一球致勝 神奇小子格策的光芒比梅西更閃亮

LONDON — The last time that Germany beat Argentina to win the World Cup, the coach, Franz Beckenbauer, said that once East and West Germany became unified at the end of that year, no one would ever take the title off them.

倫敦——當德國隊上一次擊敗阿根廷隊奪得世界盃冠軍時，時任德國隊教練弗朗茨·貝肯鮑爾(Franz Beckenbauer)聲稱，一旦東西德在年底實現統一，就再也沒有誰能從德國隊手中奪走冠軍的稱號。

Beckenbauer was smiling that night in 1990 in Rome. His boast was meant to be taken lightheartedly.

那是1990年的一個夜晚，貝肯鮑爾人在羅馬，面帶微笑。他的話其實只是興奮之時的無心之語。

It has taken 24 years for Germany to become the world champion again. Twenty-four years, and a complete overhaul of the way that the united nation identifies talent and then coaches it from kindergarten on up with the singular aim of putting the national team back on top of the world.

德國隊花了整整24年，纔再次成爲世界盃冠軍。除了24年光陰，統一後的德國還徹底改變了他們鑑別足球人才的方式，從幼兒園起就對他們進行培訓，唯一的目的是讓國家隊重新成爲世界盃冠軍。

The depth of Germany’s talent pool is such that Mario Götze, whose beautiful goal won the final in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, became the first player to come off the bench to score the winning goal in a World Cup final.

德國的人才庫深不可測，以至於馬里奧·格策(Mario Götze)成了歷屆世界盃決賽中，首名以替補隊員身份上場後攻入制勝球的球員。本週日，格策憑藉着優美的進球幫助德國隊贏得了在里約熱內盧舉行的決賽。

Götze’s goal broke the impasse that took us perilously close to another wretched penalty shootout to decide the world champion. And with that victory, Germany ended the seemingly eternal fact that nothing but South American teams had ever won a World Cup in the Americas.

他的進球打破了決賽險些要以另一場揪心的點球大戰來決定世界盃輸贏的僵局。德國隊的獲勝終結了一個看似永恆不變的事實，即除了南美球隊，沒有誰能在美洲大陸上贏得世界盃冠軍。

So thank heavens for Götze. The coach Joachim Löw sent him in with, Löw said, the instruction to show the world he was a better player than Lionel Messi.

所以，感謝上蒼送來了格策。德國隊教練約阿希姆·勒夫(Joachim Löw)說，派格策上場時，曾指示他要向全世界展示，他是一個比利昂內爾·梅西(Lionel Messi)更棒的球員。

“Götze is a miracle boy,” the coach told reporters after the game. “He can play in any position and has superior technical qualities. I know he is able to decide a match, and he scored a great decider today.”

這位教練在賽後對記者說，“格策是神奇小子。他能在場上的任何位置踢球，他擁有非凡的技術素質。我就知道，他能決定一場比賽的輸贏，今天，他攻入了一記妙不可言的制勝球。”

He did indeed, with a wonderful, knowing movement as he darted into Argentina’s penalty area after André Schürrle (also a substitute) made a dynamic burst down the left flank. Götze’s control of Schürrle’s pass with his chest and then his sublime volley — without even a glance to determine the goalkeeper’s position — were certainly superior techniques.

他的確技術非凡。安德烈·許爾勒（André Schürrle，也是替補隊員）從左路突破後，格策以精彩絕倫、難以預料的動作直插阿根廷隊的禁區。他以胸部控住許爾勒的傳球，然後令人讚歎地凌空抽射破門——甚至無需瞥一眼去判斷守門員的位置——這無疑是非凡的技藝。

It raises a small question as to why Löw made 82 million Germans — the united population — suffer through an entire contest that could have ended much sooner had Messi or Gonzalo Higuaín or Rodrigo Palacio made the most of their chances for Argentina.

這也提出了一個小問題，那就是勒夫爲何要讓全體8200萬德國人從頭到尾地熬完整場比賽？要不是梅西、岡薩洛·伊瓜因(Gonzalo Higuaín)和羅德里戈·帕拉西奧(Rodrigo Palacio)沒能好好抓住機會爲阿根廷隊建功立業的話，這場比賽本來早就結束了。

But don’t let us be churlish. Löw has worked eight years (10 if your count his two years as an assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann, his predecessor) for this fulfillment.

不過，我們還是別這麼小心眼吧。勒夫已經爲實現目標努力了八年（如果把他給前任尤爾根·克林斯曼[Jurgen Klinsmann]擔任助理的兩年也算在內的話，那就是10年）。

The confidence shown by German coaches in being able to identify talent at a young age, and then making the national team their priority, is a model for the rest of the world.

德國教練彰顯的自信心是全球其餘隊伍的榜樣。他們能夠慧眼識珠，而且能讓國家隊成爲球員心目中的重中之重。

And, yes, there have been East German hands in this endeavor.

是的，這成就裏也有東德人的功勞。

Matthias Sammer, a native of Dresden in East Germany, played a part in both the unification of the national team and the development of Götze.

來自東德德累斯頓的馬蒂亞斯·薩默爾(Matthias Sammer)對於國家隊的融合和格策的成長起到了關鍵作用。

Sammer was perhaps the closest thing Germany ever found to replacing Beckenbauer with his ability to glide between defense and offense. And before injuries curtailed Sammer’s career, he added 51 German caps to the 23 appearances he made for the East German national team.

