中超"燒錢"引進大牌外援,效果存疑
If the Chinese Super League was not the hottest soccer destination outside Europe before this summer transfer window opened, it is now. The infusion of big name players and world famous coaches has gathered speed, and attendances continue to climb along with the league's international profile. The big stars seem to come and go, but the spending continues.
如果在今年夏季轉會窗口開放前，中超聯賽還不算是除歐洲以外最熱門的轉會目的地，現在可以說是了。越來越多的大牌球員和世界知名教練進入中國，中超聯賽的觀衆人數和國際聲譽都在提升。這些明星人物似乎沒有久留的打算，但大手筆的投入仍在繼續。Shanghai S.I.P.G., coached by former England boss Sven Goran Eriksson, broke the Asian transfer record in July to sign Asamoah Gyan, the captain of Ghana's World Cup team, from Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates, spending over $20 million. City rivals Shenhua spent what was believed to be around $16 million to sign former Chelsea striker Demba Ba while Guangzhou Evergrande, going for a fifth straight title and now coached by Luiz Felipe Scolari, brought in the Brazilian internationals Paulinho and Robinho.
今年7月，上海上港集團足球俱樂部打破亞洲轉會紀錄，以超過2000萬美元（約合1.27億元人民幣）的價格簽下在阿聯酋艾因俱樂部踢球的加納國家隊隊長阿薩莫阿·吉安。上港隊教練爲前英格蘭隊主帥斯文-戈蘭·埃裏克森。同城死敵上海申花俱樂部以據說大約1600萬美元的價格簽下前切爾西隊前鋒登巴·巴，而由路易斯·菲利佩·斯科拉里執教的廣州恆大足球俱樂部力爭贏得五連冠，引入了巴西國腳保利尼奧和羅比尼奧。
The Sept. 12 clash between first-place Shanghai S.I.P.G. and second-place Guangzhou should be crucial in the title race and adds a fresh chapter to an intriguing coaching rivalry. While in charge of England, Eriksson was eliminated from three successive international tournaments at the quarterfinal stage by Scolari — at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, the former with Brazil the latter with Portugal, and the 2004 European Championships. Depriving Scolari of a fourth straight win over him and perhaps Guangzhou of a fifth straight title would be a major result for the Swede and Shanghai.
排名榜首的上海上港隊將在9月12日對陣排名第二的廣州恆大隊，這應該是冠軍爭奪戰中至關重要的一場比賽，給引人入勝的教練對抗增添新篇章。埃裏克森執教英格蘭國家隊時，連續三次在國際賽事四分之一決賽中被斯科拉里淘汰--2002年世界盃與巴西隊的比賽、2006年世界盃與葡萄牙隊的比賽及2004年歐洲足球錦標賽。終結斯科拉里對他的四連勝、也許還有廣州恆大的五連冠，對於這名瑞典人及上海上港隊來說會是十分重要的成果。
The high-profile international signings strengthen the top Chinese clubs, which can now compete with their Japanese and South Korean counterparts in the Asian Champions League. But China still struggles to match the continent's best national teams. On Aug. 2, a full strength China team playing at home in Wuhan lost 2-0 to an experimental South Korean team; China has defeated its neighbor just once in 29 meetings.
知名國際球星的加入增強了中國頂級足球俱樂部的實力，它們現在可以在亞洲冠軍聯賽中與日本及韓國的俱樂部一較高下。但中國仍舊難以對抗亞洲最棒的國家隊。8月2日，全力應戰的中國隊在武漢主場以0比2的比分輸給了尚未定型的韓國隊；在29場中韓對抗中，中國隊僅贏了一場。Dejan Damjanovic, who was the top striker in South Korea's K-League from 2007 to 2013 before leaving F.C. Seoul for China, believes that the imports can help raise standards of the locals if given time. “The Chinese Super League is improving with talented foreign players, but the national team needs more time because domestic players from Korea and Japan are still better than Chinese,” he said. “But high-class foreigners can help them grow as players.”
2007年至2013年韓國K聯賽最佳射手德揚·達米亞諾維奇離開首爾FC隊來到中國。他認爲，如果多給些時間，引進的球員能夠幫助提高中國球隊的水平。“隨着外籍球星的到來，中超聯賽的水平不斷提高，但中國國家隊需要更多時間，因爲韓國和日本的球員的水平要比中國球員高，”他說。“但一流外國球員能夠幫助他們成長。”Top foreign stars tend not to linger, however. Robinho, formerly of Real Madrid, Manchester City and A.C. Milan, impressed for his country at the Copa America earlier in the summer and arrived on a six-month contract. Others players of his stature also tend to leave China after brief stints.
然而頂級外國球星往往不會停留。今年夏季早些時候，曾效力於皇家馬德里、曼城和AC米蘭的羅比尼奧代表國家隊出征美洲盃，表現十分出衆，他與中國俱樂部簽署了一份爲期六個月的合同。其他同等水平的球員也常常在短暫停留後離開中國。“If you look at the turnover of foreign players in China, it's quite ridiculous. ” said Erik Paartalu, an Australian midfielder with Tianjin Teda. “Even if you have done well at a club, the agents get hungry and try and move you around to better their bank accounts.”
“如果你去看看外國球員在中國的流動率，會覺得十分荒唐，“天津泰達隊澳大利亞籍中場隊員埃裏克·帕爾塔魯說。“即便你在一傢俱樂部的表現非常好，經紀人也不會滿足，他們會試圖讓你轉會，以獲得更多回報。”Still, there is little doubt that the new wave of imports makes a difference in the short term. Big names bring big excitement, an increased profile for the league and, most important, fans — the average attendance of the league has risen to almost 23,000 this season from 16,000 in 2009, just before the current wave of spending started.
但新一輪引進潮在短期內帶來的影響是毫無疑問。大牌球星帶動了氣氛，增加了聯賽知名度，最重要的是，吸引了大批粉絲，在最近出資引入球員之前，中超聯賽這一賽季到場觀衆平均達到將近2.3萬人，而2009年只有1.6萬人。
