in 1994 , his way of playing was not very popular in England. The English public criticized the fact that Klinsmann fell too often in the penalty area during his time at Inter Milan and AS Monaco and that he would have taken a few penalties for his team. So the fans gave him the derogatory nickname Diver (English for " swallow king ", actually "diver").
Klinsmann also took the hearts of the English by storm. Klinsmann scored a spectacular goal on his debut in the away game against Sheffield Wednesday , which he celebrated with a diver . The idea of celebrating a goal came to him together with his storm colleague Teddy Sheringham . Due to his self-humor, but of course also his sporting achievements and his combative style of play, he quickly became extremely popular in England: For example, over 150,000 Klinsmann jerseys were sold in a very short time. His appearance with a diving mask at a press conference also did their part.
In 1995, Klinsmann was then England's Footballer of the Year . This was the only German who had achieved this before only goalkeeper Bert Trautmann , and he is now officially listed as a "legend" at Spurs.
Others
- How unpopular it is with English football fans today when footballers try to snatch a penalty is shown by the fact that the Ivorian player Didier Drogba was exposed to hostility and whistles (even from his own fans) for weeks after he had obviously tried to do so.
- There is an analogy to the “diver” in winter sports: the Swedish alpine ski racer Anja Pärson regularly celebrates her victories by sliding belly over the snow in the finish area.
- There is also a dance track called "Jürgen Klinsmann (The Diver)", written around the mid-90s, which refers to Klinsmann's jubilant pose.
Individual evidence
- ^ Thürmer / Götting: Jürgen Klinsmann - From world champion to superstar . 1996, p. 99.
- ^ Tottenhamhotspur.com