球員時代的薩默爾能夠在防守與進攻之間自由轉換。這種能力讓他成了全德國境內替代貝肯鮑爾的最佳人選。在傷病斷送了職業生涯之前，薩默爾曾51次代表德國國家隊出場，在那以前還曾23次代表東德出場。

When he needed a job, the German Football Association hired him as technical director in 2006. Sammer’s specific task was to guide the youth teams, from the ages of 11 to 18, under the direction of Löw.

後來，當他需要一份工作時，德國足協(German Football Association)在2006年聘請他擔任技術總監。薩默爾的具體任務是，在勒夫的指導下，執掌隊員年齡在11歲至18歲之間的青少年隊。

Götze, born in Bavaria but a product of Borussia Dortmund’s coaching academy starting at age 8, came under Sammer’s wing. I specifically recall the East German identifying the young Götze as “one of the best talents, ever, in Germany.”

於是，出生於巴伐利亞、但從8歲開始就待在多特蒙德俱樂部(Borussia Dortmund)青訓營的格策，來到了薩默爾麾下。我清楚地記得，薩默爾當時形容年輕的格策是“德國有史以來最棒的天才之一”。

And when Sammer moved on from his national team role to become sports director at Bayern Munich, responsible for recruiting, he went after Götze. The buyout clause in his Dortmund contract cost about $50 million, an expensive welcome gift for Pep Guardiola when he took over as Bayern’s head coach a year ago.

薩默爾後來離開國家隊的職位，成爲拜仁慕尼黑俱樂部(Bayern Munich)的體育總監，負責招募球員，於是他挖來了格策。格策與多特蒙德的合同裏的轉會條款要價高達5000萬美元（當時約合3億元人民幣）。那是一年前，對於即將擔任拜仁主教練的佩普·瓜迪奧拉(Pep Guardiola)來說，這可是個昂貴的見面禮。

By then, Götze was beginning to come of age at 21. Guardiola has blended him, month by month, into the style that the coach brought from Barcelona.

當時，格策剛剛21歲，逐漸成熟起來。經過一個月接一個月的努力，瓜迪奧拉將格策與他從巴塞羅那帶來的球風揉和到了一起。

To be better than Messi is more than a tall order. Something is wrong with the Messi we have seen at this World Cup — the Messi who emerged under the wing of Guardiola at Barcelona. Whether it is his hamstrings rebelling after so many seasons of relentless pressure, the sheer exhaustion of life for so long at the top, or something more serious, no one knows.

要做到比梅西還出色十分困難。不過，我們在這屆世界盃上見到的梅西——那個在瓜迪奧拉麾下從巴塞羅那成長起來的梅西——彷彿有哪裏不對勁。或許是他在經歷過那麼多賽季無休無止的壓力之後，肌腱的損傷，又或許是在頂端待了太久，那種對生活深深的厭倦，亦或是無人可知的更嚴重的問題。

Or if they know, no one is telling. In any event, for FIFA to hand him the player of the tournament prize is a strange, misguided sop. Messi had his inspired moments. His goals and assists did carry Argentina through the first stage of this event, but he faded later in the tournament as Javier Mascherano grew magnificently and tenaciously into the country’s true leader during the World Cup.

即使有人知道，也沒有捅破。無論如何，FIFA把整屆盃賽的最佳球員獎項頒發給梅西，都是莫名其妙、判斷失當的安慰獎。梅西在場上有過出彩的時刻，他的射門和助攻的確帶領阿根廷隊走過了小組賽階段。然而，在之後的淘汰賽階段裏，哈維爾·馬斯切拉諾(Javier Mascherano)有了令人驚異、堅韌不拔的成長，成了本屆世界盃比賽中，帶領自己國家球隊的真正領袖。

Mascherano, along with his quiet and sometimes distastefully maligned coach, Alejandro Sabella, built an obdurate and reliable Argentine defense, even though it appeared they had none at all when the event began.

馬斯切拉諾與他那沉默寡言、時而受到惡意中傷的教練亞歷杭德羅·薩維利亞(Alejandro Sabella)一起，爲阿根廷隊建立起了穩固可靠的防線。要知道，在世界盃開賽之時，阿根廷隊彷彿全無防守可言。

It is thanks to Argentina that, right to the end, the eclipse of South American soccer on its own continent was averted. Löw’s last throw of the dice, putting in his game winner when everyone around and against him were gasping for air and for energy, proved victorious.

多虧了阿根廷隊，南美球隊保住了在自家大洲上的榮耀，直到決賽的最後時刻。勒夫把最終贏得比賽的格策換上場時，彷彿是孤注一擲，此時無論是支持還是反對他的人，都緊張地喘不過氣來。正是這一賭，決定了勝局。

“Yes yes yes !!! Jogi you did it !!! Huge compliment to Argentina, but the best team won the 2014 World Cup!!” Klinsmann messaged his friend via Twitter after the final.

決賽結束後，克林斯曼在Twitter上對他的朋友勒夫說：“棒棒棒！！！約吉你做到了！！！盛讚阿根廷，可是最棒的球隊贏得了2014年世界盃！！”

Europeans have triumphed, at last, in the Americas.

歐洲人終於在美洲贏得了勝利。