楼主:
aseity (对不起，我是神棍)
2018-06-17 15:45:18经过昨天的比赛 对Messi的讨论很多
刚好在卫报看这篇文章 非常喜欢 和大家分享一下
(我很喜欢卫报的报导风格 另外有翻了一篇02年韩国和意大利的比赛文章
#1R0-sbW9 (WorldCup) 也欢迎大家指教)
非专业翻译 匆忙翻完 有错误难免 欢迎指正讨论 谢谢
https://tinyurl.com/y83wfv8z
Lionel Messi: traitor to some, genius to all and carrying the heaviest burden
“Whenever I have trouble sleeping, I find Messi’s goals on YouTube and watch
them on a loop,” the acclaimed Argentinian film-maker Lucrecia Martel said
recently. Asked whether they sent her to sleep she said: “They give me peace;
I recover faith.”
“每次我睡不着的时候，我就会在Youtube上面找Messi得分的影片然后一直看一直看”
，阿根廷知名导演Lucrecia Martel这么说。被问到这些影片是否能帮助她入睡，她说
“他们让我觉得平静，让我重拾信心。”
Many Argentinians derive faith from watching Lionel Messi play: “Messi is
the first genius of the 21st century,” Jorge Valdano tells me, “and the last
bridge between the street and the academy. If for Maradona the ball was a
musical instrument, for Messi it’s a tool which he utilises with a stunning
sense of efficacy.”
很多阿根廷人因为看Messi踢球而得到信心；Jorge Valdano说“Messi是21世纪的第一个
天才，而且是街头足球和学院足球之间的桥梁。如果对Maradona来说球是乐器的话，那对
Messi来说球就是他能够以惊人的功效活用的一个工具。”
Valdano was part of Argentina’s most recent World Cup-winning team and
Maradona’s on-field partner in that 1986 final. He does not use the word
genius lightly. Attempts to explain Messi’s genius have provoked a
non-negligible body of literature. Outstanding among the crop is Ramiro
Martín’s A Genius in the School Football. “Aimar used to say one doesn’t
think on the pitch, one makes decisions,” Martín said, referring to the
former Argentina playmaker. “Messi does so in a fraction of a split second
and 90% of the time he makes the right decision.”
Valdano是阿根廷上次赢得世界冠军的成员之一，1986年决赛Maradona场上的搭档，所以他
是不会随便使用天才这个字眼的。已经有过太多太多报导和著作试着要解释Messi的天份，
其中Ramiro Martín在A Genius in the School Football写到“Aimar曾经说过一位球员
在场上不是思考，而是做决定。Messi就是在毫秒瞬间做出决定，而且他的决定有90%都会
是正确的。”
“Messi is two, three players at once,” Javier Mascherano once said, and he
recently clarified for me what he means: “Conceptually, Leo does what in other
teams you need three players to do: he takes care of creating play, finishing
and assisting all at the same time.”
“Messi一次要当两三个球员”Javier Mascherano曾经这么说，最近他解释了他的意思，
“在概念上Lionel做了在其他队伍里你需要三个球员做的事情：他同时要组织进攻、助攻
和得分。”
Messi’s stats are a testament to this; he has surpassed most on goals scored
but also in terms of assists. Mascherano thinks the constant improvement makes
Messi all the more spectacular: “He is continually in ascendant evolution –
year after year he becomes a better player.”
Messi的数据证明了Mascherano的话；他的得分超多，助攻也一样。Mascherano认为不断的
进步让Messi更加令人惊艳“他持续不断在进化，每过一年他就变成更好的球员。”
On-field genius comes with an off pitch low profile that has rendered him
enigmatic to say the least. He rarely says much and when he does it is hardly
amazing. The writer John Carlin once said that having interviewed Messi twice,
if he were offered him again he would refuse. “Shy,” everyone says, and
almost as often the reference comes with “not so much shy as introverted”.
What is unarguable is that Messi’s savant qualities exist. And that is what is
of interest.
场上的天才表现配上场外低调的作风，让他变成了谜一般的人物。他几乎不说什么话，一
旦开了口也不会是什么令人惊艳的发言。作家John Carlin曾经采访过Messi两次，但如果
再给他一次采访机会，他会拒绝。大家都说Messi很害羞，甚至不如说他是内向。但毋
庸置疑的是Messi的天才，而那才是让大家感兴趣的。
After Argentina achieved second place at the 2014 World Cup, playing every
minute of the tournament with every fibre of their beings, there was a hideous
backlash back home dwelling on the mistakes, the could-have-beens, the ifs and
the buts. The cross Messi has to bear for being Argentinian but not having won
a major trophy for the nation is as unbearable as it is ridiculous.
