拉美球隊意氣風發 碾壓歐洲對手

Amid all the goals, thrills and English inquests, a wider pattern is unfolding in Brazil that might yet develop into the World Cup’s most significant narrative.

據英國《每日電訊報》報道，在球員的進球，球迷的尖叫及英國人對失敗的追問中，一種新的模式在巴西席捲開來。也許，這種模式會成爲本屆世界盃最最具意義的闡述。

Just take a look at the various results and standings. Brazil and Mexicolead Group A. Having so stylishly seen off the defending champions, Chile are already through in Group B. Columbia lead Group C. Uruguay have eliminated England from Group D and now have the chance to progress with Costa Rica.

讓我們一起來看看各組比賽的結果和依然立足的球隊。巴西和墨西哥領跑A組。用新式打法擊敗衛冕冠軍西班牙後，智利得以出線B組。哥倫比亞領銜C組。烏拉圭使英格蘭從D組淘汰，併爲自己同哥斯達黎加一同晉級創造了機會。

Ecuador are second behind France in Group E while Argentina are making their expected progress in Group F.

在E組中，厄瓜多爾緊隨法國位列第二。而阿根廷則不負衆望在領跑F組。

That is potentially eight Latin America teams into the last 16 of the tournament. It would be a feat unprecedented in World Cup history but also the continuation of a surprising wider trend that has seen countries from this region steadily increase their pArticipation in the knockout phase from three in 2002, to four in 2006 and then six in 2010.

晉級淘汰賽的16支球隊中就很可能有8支拉美球隊。這在世界盃歷史上將是一場史無前例的盛事但這也同時繼續了拉美球隊在世界盃中穩步成長的趨勢。他們晉級淘汰賽的數量已由2002年的3支增加到2003年的4支再到2010年的6支。

That this should be happening amid the backdrop of an ever widening gap between the resources in Latin America football and the riches in the major European leagues is especially striking. It certainly begs many questions. In what is the first World Cup to be played in Latin America since 1986, are we again destined for a winner from that same continent?

這種趨勢在拉美球隊同歐洲聯隊日益擴大的鴻溝——拉美球隊的足球資源和歐洲聯隊的資金——背景下越發突出。這也的確產生了很多問題。其中一個問題就是在拉丁美洲自1986年首次舉行世界盃後，我們還要將世界盃的獎盃拱手讓給拉美球隊嗎？

And, for all Europe’s money, structures, academies and 10-year plans, are we discovering that the best footballers are still those who spent their childhoods honing their technical skills and temperament away from formal coaching and in fiercely competitive street matches.

儘管歐洲投入了大量的資金，做了各種精心的組織，進行了各種研究以及做了10年的計劃，但我們最後還是發現最佳的球員依然是那些在童年時就磨練球技遠離正規訓練卻參與到激烈地街頭球賽中的拉美球員。

It is no secret that Arsène Wenger is searching for a striker while working in Brazil for French television and, for what is the most technically challenging position on the pitch, his eyes are trained on South America.

溫格在爲法國電視臺在巴西工作時順便尋找出色的前鋒已經早已不是祕密。前鋒是一個在球場上最具技術挑戰性的職位。而溫格的眼睛就一直盯在南美球隊的球員身上。

“I have said many times that Europe still produces many fantastic football players but, if you look well, we do not produce strikers well,” Wenger said. “Very few. All of the big strikers come from South America. Last summer, you had Radamel Falcao going to Monaco, Edinson Cavani going to PSG in a big transfer, Luis Suárez, everybody wanted to buy him. Gonzalo Higuain has gone to Napoli for a lot of money, but in Europe that is an area where it is difficult to find.

“我已經說過很多次，歐洲依然盛產很多優秀的球員，但是，如果你仔細觀察就會發現我們並不盛產優秀的前鋒，”溫格說：“我們優秀的前鋒數量很少。世界上知名的前鋒大多來自南美洲。去年夏天， 拉達梅爾·法爾考去了摩納哥， 埃丁森·卡瓦尼則以高價轉到巴黎聖日耳曼，而蘇亞雷斯，每個球隊都想買到他。伊瓜因以高價轉到那不勒斯。但是在歐洲，很難發現身價很高的前鋒。”

“In Germany, I can remember in every club you had a big striker, they produced some fantastic ones, but they do not produce young strikers. Is that a result of the way we coach? Of modern life? I don’t know.”

“在德國，我能記得每個俱樂部的前鋒，他們的確培養出了一些很棒的球員，但他們沒有培養出一流的前鋒。我不知道是我們指導的方式有問題還是現代的生活不適合球員技術的提高？”

It was certainly hard not to watch Chile outplay England at Wembley last year – and then so brilliantly dispatch Spain earlier this week – and not sense an inherent technical superiority. Any team with Alexis Sanchez in attack and Arturo Vidal in midfield should always be pleasing on the eye and they will face Holland tomorrow in a fixture that will tell us more about whether players who their coach, Jorge Sampaoli, calls the “rebels of football” can mount a realistic World Cup challenge.

從英格蘭去年在溫布利球場完敗智利到一週前西班牙慘烈出局世界盃，人們還沒感受到連續的球技。任何一支球隊，只要有阿萊克西斯·桑切斯作前鋒，阿圖羅·比達爾作中場，都會樂在心中。智利隊明天將會在球場上對陣荷蘭隊，這場球賽將會告訴我們桑保利所稱做的足球叛逃者是否能夠對世界盃發起一場現實的挑戰。

Similarly, it is the flair players of Uruguay, Costa Rica, Argentina and Columbia that are excelling. “We are on the rise, we have lots of confidence but we mustn’t lose sight of our objective which is to play good football,” says Teó Gutiérrez, the Columbia striker.

