去東方淘金 足球明星從歐洲向中國遷徙

LONDON — As the migration of soccer players from Europe to China continues, much of the rhetoric is falling short on understanding.

倫敦——隨着足球運動員不斷從歐洲遷徙到中國，許多誇誇其談已無法讓人理解。

After Alex Teixeira’s move to Liverpool fell through, and the Brazilian was sold days later for $55 million to the Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning, the former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson said in a Liverpool newspaper that Teixeira “must have the professional ambition of a gnat.”

在巴西球員阿萊士·特謝拉(Alex Teixeira)轉會利物浦告吹，並在幾天後就以5500萬美元身價加盟中國足球超級聯賽俱樂部江蘇蘇寧之後，前利物浦後衛馬克·勞倫森(Mark Lawrenson)在利物浦的一家報紙上說，特謝拉的“職業志向堪比蚊蚋”。

Likewise, when the Colombian Jackson Martínez left Atlético Madrid after barely half a season, the presumption was that he couldn’t cut it in Madrid. Ramires, the Brazilian sold by Chelsea, and Gervinho, the Ivory Coast striker sold by Roma, are other notable players who have joined Chinese clubs in recent weeks in what The Sun newspaper has called the “Great Haul of China.”

同樣，當哥倫比亞球員傑克遜·馬丁內斯(Jackson Martínez)僅在半個賽季之後就離開馬德里競技隊(Atlético Madrid)時，人們推測他可能是無法適應馬競。切爾西(Chelsea)出售的巴西球員拉米雷斯(Ramires)以及羅馬(Roma)出售的科特迪瓦前鋒熱爾維尼奧(Gervinho)，是最近幾周加盟中國俱樂部的其他知名球員，而《太陽報》(The Sun)稱他們爲“中國大手筆”。

Players leaving European clubs and heading to different continents is nothing new, look at Major League Soccer. But there is a difference between what the Chinese clubs have done and what the M.L.S. did so selectively with big names like David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Andrea Pirlo.

球員離開歐洲俱樂部前往其他大洲並不是什麼新鮮事，看看美國職業足球大聯盟(Major League Soccer)。但中國俱樂部所做的，和美國大聯盟有選擇地對一些大牌球員如大衛·貝克漢姆(David Beckham)、蒂埃裏·亨利(Thierry Henry)和安德烈·皮爾洛(Andrea Pirlo)所做的，存在很大區別。

The players heading west to M.L.S. have largely been at the end of their careers, trading their fame for a few seasons in the land of the dollar. Those rushing east to chase the renminbi are closer — much closer — to being in the prime of their careers.

前往美國大聯盟的球員大部分已經到了自己職業生涯的晚期，用他們的名氣在美元之國換來幾個賽季的出場。而那些前往東方去追逐人民幣的球員，與自己職業生涯的巔峯時期更爲接近。

Many of them have been on the money trail since their early teens. Like soccer mercenaries, they have been shipped out of their countries in South America, Africa and, more recently, Asia, by talent spotters to join rich clubs in Europe.

他們當中有許多人從十幾歲以來一直走在追逐金錢的道路上。就像足球僱傭兵，他們被球探從南美、非洲以及近期的亞洲國家帶出來，加入了富有的歐洲俱樂部。

They know no other life. Their place at a top team is dependent on the whim of the coach, whose own tenure might not last a season at any one club. And when playing careers can be ended by the next tackle, why should we blame young men for crossing this final frontier in search of a living?

他們不知道其他的生活方式。他們在一支頂級球隊的地位取決於教練的興致，而教練自己的任期在任何一個俱樂部都可能不會持續一個賽季。既然足球的職業生涯隨時都可能因爲一次滑鏟而終結，爲什麼要指責年輕人跨越底線，去追求生計呢？

It might just be — though nobody is betting on it — that a few of the hundreds now playing in the China are intrigued by the challenge of a different culture.

數百名現在效力於中國俱樂部的球員中，或許有一部分是受到了不同文化挑戰的吸引——不過沒有誰能斷言。

The Lawrenson quip about Teixeira having “the professional ambition of a gnat” if he prefers Jiangsu over Liverpool is in itself dated. When Lawrenson, 58, played in Liverpool’s defense 30 years ago, it really was the team to play for.

勞倫森對特謝拉選擇蘇寧而非利物浦的諷刺之語“蚊蚋”的志向，本身就過時了。當58歲的勞倫森30年前在利物浦踢後衛時，當時那真的是一支值得效力的球隊。

But Lawrenson, who grew up in northern England, did not have to move far or learn a new language or wonder how long management would last at Liverpool. When he joined the Reds, it was a career move to one of Europe’s most stable giants.

但是在英格蘭北部長大的勞倫森，並不需要背井離鄉、不需要學習一門新語言、不需要考慮利物浦的教練組能執教多久。當他加盟“紅軍”(Reds)時，這是前往歐洲最穩定的豪門之一的職業轉變。

There is no such stability today, and very little expectation that a top player (other than Lionel Messi at Barcelona or Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid) will stay in one place for most of their prime.

