# Neymars Dives > Neymar's Dives is a 2013 sports meme featuring Brazilian footballer Neymar's theatrical falls to draw fouls, shared as GIFs, photo edits, and reaction images. Neymar's Dives is a recurring sports meme built around Brazilian footballer Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior and his habit of dramatically falling to the ground during matches to draw foul calls. The joke first took off after a blatant flop during the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal against Uruguay, then surged again at the 2018 World Cup. Fans turned his exaggerated reactions into GIFs, Photoshop edits, and video game crossover images that made Neymar one of football's most memed players. ## Origin On June 26, 2013, Brazil faced Uruguay in the FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal at the Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte[4]. The match was already memorable: with the score tied 1-1 in the 86th minute, Neymar delivered a corner kick that Paulinho headed in for the go-ahead goal[1]. Earlier in the match, Neymar had blown a kiss to injured Uruguayan defender Álvaro González as he left the pitch, adding to his villain-of-the-match energy[1]. But the moment that launched a thousand GIFs came in the 90th minute. Neymar got into a brief tussle with Uruguay defender Walter Gargano and proceeded to drop to the ground as if he'd been hit by a truck[2]. The dive was so blatant and the reaction so over-the-top that it immediately became fodder for internet creators. The irony was thick. Before the match, Uruguay captain Diego Lugano had specifically warned referees about Neymar's diving. "Neymar is very lightweight," Lugano told reporters. "He can drop to the ground and fool the referee. Neymar can feign a foul, so we must be watchful that nobody's fooled by his ability"[3]. - **Platform:** Twitter, Reddit (viral spread from live football broadcast) - **Creator:** Unknown (community-created from broadcast footage of Neymar) - **Date:** 2013 ## Overview The meme centers on Neymar's tendency to collapse with wildly theatrical flair after minimal or nonexistent contact from opposing players. The typical format takes footage or screenshots of Neymar mid-dive and edits in a fictional cause for his dramatic reaction: a Street Fighter uppercut, a Mortal Kombat flying kick, a sniper shot, or any absurdly violent force that would actually justify his performance[2]. The joke works because the gap between what actually happened (a light shoulder bump) and what Neymar's body language suggests happened (attempted murder) is enormous and endlessly remixable. ## How It Spread Within 24 hours of the 2013 semifinal, edited GIFs began flooding Twitter and Reddit. Creators Photoshopped fighting game characters into the footage, making it look like Neymar was on the receiving end of a Street Fighter Shoryuken uppercut or a Liu Kang flying kick from Mortal Kombat[2]. These edits gave the meme its signature format: take Neymar's ridiculous flop, add an absurd cause. Bleacher Report covered the Street Fighter crossover meme, calling it a takeover of the internet[5]. The meme quieted down between major tournaments but came roaring back at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. During Brazil's match against Costa Rica, Neymar's reactions to fouls were again seen as wildly disproportionate[4]. Soccer fans on social media had a field day. A Reddit post on r/funny mocking Neymar's dives as "highlights" picked up over 540 upvotes[4]. On Twitter, the account @goal posted an Arrested Development GIF to represent Neymar's flopping style, pulling in over 380 retweets and 500 likes[4]. The 2018 wave expanded the meme beyond fighting game edits into broader reaction humor. Any clip of someone falling dramatically or faking an injury could be tagged as "the Neymar" or compared to his style. The five-year gap between the two viral peaks actually helped the meme, since an entirely new generation of football fans discovered it fresh in 2018. ## How to Use The most common format takes real footage of Neymar's dive and adds a visual explanation for why he fell so hard. Creators typically: 1. Grab a clip or screenshot of Neymar mid-flop 2. Edit in a violent or absurd impact (fighting game moves, explosions, bowling balls, sniper lasers) 3. Time the edit so the fake impact syncs with Neymar hitting the ground ## Cultural Impact Neymar's diving reputation preceded the memes. Before the 2013 semifinal even happened, Diego Lugano went on record warning officials