即使沒有超級球星 足球世界盃也精彩
PARIS — Money talks in global soccer, as it does everywhere else, perhaps more so. The sport is big business. The likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar are international brands, as recognizable as any Hollywood star. Compare a club’s wage bill to its success rate: the correlation is overwhelming. When billionaires acquire clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City or Chelsea, their fortunes change. When a very rich country like Qatar wants to host the World Cup, it gets its way even if entirely unsuited to the undertaking.
巴黎——有錢好辦事，哪裏都一樣，在足球世界或許尤其如此。這項運動就是一樁大買賣。利昂內爾·梅西(Lionel Messi)、克里斯蒂亞諾·羅納爾多(Cristiano Ronaldo )和內馬爾(Neymar)等球星的名字在世界各地都如雷貫耳，辨識度堪比好萊塢明星。對比一支足球俱樂部的薪酬清單與勝率，你會發現驚人的相關度。一旦億萬富翁收購了巴黎聖日耳曼、曼城或切爾西足球俱樂部，它們的命運就會發生變化。當卡塔爾這種極其富有的國家想要主辦世界盃時，即使這個國家完全不符合要求，也能得償所願。All this often undermines the beauty of the game. Sulky and overpaid stars, dubious deals and rapacious players’ agents are now part of the scenery. Football has been no exception to the inexorable process that sees the authentic and the genuine undermined by big money and manufactured images.
這一切常常破壞了這項運動的美。薪酬過高卻鬱鬱不樂的球星、可疑的交易、貪婪的球員經紀人，都已成爲足壇衆生相的一部分。足球也無法避免一個不可阻擋的過程：只能眼看着最純正、最真實的東西被一擲千金的土豪和人爲製造出來的形象所毀掉。Until along came Diego Simeone and his “socialist football.” Think of him as the Thomas Piketty of the soccer world. It is impossible to understand what has been happening at the remarkable World Cup in Brazil without considering his impact.
直到出現了迭戈·西蒙尼(Diego Simeone)和他的“社會主義足球”。你可以把他看做足球王國的托馬·皮克提(Thomas Piketty)。如果不考慮他的影響，你就不可能理解巴西這屆不同凡響的世界盃。
Simeone, an Argentine, is the manager of the Spanish club Atlético Madrid that, against all the odds and all I have described above, won La Liga (the Spanish league title) this year, triumphing over Barcelona (home to Messi and Neymar) and Real Madrid (home to Ronaldo). Here, the normally reliable wage-bill indicator of success broke down. Atlético’s players earned a fraction of the salaries of their illustrious rivals.
阿根廷人西蒙尼是西班牙馬德里競技俱樂部(Atlético Madrid)的經理，這個俱樂部歷經磨難，克服了我上文所述的一切影響，在今年贏得了西班牙足球甲級聯賽，戰勝了巴塞羅那足球俱樂部（梅西和內馬爾的東家）和皇家馬德里足球俱樂部（羅納爾多的東家）。正常情況下，用工資單作爲評估勝率的指標是十分可靠的——但現在它不靈了。馬德里競技俱樂部球員的工資與他們的明星對手相比簡直微不足道。What Atlético had was unity, cohesion, determination, energy and self-belief. The culture of the group vanquished the culture of the superstar. Simeone spoke with pride of his working-class side in a Spain of massive youth unemployment. “We see ourselves reflected in society, in people who have to fight,” he said. “People identify with us. We’re a source of hope.”
馬德里競技俱樂部擁有的是團結、凝聚力、決心、能量和自信。這個團隊的文化擊敗了超級明星的文化。在有大批青年失業的西班牙，西蒙尼驕傲地提到了他的工人階級立場。“在社會上，在那些不得不奮鬥的人身上，我們看到了自己的影子，”他說，“人們認同我們，我們是他們的希望。”Every trend produces its countertrend. Soccer is no exception. This World Cup has not been about the stars, for all the brilliance of Neymar and Messi. It has been about unsung teams in the Atlético mold playing an intense, cohesive, never-say-die game. Their constant pressing has sent the likes of England, Italy, Spain and Ronaldo’s Portugal home, while giving Brazil and the Netherlands a real scare. I am thinking of Costa Rica (now in the last eight), Chile (very unlucky to lose to Brazil in a penalty shootout), Mexico (cheated of a deserved victory in the last minutes by the Dutch) and, in its own way, Jurgen Klinsmann’s gritty United States.