今天沒有這樣的穩定選項了，人們也很少期望一名頂級球員——除了巴塞羅那(Barcelona)的里奧內爾·梅西(Lionel Messi)或皇家馬德里的克里斯蒂亞諾·羅納爾多(Cristiano Ronaldo)——會將大部分巔峯時期奉獻給一傢俱樂部。

Besides that, Alex Teixeira was in a place he needed to get out of. He had moved, together with a whole batch of fledging Brazilian players, to Shakhtar Donetsk when they were in their teens and Shakhtar’s billionaire owner had the money to put his Ukrainian team on the map of global soccer.

除此之外，阿萊士·特謝拉也處在一個應該離開的地方。他和一大批剛起步的巴西球員一起，在十幾歲時轉會到了頓涅茨克礦工隊(Shakhtar Donetsk)。頓涅茨克礦工的億萬富翁老闆有錢把他的烏克蘭球隊帶上世界足球的舞臺。

Then came the civil unrest, the bombing of Shakhtar’s fine stadium and the team’s move hundreds of miles away, along with the inevitable breakup of the club’s Brazilian core, which helped revolutionize soccer in a beleaguered part of eastern Europe.

隨後烏克蘭發生內亂、頓涅茨克礦工隊球場被炸、球隊搬遷到數百英里之外，不可避免地造成該俱樂部巴西核心的離去，這促使東歐陷入困境的地區開展了足球改革。

So Alex Teixeira saw his teammates scatter to clubs that could afford to remove them from Donetsk. He saw negotiations between Liverpool and Shakhtar go to the brink, then collapse at the deadline for transfers in Europe. It was said that the Brazilian only had to wait until the transfer window, in July, and Liverpool would seal the deal.

所以阿萊士·特謝拉看着隊友們四散各處，到了能夠將他們從頓涅茨克帶走的俱樂部。他看着利物浦和頓涅茨克礦工隊之間的談判拖到最後一刻，然後在歐洲轉會的最後期限破裂。據說巴西人需要等到7月份轉會窗口開啓，那時利物浦才能完成交易。

What were the guarantees on that? Six months is a long time in sports, and probably a longer time for a Brazilian marooned in Ukraine after some of his best pals had flown that nest.

這有什麼保證？半年在體育界是很長一段時間，而對一名被困在烏克蘭，且一些好朋友已經逃離的巴西人來說，這更讓他度日如年。

It is human nature for someone like Alex Teixeira — who is extremely talented, by the way — to ask himself, “Why not China?” It would not be unrealistic for him to observe that scores of Brazilians, both top players and coaches, have joined the exodus there.

對於像阿萊士·特謝拉（順便說一句，他非常有才能）這樣的人來說，捫心自問“爲什麼不能去中國”是很自然的事情。在他看來，沒有發覺大量巴西人（包括頂級的球員和教練）出走到中國，是什麼異乎尋常的事。

Athletes do not have to cross cultural boundaries unless they really wish to. They can live wherever fortune takes them, and most barely ever come out of the cocoon that surrounds players. They are encamped in training bases, sealed off from the community around them. Their housing is taken care of, along with the schooling for their kids, their food, even their camaraderie.

運動員並非一定要跨越文化界限，除非他們自己真的想。他們逐財富而居，而且大多數人甚至不會脫離身邊的小圈子。他們駐紮在訓練基地，不與附近的社區接觸。他們的住房、孩子的教育、飲食，甚至他們的朋友，都會受到特別照顧。

This is not exclusive to China. It can happen in Rome, in Madrid, even in Liverpool, because they might be required to play three games nearly every week in a 10-month season, and then they are taken off for overseas tours to make the club even more money and to build the brand.

這並非僅限於中國。這在羅馬，在馬德里，甚至在利物浦都有可能發生，因爲球員們可能在長達10個月的賽季中，被要求每週打三場比賽，然後趕赴海外，爲俱樂部賺更多的錢並打造俱樂部的品牌。

Those tours invariably go to one of two places — the United States or Asia.

這些海外之旅的目的地總是兩個地方之一：美國或亞洲。

According to legend, the new frontier of China is where soccer developed, centuries before England and Scotland began to export it 150 years ago. China, of course, has gone through periods of upheaval, when its culture and economy and its sports could not even think about competing with the West.

相傳，早在英格蘭和蘇格蘭150年前開始輸出足球的數個世紀之前，足球運動在中國這個新的前沿就有了發展。當然，中國經歷了動盪的時期，那時它的文化、經濟和體育根本無法與西方相提並論。

No more. And whatever the slowdown in China’s economy, there is clearly enough money left around for its clubs to throw unforeseen fortunes at the talented feet of foreign players.

不過那種情形已經一去不復返。無論中國經濟增長再怎麼放緩，顯然它都有足夠的錢，讓各個俱樂部爲有才能的外籍球員提供不可限量的財富。

The players are following the same instinct that Europeans did when they left a century or two ago to find their fortunes in places like Shanghai and Guangzhou: Go east, young man.

一兩個世紀前，歐洲人前往上海、廣州等地追求自己的財富，而如今球員們正跟隨同樣的本能：去東方，年輕人。