about Neymar's ability to "feign a foul" and "fool the referees"[3]. The BBC covered these pre-match accusations, giving the eventual dive a built-in narrative arc that made it even more meme-worthy[3]. The meme also connected to a larger conversation in football about simulation and diving. Neymar became the poster child for a tactic that fans love to hate, and his name turned into shorthand for theatrical flopping across all sports. During the 2018 World Cup, the meme crossed over from football-specific communities into mainstream social media, with non-sports accounts using Neymar dive clips as general-purpose humor[4]. Bleacher Report's coverage of the Street Fighter edit wave helped push the meme into sports media coverage, treating it as a legitimate story rather than just a fan joke[2]. ## Fun Facts - Uruguay captain Diego Lugano's pre-match warning about Neymar's diving turned out to be prophetic. He specifically said "we must be watchful that nobody's fooled by his ability," and Neymar dove in the 90th minute of that exact game[3]. - Neymar had just helped set up the match-winning goal before his infamous dive, meaning the meme overshadowed his actual on-field contribution[1]. - Before blowing up as a meme, Neymar blew a kiss to an injured Uruguayan player leaving the pitch, giving the internet two separate viral moments from a single match[1]. - The meme's two biggest viral waves were separated by exactly five years: the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Neymar's Dives? Neymar's Dives is an internet meme based on Brazilian footballer Neymar's habit of falling to the ground with exaggerated dramatic flair to draw foul calls during football matches. The meme typically involves edited GIFs and images adding fictional causes for his over-the-top reactions[4]. ### Where did Neymar's Dives come from? The meme originated from the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal between Brazil and Uruguay on June 26, 2013, when Neymar took an obvious dive after a minor tussle with defender Walter Gargano in the 90th minute[2]. ### What does Neymar's Dives mean? The meme is used to mock dramatic overreaction, both in sports and everyday life. Sharing a Neymar dive clip or edit is a way of calling someone out for exaggerating or faking[4]. ### How do you use Neymar's Dives? The most popular format edits fighting game attacks or other absurd forces into footage of Neymar falling. People also share unedited clips of his dives as reaction GIFs when someone is being dramatic[2]. ### Is Neymar's Dives still popular? The meme peaked during the 2018 World Cup and is less actively shared now, but it still gets pulled out during major football tournaments whenever diving controversies come up[4]. ### What was the Street Fighter Neymar meme? The Street Fighter version was the breakout format, editing Ryu's Shoryuken uppercut into footage of Neymar's 2013 dive to make it look like the fall was caused by a video game attack. Bleacher Report covered the trend as it took over the internet[2]. ### Did Diego Lugano predict Neymar's dive? Yes. Before the 2013 semifinal, Lugano told reporters that "Neymar can feign a foul" and warned the referee to watch for it. Neymar dove in that same match[3]. ### What happened in the 2018 World Cup Neymar memes? During the 2018 World Cup, Neymar's reactions to fouls in Brazil's match against Costa Rica were mocked on Reddit and Twitter. A Reddit post calling his dives "highlights" gained over 540 points, and an Arrested Development GIF comparison went viral on Twitter[4]. ### What goal did Neymar set up before his famous dive? In the same 2013 match, Neymar assisted the game-winning goal in the 86th minute with a corner kick headed in by Paulinho, giving Brazil a 2-1 lead over Uruguay[1]. ### Why did Neymar blow a kiss during the 2013 match? Neymar blew a farewell kiss to injured Uruguayan defender Álvaro González as he left the pitch, a taunt that added to the match's drama before the diving incident[1]. ## References 1. [Deadspin | Neymar Does It Again: Talks Smack, Then Sets Up Winning Goal]() 2. [Neymar Street Fighter Meme Takes Over the Internet Following Ridiculous Dive]() 3. [Neymar accused of diving by Uruguay captain Diego Lugano - BBC Sport]() 4. [Neymar's Dives - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Bored Ape]() 6. [Neymar Street Fighter Meme Takes Over the Internet Following Ridiculous Dive]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/neymars-dives Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library