My sense is that the theatrical or 'cheating' component of football is a relatively modern construct. I get the feeling - from older fans of the game - that game play was much different 40 or 50 years ago. I'm not sure when theatrics became such a large part of the game in many countries, but this hasn't always been the case.
The game has developed in such a way that cheating has become not only acceptable but encouraged. You see top players like Messi, C. Ronaldo, Robben and Drogba flopping around like sea lions and there has to be a knock-on effect at the grassroots levels of football in many places. Former greats such as Puskas, Eusebio, Pele, Georgie Best, di Stefano, Cruyff and der Kaiser, all played the game as it should be played - fairly.
I may be totally wrong here, but this whole thing seems to be a fairly modern phenomenon and not something that has deep historical roots in association football.
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