阿根廷在2014年世界杯得到亚军，球员们在每场比赛每一分钟都拼尽全身的力气，但在国
内却有恶意的酸言酸语，批评球队犯下的错误，各种马后砲和事后诸葛都出现了。Messi背
上了无法为阿根廷拿下重大赛事的十字架，这不但荒谬且令人无法忍受。
The dichotomy between club and country is the single most referred-to question
thrown my way when it comes to Messi, ever since he sat on the bench as an
unused substitute in 2006, sulking while Argentina went out to Germany. How
come he delivers so much for Barcelona and so little for Argentina? Is it
Andrés Iniesta? He doesn’t sing the national anthem was one of the criticisms.
And he never played in his own country’s first division.
2006年世界杯阿根廷被德国淘汰，Messi当时还是板凳球员，从那个时候开始Messi最常受
到质疑的就是他在国家队和俱乐部的成就相差太大，为什么他为巴赛隆纳做了那么多却对
阿根廷做那么少？是因为有Iniesta吗？Messi不唱国歌也常常招到批评，而且他从未踢过
阿根廷的顶级联赛。
A perception has been voiced that somehow he is sometimes a ravenous winner
(for Barcelona) and other times a disconnected outsider who does not feel the
emotion of the strip (for Argentina). The author Andrés Burgo disputes this.
“There was never a ravenous Messi and another disconnected one: he was always
ravenously disconnected,” he wrote in 2015. That came after the 2014“fiasco”
was followed by Messi leading Argentina to another final, the Copa América,
where they lost against Chile.
有人说Messi有时候是极端的胜利者(在巴萨的时候)，而有时候他是对身上球衣没有感情的
断线边缘人(在国家队的时候)。作家Andrés Burgo对这样的说法有意见，在2014年的大混
乱(指的可能是对Messi的批评)后，他在2015年写道“从来就没有极端的Messi和断线的
Messi，他总是极端地断线。”之后在2016年Messi带领阿根廷进入另一次决赛，美洲杯，
最后却输给智利。
https://imgur.com/PJHH4Q8.jpg
Ravenous, disconnected, introverted and somehow remarkably “one more in the
team” and “just a normal guy” – quite a feat for probably the most famous
guy in the world. “You’re better known than Coca-Cola,” the political
journalist Luis Majul told him a few months ago in an interview aired in
Argentina and Messi laughed. Why? Was it the fact itself or the nature of the
comparison that cracked him up? Majul asked, as if talking to a child (because
interviewers talk to him as if he is a child): “What are you laughing at?
It’s true.” The reply was a shrug, an “I don’t know”, some sort of “I
never think about myself in those terms” thing.
极端、断线、内向，但同时又“只是队上的另一个球员”、“只是个普通人”，这对也许
是世界上最知名的人来说实在是不简单。“你比可口可乐还有名欸，”政治记者Luis
Majul几个月前在一场于阿根廷播出的访问中这样对Messi说，然后Messi大笑。为什么笑？
是因为这句话是真的，还是这样的说法太夸张了？Majul像在对一个小孩讲话一样(因为采
访者在跟他访谈的时候都把他当小孩)问Messi“这是真的欸，你在笑什么？”Messi的回应
是耸耸肩，“我不知道欸”，好像有种我从来没有那样想过自己的感觉。
(记者可能不知道Messi其实是代言Pepsi...)
A more recent interview with the popular football programme Líbero visited
Messi’s personal museum of balls, trophies and football shirts – the shirts
signed by former team mates, rivals, legends. He shows off Iniesta’s, the
most recent addition: “I never asked him for his shirt before, because I was
still enjoying him,” he said; now that Iniesta has left Barcelona he dared
ask. “You are the number one, there is no one like you,” Iniesta’s message
says.