同樣地，有天分的烏拉圭，哥斯達黎加，阿根廷和哥倫比亞球員在此超越了自我。“我們還處於上升期，我們很有信心，但我們不能忘記我們的目標是踢好球。”哥倫比亞的前鋒，特奧菲羅·古鐵雷斯說道。

For all the obvious quality of the Latin America players, there does also seem to have been something more at work in Brazil over these past 10 days. Spain, after all, could not dissect a Chile back three that comprised two midfielders relegated with Cardiff and Osasuna and a centre-back released by Nottingham Forest.

除了拉美球員的特質外，似乎還有什麼在巴西過去的十天中發揮着重要作用。畢竟，西班牙隊不能抗衡由兩名降級俱樂部球員組成的中場和一名被俱樂部開除的中後衛似乎有點說不過去。

In the expressions of Suárez as he waited on the bench for the full-time whistle against England, it was also impossible not to sense a particular motivation at participating in Latin America’s first World Cup for almost 30 years. Even before the tournament, Costa Rica manager Jorge Luis Pinto summed up the attitude of his team at being drawn against England and Italy. “We love the group,” he said. “The braver the bull, the better the bullfight.”

在對陣英格蘭的比賽中，當蘇亞雷斯坐在板凳上靜等終場哨聲時，我們能感受到他在參加這場由近30年來南美洲舉辦的球賽時所散發出的強烈鬥志和動機。甚至在比賽前，哥斯達黎加的教練平託總結他的球隊在對陣意大利和英格蘭的態度時說：“我們喜歡這樣的分組，鬥牛越是兇猛，鬥牛表演就越精彩。”

Pride is also at stake and it has been noticeable in Brazil that, even in matches not involving their teams, most South American fans here are supporting countries from their continent. The one predictable exception is explained by the intensity in the rivalry between Brazil and Argentina.

士氣也同樣至關重要，很顯然在巴西的比賽中，儘管當場比賽中沒有他們國家的球隊，很多南美粉絲也會支持來自南美的國家。只有一個例外是勁敵巴西和阿根廷。

The climatic conditions must also be factored in when you consider that Latin American teams have won the tournament on all six of the previous occasions that it has been hosted in the region. Yes, England’s loss to Uruguay might have played in autumnal English conditions but, in their sluggish performance, you had to wonder what the match in Manaus five days earlier had taken out of them.

氣候狀況也是重要的因素。拉美球隊在早先的六場比賽中都贏得了比賽，是因爲他們是主場作戰。是的，英格蘭輸給烏拉圭是在像英國秋天一樣的天氣中舉行的，但是，通過他們在場上遲鈍的表現，人們不禁會想五天前在瑪瑙斯的比賽奪走了他們的狀態。

The same also seemed true as Italy so struggled in the searing heat against Costa Rica on Friday. “I think the one main obstacle that the European sides will have to overcome is the climate – or, more accurately, the changes in climate the teams could face,” says Ioan Lupescu Uefa’s chief technical officer.

同樣地，意大利在週五對陣哥斯達黎加時似乎也掙扎於這股熱浪。”我認爲歐洲球隊需要克服的主要障礙就是氣候——或者，更準確地說，球隊所面對的氣候變化，” 歐足聯的技術官員說。

“Playing in different parts of such a big country could be like playing in three different seasons depending on a team’s schedule. Tactics may be very different from one game to the next because of this. If the European teams can negotiate this problem, they have a great chance.

“根據球隊的計劃，在這個大國的不同地方踢球就好像在三個不同的季節踢球。因此，技術也可能每場都不相同。如果歐洲球隊能闖過這個難關，他們就有可能取得勝利。”

“Two European teams contested the last World Cup final which took place outside Europe so I think that particular ‘mental block’ has now been removed and going to a different continent does not hold the uncertainties that it maybe once did.”

“在上屆世界盃中，兩支歐洲球隊在歐洲以外的球場上爲爭奪冠軍進行了巔峯對決，所以我認爲氣候狀況這一‘心理障礙’可以被移除。儘管以前曾是，但現在去其他的大陸作戰並不能作爲不確定因素。”

Lupesca, of course, is right and the strong early showing from Latin America still offers few guarantees for the final outcome. For all that improved representation in the knockout phase, the last two World Cup finals have ultimately ended with an all-European final.

當然，歐足聯的說法是對的，拉美球隊早期的強勢並不能保證決賽結果。要知道，上兩屆世界盃，在淘汰賽中改進了表現後，最後進入決賽的都是歐洲球隊。

The initial signs, however, are that the balance may very well be redressed this year. Uruguay, Colombia and Chile have rarely looked better equipped to compete with the traditional local powerhouses of Brazil and Argentina to provide an all Latin America final. The last time that happened? Back in 1950, on the only previous occasion that Rio’s Maracana has staged the World Cup final.

然而，本屆世界盃釋放的最初的信號是這種平衡在今年可能會略有調整。烏拉圭，哥倫比亞和智利很少能像現在這樣做好準備同傳統強隊巴西和阿根廷作戰，並一同進入總決賽。最後一次出現這種情況的是1950年，里約熱內盧的馬拉卡納球場舉行了這場世界盃總決賽。