即使没有超级球星 足球世界杯也精彩

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——有钱好办事，哪里都一样，在足球世界或许尤其如此。这项运动就是一桩大买卖。利昂内尔·梅西(Lionel Messi)、克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多(Cristiano Ronaldo )和内马尔(Neymar)等球星的名字在世界各地都如雷贯耳，辨识度堪比好莱坞明星。对比一支足球俱乐部的薪酬清单与胜率，你会发现惊人的相关度。一旦亿万富翁收购了巴黎圣日耳曼、曼城或切尔西足球俱乐部，它们的命运就会发生变化。当卡塔尔这种极其富有的国家想要主办世界杯时，即使这个国家完全不符合要求，也能得偿所愿。

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.

这一切常常破坏了这项运动的美。薪酬过高却郁郁不乐的球星、可疑的交易、贪婪的球员经纪人，都已成为足坛众生相的一部分。足球也无法避免一个不可阻挡的过程：只能眼看着最纯正、最真实的东西被一掷千金的土豪和人为制造出来的形象所毁掉。

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.

直到出现了迭戈·西蒙尼(Diego Simeone)和他的“社会主义足球”。你可以把他看做足球王国的托马·皮克提(Thomas Piketty)。如果不考虑他的影响，你就不可能理解巴西这届不同凡响的世界杯。

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马德里竞技俱乐部(Atlético Madrid)的经理，这个俱乐部历经磨难，克服了我上文所述的一切影响，在今年赢得了西班牙足球甲级联赛，战胜了巴塞罗那足球俱乐部（梅西和内马尔的东家）和皇家马德里足球俱乐部（罗纳尔多的东家）。正常情况下，用工资单作为评估胜率的指标是十分可靠的——但现在它不灵了。马德里竞技俱乐部球员的工资与他们的明星对手相比简直微不足道。

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.”

马德里竞技俱乐部拥有的是团结、凝聚力、决心、能量和自信。这个团队的文化击败了超级明星的文化。在有大批青年失业的西班牙，西蒙尼骄傲地提到了他的工人阶级立场。“在社会上，在那些不得不奋斗的人身上，我们看到了自己的影子，”他说，“人们认同我们，我们是他们的希望。”

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.

每一种趋势都会产生自己的逆趋势。足球也不例外。尽管内马尔和梅西光芒四射，这届世界杯的主角不是明星，而是像马德里竞技队那样不被看好的球队，他们踢出了一场场激烈、充满凝聚力、永不言败的比赛。他们不断的压迫让英格兰、意大利、西班牙和罗纳尔多的祖国葡萄牙的球队纷纷回了老家，给巴西和荷兰留下了一道真正的伤痕。我能想到的是哥斯达黎加（现已进入八强）、智利（不幸在点球大战中输给了巴西）、墨西哥（在最后几分钟惜败荷兰）以及尤尔根·克林斯曼(Jurgen Klinsmann)执教的、特立独行、永不妥协的美国队。

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.)

法国队这一次勉强晋级了世界杯决赛圈。在法国，人们都在谈论明星球员的缺席如何为球队带来了胜利。杰出的边锋弗兰克·里贝里(Franck Ribéry)因伤缺阵，极具创意的进攻组织者和射手萨米尔·纳斯里(Samir Nasri)因为总是制造麻烦而落选世界杯出战名单。（法国在上届南非世界杯上演灾难性一幕，球员公开罢赛。）

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).

他们缺席的结果，是一个更加“社会主义”的法国队——有许多优秀的球员，但没有明星球员，以及以中场球员布莱斯·马图伊迪(Blaise Matuidi)为代表的励精图治的职业道德。激烈的节奏和凝聚力带来了更好的成绩。（在我写作本文时，法国正准备在16强的比赛中对阵尼日利亚，这场比赛将会检验法国队的实力）。

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).

法国已经在三场比赛中有八个进球。而在四分之一决赛到来之前，本届世界杯的进球（本文写作时为145个）已经和整个南非世界杯一样多。这反应了足球运动的改变。这种改变在每一个领域都有所体现：裁判判罚（限制没那么多，更倾向于让比赛自由推进）；比赛风格（更有进攻意识，少了畏首畏尾）；团队合作（快节奏、团结一致的西蒙尼模式频频上演）。

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.

当保守派美国评论家安·库尔特(Ann Coulter)最近谴责美国对足球越来越感兴趣代表着“道德腐化”时，我估计她应该没听说过西蒙尼的“社会主义足球”。但有趣的是，她认为这项运动正在推动着自由派的议程。而在这项运动中，“个人成就不是主要因素”，而且“没有英雄”。就像一个大智若愚的人，凭借着一无所知却意外地得到了一点点真理，她还真是摸出点门道了。这是反个人的世界杯。

(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.)

（库尔特没能看到的是，足球在美国越来越受欢迎，是因为国家队踢得越来越好，西语裔现在占美国人口的17%，而美国和其他地方一样，变得越来越国际化。美国的核心优势就是不断的重构，部分是通过移民；足球的兴起不是软弱的表现。）

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.

当然了，如果亿万富翁们所拥有的俱乐部花上百万美元来挖西蒙尼的社会主义球星，马德里竞技俱乐部的团队可能就会解散；西蒙尼自己也可能被其他地方的诱人合同所吸引。有钱依然好办事。但在这之前，让我们享受这次革命性的世界杯以及它所代表的希望吧。