另一场更近期的访谈是热门的足球节目Líbero，他们参观了Messi的个人博物馆，他收藏
的球、奖杯、还有球衣——他的队友、对手还有传奇球星们签名的球衣。Messi跟节目现了
他最新拿到的Iniesta签名球衣，“我之前没有跟他要过球衣，因为我还在享受和他一起踢
球。”现在Iniesta离开巴萨了，所以他敢开口要球衣了。“你是No.1，没有人跟你一样”
，Iniesta在球衣上这样写着。
Huge efforts from the Messi brand are being poured into highlighting that he
gives these interviews to Argentinian media. The view that Messi has matured
– now that he is a father – and adopted leadership skills, that he is more
sure of himself and dares be who he wants to be, is further illustrated by his
relatively new image. “The ornamental beard, so in vogue, so ex con,” was
the cynical take from the professional social provocateur Esteban Schmidt in
Argentina. The Beckham-style tattoos (at least one of which has been removed)
present a more masculine, muscular Messi. Gone is the shy antisocial Messi; in
comes the new leader.
Messi的公司很努力想要强调他让阿根廷的媒体做这些采访。Messi已经成熟了，他现在已
身为人父，有了领导的技能，他现在对自己更有自信而且敢做自己——这样的观点进一步
地从他新新的形象中得到解释。“他的浓密大胡子，又时尚又有恶汉形象”，阿根廷的社
交名流Esteban Schmidt这么评论。他身上像贝克汉风格一样的刺青也展现了一个更雄壮、
更阳刚的Messi。那位害羞不善交际的Messi不见了，新的领袖诞生了。
“In spite of media efforts to Maradonise him, he really doesn’t pick players,
select squads, or dictate formations or lineups,” said a source from within
team Messi to counter rumours rife in Argentina. Much was made of the fact that
in a friendly against Spain in March, when he asked not to play because of
muscle fatigue, he went into the dressing room at half-time to give the pep
talk. At Brazil 2014, after an initial defensive formation, apparently Messi
sent word to the coach, Alejandro Sabella, that the players weren’t happy, and
a more offensive lineup reigned henceforth.
“虽然媒体一直想要把他比成Maradona，但是他真的没有挑球员，选阵容，或者是决定阵
型或是先发，”Messi阵营里有人这么说，试着反驳阿根廷国内的各种流言。这些流言起源
于三月对上西班牙的友谊赛，Messi因为肌肉疲劳而没有上场，他在中场的时候进到休息室
对全队喊话。2014年在巴西的世界杯，在一开始阿根廷摆出了防守的阵型，Messi对教练
Alejandro Sabella反映球员们不是很开心，之后阿根廷就摆出了较攻击型的阵势。
We can track rumours of the modus operandi back years; allegedly he texted
managers with his tactical critique from the bus after a match, seats away from
the manager. He is more comfortable texting than speaking. Juan Sebastián
Verón claimed that the only time he saw him nervous enough to lose sleep
(Messi sleeps on average a couple of hours more than most athletes, including a
sacred afternoon nap) was when he had to speak to the squad as captain in 2010.
Verón said Messi paced the room they shared anxiously.
我们可以追踪这些流言到好几年前，据说Messi赛后在队巴上传短信给教练表达他对战术的
意见，而他离教练只有个座位远而已。比起开口说话，他觉得传短信比较自在。Juan
Sebastián Verón说他只有一次看到Messi因为紧张而失眠(Messi平均起来比起一般运动
员多睡了几个小时，其中包括神圣的午觉)就是2010年的时候他必须要以队长的身份对全队
讲话。Verón说Messi焦虑地在房间里走来走去。
Messi’s phone is his friend. To the point that on the friendly tour of
Manchester and Madrid it was leaked that he sat, head hung low, staring at the
screen even at mealtimes; that younger players in awe dared not approach. His
longstanding osteopath of yesteryear José Brau said: “The way to understand
him is to watch his body language: when his head is down it’s as if he was
putting up a Do Not Disturb sign.”
Messi的手机就是他的朋友，他黏手机的程度夸张到有次到曼彻斯特和马德里进行友谊赛，
据说他甚至在午餐时间都坐着低头盯着手机萤幕，年轻球员敬畏地都不敢靠近。他的长期
整骨医生José Brau说“你要了解他就要看他的肢体语言：当他头低低的时候他就好像进
入了勿扰模式一样。”
Sometimes his head appears to be low on the pitch and he goes on to score some
impossible goal and it is on the pitch that we should observe him. “A genetic
miracle,” Fernando Signorini told me. Signorini has worked as a trainer with
footballers for as long as he can remember and was in charge of Argentina’s
physical coaching at the 2010 World Cup. “Just like Diego, his neuromuscular
coordination has a cosmic power. Almost unthinkable ability to control their
body in time and space, defying gravity. At maximum speed, he can take two
steps with the same leg and the ball. I’ve tried to do it on sand and I
couldn’t. Leo and Diego do it routinely, at high velocity, surrounded by the
greatest players in the world trying to stop them. That’s how I would define
his genius.”