每一種趨勢都會產生自己的逆趨勢。足球也不例外。儘管內馬爾和梅西光芒四射，這屆世界盃的主角不是明星，而是像馬德里競技隊那樣不被看好的球隊，他們踢出了一場場激烈、充滿凝聚力、永不言敗的比賽。他們不斷的壓迫讓英格蘭、意大利、西班牙和羅納爾多的祖國葡萄牙的球隊紛紛回了老家，給巴西和荷蘭留下了一道真正的傷痕。我能想到的是哥斯達黎加（現已進入八強）、智利（不幸在點球大戰中輸給了巴西）、墨西哥（在最後幾分鐘惜敗荷蘭）以及尤爾根·克林斯曼(Jurgen Klinsmann)執教的、特立獨行、永不妥協的美國隊。Here in France, whose team only just qualified for the World Cup, there has been much talk of how victories have stemmed from the absence of its stars. Franck Ribéry, a brilliant winger, was injured, and Samir Nasri, a wonderfully creative playmaker and goal scorer, was omitted because he was deemed a troublemaker. (France had a disastrous last World Cup campaign in South Africa that collapsed with players in open revolt.)
法國隊這一次勉強晉級了世界盃決賽圈。在法國，人們都在談論明星球員的缺席如何爲球隊帶來了勝利。傑出的邊鋒弗蘭克·裏貝里(Franck Ribéry)因傷缺陣，極具創意的進攻組織者和射手薩米爾·納斯里(Samir Nasri)因爲總是製造麻煩而落選世界盃出戰名單。（法國在上屆南非世界盃上演災難性一幕，球員公開罷賽。）The result of their absence has been a more “socialist” French side with many good players but no stars, and a tough work ethic in the image of midfielder Blaise Matuidi. Intense tempo and cohesion have produced improved results. (I write as France prepares to play Nigeria in the Round of 16, a game that will test its true caliber).
他們缺席的結果，是一個更加“社會主義”的法國隊——有許多優秀的球員，但沒有明星球員，以及以中場球員布萊斯·馬圖伊迪(Blaise Matuidi)爲代表的勵精圖治的職業道德。激烈的節奏和凝聚力帶來了更好的成績。（在我寫作本文時，法國正準備在16強的比賽中對陣尼日利亞，這場比賽將會檢驗法國隊的實力）。France has already scored eight goals in three matches in the image of a World Cup that, before the quarterfinal stage is reached, has seen as many goals (145 as I write) scored as in the entire South African World Cup. This reflects a changed game. In every area there has been a reaction: refereeing (less restrictive, more inclined to let matches flow); style (more attack-minded, less cautious); and teamwork (the ascendancy of the high-tempo, all-for-one Simeone model).
法國已經在三場比賽中有八個進球。而在四分之一決賽到來之前，本屆世界盃的進球（本文寫作時爲145個）已經和整個南非世界盃一樣多。這反應了足球運動的改變。這種改變在每一個領域都有所體現：裁判判罰（限制沒那麼多，更傾向於讓比賽自由推進）；比賽風格（更有進攻意識，少了畏首畏尾）；團隊合作（快節奏、團結一致的西蒙尼模式頻頻上演）。I doubt that Ann Coulter, the conservative American commentator, had heard of Simeone’s “socialist football” when she recently lamented the “moral decay” she sees in Americans’ growing interest in soccer. Still, it was intriguing that she saw a liberal agenda being pushed by a sport in which “individual achievement is not a big factor” and “there are no heroes.” Like an idiot-savant who stumbles on a grain of truth through total ignorance, she was onto something. This is the anti-individual World Cup.
當保守派美國評論家安·庫爾特(Ann Coulter)最近譴責美國對足球越來越感興趣代表着“道德腐化”時，我估計她應該沒聽說過西蒙尼的“社會主義足球”。但有趣的是，她認爲這項運動正在推動着自由派的議程。而在這項運動中，“個人成就不是主要因素”，而且“沒有英雄”。就像一個大智若愚的人，憑藉着一無所知卻意外地得到了一點點真理，她還真是摸出點門道了。這是反個人的世界盃。(Coulter fails to see that soccer is growing in popularity in the United States because the national team keeps getting better, Hispanics now make up 17 percent of the U.S. population, and America is getting globalized just like everywhere else. America’s core strength is constant reinvention, in part through immigration; soccer’s surge is no sign of weakness.)
（庫爾特沒能看到的是，足球在美國越來越受歡迎，是因爲國家隊踢得越來越好，西語裔現在佔美國人口的17%，而美國和其他地方一樣，變得越來越國際化。美國的核心優勢就是不斷的重構，部分是通過移民；足球的興起不是軟弱的表現。）Of course, multimillion-dollar bids from billionaire-owned clubs for the best of Simeone’s socialist stars are about to unstitch the Atlético team; Simeone himself may be lured elsewhere by some fat contract. Money will go on talking. But before it does, enjoy this revolutionary World Cup and the hope it embodies.
當然了，如果億萬富翁們所擁有的俱樂部花上百萬美元來挖西蒙尼的社會主義球星，馬德里競技俱樂部的團隊可能就會解散；西蒙尼自己也可能被其他地方的誘人合同所吸引。有錢依然好辦事。但在這之前，讓我們享受這次革命性的世界盃以及它所代表的希望吧。