有时候他在球场上也是头低低，但他马上就可以进一些很夸张的入球，我们应该观察球场
上的他。“他是基因上的奇蹟，”Fernando Signorini这么说。Signorini长期从事足球训
练工作，他在2010年世界杯担任阿根廷的体能教练。“就像Maradona一样，Messi的神经肌
肉协调有宇宙爆发般的力量。不论是时间上还是空间上，他能不可思议地控制他的身体，
甚至违反重力。在达到最高速的时候，他可以单脚带球连跨两步。我在沙上面试过但做不
到，但Maradona跟他常常可以做到，而且是在高速，身边围绕着世界上最棒的球员想要挡
住他们的时候。我会以这样的能力定义他的天才。”
The challenge then is to create the environment that will best enable him to
thrive. Successive Argentina managers have spent inordinate amounts of time not
only meeting Messi on regular trips to Barcelona but questioning Pep Guardiola,
the coach widely regarded as having got the best out of him. Guardiola is said
to have told Sabella: “Speak to him the bare minimum, only when absolutely
necessary.”
最大的挑战是创造出一个最能够让他发挥的环境。连续几任阿根廷教练都花了无数的时间
定期前往巴赛隆纳，不只和Messi见面，也向Pep Guardiola这位普遍认为让Messi发光发热
的教练请教。据说Guardiola曾经跟Sabella说，“尽可能少跟他说话，只有非必要不可的
时候再开口。”
Martín remembers Guardiola showing him video footage he would put in front of
Messi accompanied by light hints. “What do you think if we try this?” Or:
“It seems to me that we could have an opportunity if we did that …”
“Suggest,” Guardiola says. And let him be.
Martín记得Guardiola曾经给他看过他要给Messi看的影片还有一些简单的指示。“我们试
试这个你觉得怎么样？”或是“看来如果我们这样做可能会有机会...”
“给建议，”Guardiola这么说，然后就随他去。
Jorge Sampaoli has also been briefed by Guardiola. Argentina’s coach seems to
be cracking the Messi enigma. Sources close to the footballer say he was very
pleased after their first meeting, because they “only spoke about football”.
It is in keeping with Guardiola’s stance to stick to the subject.
Jorge Sampaoli也有被Guardiola这样指示过，这位阿根廷主教练似乎正在破解Messi的谜
。Messi身边的人透露他在和Sampaoli初次见面后很开心，因为他们“只谈了足球”。这和
Guardiola的立场一样，谈重点就好。
The anguish Messi feels when he loses is clear. The image of him sobbing in the
arms of Mascherano after defeat in one final, the surprise retirement from
international football after another (he was lured back) are indicative of a
frustration bordering on the unbearable.
Messi输球时感受到的痛苦是很明显的。有张输掉决赛后他在Mascherano的怀里大哭的照片
，还有他在输掉另一场决赛后突然宣布退出国家队，这些都显示了他接近崩溃的沮丧。
But the absurdity of the burden the national flag represents subjects him to
constant backlash – his every utterance turned against him in the most
unexpected ways. “Do you feel you owe the World Cup to the Argentinian people,
” he was asked. “We owe it to ourselves,” Messi replied.
但国家队荣誉的负担，即使很荒谬，依然使他受到不断的指责——他不管说什么都会被人
曲解，然后再度质疑他。“你觉得你欠阿根廷人民一座世界杯吗？”他曾被这样问。“我
们欠我们自己，”Messi这样子回答。
A barrage of manufactured controversy ensued: Messi does not feel indebted to
the nation. A traitor, motivated by the deep Qatari-sponsored coffers of
Barcelona more than by the glorious emotive weight of the national strip.
然后又引起一连串的争议了：Messi觉得他没有欠国家什么。一个叛徒，只愿意为背后有卡
达大财主的巴赛隆纳奉献，而不是国家队球衣的荣耀和情感，
The sports psychologist Marcelo Roffé, who worked with Messi’s generation of
players at youth level, said it wasn’t Maradona who is ill – Argentinian
society is ill. “How can a person be psychologically prepared to tolerate the
‘poison’ of success?” he said. “It’s not easy.”
曾经和Messi世代的年轻球员一起共事的运动心理学家Marcelo Roffé说不只是Maradona有
病，整个阿根廷社会都有病。“一个人怎么可能在心理上忍受对于成功病态般的追求呢？
这很困难的。”
Messi has enjoyed his football more with Barcelona. The familiarity with his
team-mates and his surroundings notwithstanding, perhaps he really is a
creature of habit. He apparently likes order and is himself very ordered;
Argentina maybe throws just that little bit more chaos his way than he can
handle. Unlike Maradona, who thrived on conflict and feeds off opposition,
Messi seems to need cooperation in order to succeed. He functions best as part
of a well-oiled machine. It’s difficult to match that concept with Argentina,
on any level.
Messi在巴赛隆纳比较能够享受足球。不只是因为对于队友和环境的熟悉，也或许是因为他
跟着习惯而活。他显然喜欢秩序和规律，他自己也很守纪律，阿根廷也许为他带来了太多
他无法处理的混乱。不像Maradona，一个在混乱中崛起并利用对抗成长的人物，Messi似乎
需要合作才可以成功。他在一个顺畅运作的体系中才能够发挥出他自己。但阿根廷从来没
办法达成这样的条件，不管是任何方面。
Plenty of Argentinians are football lovers in the purest sense, content to
share the fact that we are from the same country as Messi and satisfied with
the joy he has given. “I love you just the way you are; without cups or
trophies” Alejandro Wall titled a feature-length ode of gratitude, voicing the
feeling of millions. But plenty more, and perhaps the media are more guilty of
this than most, still feel something is incomplete.
有很多阿根廷人是很纯粹的足球爱好者，能够和Messi来自同一个国家，并且分享他带来的
快乐，这样子就很满足了。“我就是喜欢你的样子，不管有没有奖杯”，Alejandro Wall
写了一首充满感谢的赞美诗，讲出了百万球迷的心声。但有更多球迷，或者是媒体，依然
觉得缺少了一点什么。
Mascherano told me Messi has a conditioning effect on the collective
performance. He also believes Messi’s best version depends on the team and
Messi seems to echo this, always claiming he wins nothing alone.
Mascherano说Messi会因为球队整体的表现而受到影响。他认为Messi最好的状态要取决于
球队，而Messi也这么认为，他总是说他并不是一个人赢下所有荣誉。
Maradona won a World Cup for Argentina practically single handedly, but at a
cost. To himself and perhaps the collective ego of the nation.
Maradona几乎以一人之力赢下世界杯，但这也不是没有代价的——代价可能就是他自己，
或许还有整个国家的集体自我。
“This has to be very clearly stated: Messi is not Maradona; whether we like it
or not,” Roffé has said. “As Argentines, we have done a lot of damage to
Maradona. We can’t stop consuming him, as if he was a substance. Let’s hope
with Messi we learn to modify our behaviour.”
“有件事必须说清楚：不管你喜不喜欢，Messi不是Maradona”，Roffé这么说。“身为阿
根廷人，我们已经对Maradona伤害太大了。我们不能继续消费他，好像他只是个物品。我
们希望我们可以调整我们对Messi的行为。”
This is almost certainly Messi’s last chance to win a World Cup so the onus
and pressure are on the other 22 players. Are they up to the task of helping
the genius emerge triumphant? Will anything change if they do? Discussing
Messi’s fantastic maturity and fitness level, Sampaoli was asked whether this
was “Messi’s World Cup”. He replied: “This one, the next one, and the one
after that.” It is not as if he is going to play until he is 50, came the
retort from the floor, to which Sampaoli replied: “I don’t know.”
这几乎确定是Messi最后一次赢得世界杯的机会了，所以压力都在其他22名球员身上。他们
能够负担起让这位天才成功的工作吗？如果他们成功了，事情会有任何改变吗？在讨论到
Messi惊人的成熟度和体能状态时，Sampaoli被问到这次是否是“Messi的世界杯”。他回
答，“这次，下一次，还有再下一次都是”看起来他并不会踢到50岁吧，有人这样插话，
而Sampaoli说，“我不知道。”