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※ 本文轉寄自 davy50707.bbs@ptt.cc

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Salvation in beautiful truth
美麗真理的救世主

By Eamonn Sweeney
Sunday May 01 2011

The great American literary critic Lionel Trilling once wrote that "we shall
all do better, meet with kindlier judgements, if Tolstoy rather than
Dostoevsky is right about the world." If you've read the two lads you'll know
what he meant.

美國著名的文學評論家 Lionel Trilling曾經寫過一段話：＂如果Tolstoy對世界的描述
比Dostoevsky更貼近本質，那人們可以作得更好，作出更良善地決定。＂如果你讀過這兩
個文學家的作品就會知道他的意思。

(中文太差不知道該怎麼翻比較好)

If you haven't I suppose the best way to boil it down is to say that Tolstoy
had some faith in human nature and Dostoevsky had very little. My apologies
for this unforgivably reductive summation of two of the greatest writers in
history but I do have a column to write.

沒有的話，簡而言之，Tolstoy對人性有信心，Dostoevsky幾乎沒有。我很抱歉我這樣無
法原諒地簡述兩位偉大作家，但我得寫個專欄。

That Trilling quote popped into my mind after watching the Barcelona-Real
Madrid game last Wednesday night. Because football will do better and meet
with kindlier judgements, ifLionel Messi rather than Jose Mourinho is right
about the game. In how they think football should be played, what should be
expected from it and what the game means, Barca's star player and Real's
manager, if I may continue the 19th century novel theme, are as starkly
opposed as kindly Dr Henry Jekyll and his hideous alter ego Edward Hyde.

上週三晚上看完巴薩與皇馬後，我想到的是Trilling這段話，因為足球可以踢得更好，作
出更良善的抉擇，如果Messi比Mourinho更貼近足球比賽的本質。如果我可以持續用十九
世紀小說家們來比擬，在思考著足球該怎麼踢、對足球的期待以及比賽的意義這些事，這
位巴薩球星與皇馬監督就像是Dr Henry Jekyll與他那可憎的黑暗面Edward Hyde那般對立
著。

Mourinho's vision of football is unremittingly grim and almost completely
cynical. In his eyes there is no petty advantage too small not to be
zealously sought for, no trick too mean to be ruled out, no joy to be had out
of the game apart from a winning result. His monomaniacal pragmatism makes
him the footballing equivalent of Dickens's obsessively utilitarian
schoolteacher Thomas Gradgrind in Hard Times. He is Don Revie with a foreign
accent.

Mourinho對足球的看法是毫無止盡的冷酷與憤世嫉俗，在他眼裡，沒有甚麼小便宜是不值
得積極去尋求；沒有甚麼過份的手段是被排除在外；除了贏球足球沒有其他的樂趣。他單
方面的實用主義讓他的足球相當於Dickens小說《艱難時世》裡那位痴迷功利的老師
Thomas Gradgrind。他是個操著外國口音的Don Revie。

The nattering nabob of negativity showed his true colours as far back as
January 2005 when he accused Alex Ferguson of influencing referee Neale Barry
at half-time in a Carling Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Manchester
United. "In the second half it was whistle and whistle, fault and fault,
cheat and cheat." A month later he lied that Frank Rijkaard, then Barcelona's
assistant manager, had been seen coming out of referee Anders Frisk's
dressing room at half-time during a Champions League tie between Chelsea and
Barcelona at the Nou Camp. The following year he was accusing Stephen Hunt of
deliberately injuring Peter Cech. The year after that he claimed "it is not
possible for penalties to be awarded against Manchester United and it is not
possible for penalties to be awarded to Chelsea," while berating Cristiano
Ronaldo as a liar. And he has continued on in this vein.

這位消極的嘮叨大王露出他的本性可以追朔到2005年一月，在一場曼聯與車車的英超比賽
，他控告Alex Ferguson在中場休息時間的舉動影響了裁判Neale Barry的判決。＂下半場
充滿著哨聲、犯規、作弊與演戲＂。一個月後，一場在諾坎普巴薩對車車的歐冠賽裡，他
唬爛說巴薩的助理監督Frank Rijkaard在中場休息時間從裁判Anders Frisk的休息室走出
來。隔年，他控告Stephen Hunt蓄意傷害Peter Cech。又一年後，當他訓斥著Cristiano
Ronaldo是個騙子的同時，聲稱＂曼聯不可能被處罰，車車的境遇則相反＂。如今他仍然
繼續這樣的伎倆。

Alex Ferguson is also prone to the odd verbal outburst but the big difference
between the men is that Ferguson's sides always play attractive football
while Mourinho has produced one highly effective but stupendously dull outfit
after another. There was something utterly predictable and infinitely
depressing about his attempts to get a rise out of Josep Guardiola in the
run-up to the semi-final. He succeeded to the extent of provoking the
normally gentlemanly Barcelona boss into losing his cool at a pre-match press
conference, something hailed as a psychological masterstroke by gullible
hacks.

Alex Ferguson也是個常打奇怪口水戰的傢伙，然而他們最大的不同點在於，Ferguson踢
得是有吸引力的足球，而Mourinho則是一次又一次地創造出高效但沉悶的軍隊。這場歐冠
半決賽可以預見他一些極度沉悶無聊去招惹Josep Guardiola的企圖。他成功地在某種程
度上讓紳士般的巴薩監督在賽前記者會失去冷靜（我想是指Pep用了puto這件事），那種
某些傻子認為是高明的心理戰的程度。

On the field, however, the poverty of Mourinho's approach has never been as
cruelly exposed as it was on Wednesday. Playing at home in a Champions League
semi-final, Real started without a single out-and-out front man on the pitch
and three world-class strikers, Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuain and Emanuel
Adebayor, on the bench. From the get-go their performance was steeped in fear
as they retreated en masse and allowed Barcelona to monopolise possession.

然而，球場上，Mourinho伎倆的枯燥從來沒有像星期三那樣無情地被暴露出來。歐冠半決
賽的主場，皇馬開場時連一個前鋒都沒有，三個世界級的前鋒Benzema、Higuain與
Adebayor在板凳上。球場上皇馬的表現像是被恐懼隴罩著，他們集體撤退，並允許巴薩單
方面地佔據。

At one juncture in the first period we were treated to the bizarre sight of
the visitors knocking the ball around unopposed just inside their own half
while Madrid stayed deep as though employing a footballing version of the old
Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope tactics. It was something you'd never have expected
to see in the Bernabeu.

上半場的某個時段，我們觀眾被招待著看一場奇景意象，皇馬球員們不被允許踢球，只能
深深地龜在自己的半場，彷彿執行著足球版的拳王穆罕默德阿里的倚繩戰術。這種事是你
不曾想像過可以在柏納布球場看到。

＊倚繩戰術rope-a-dope是1974年Ali重返拳壇與Foreman在重量級冠軍賽使用的戰術，當
時已經跳不起蝴蝶步的阿里前八回合都靠在拳繩防禦讓Foreman隨便打，打到Foreman沒力
後賞給他一擊重拳KO獲勝。

Had Barcelona also been happy to play for a draw we'd have ended up with
something like the infamous West Germany-Austria tie from the 1982 World Cup.
Mourinho's team gave the kind of display you'd have expected from, say, Stoke
City at Old Trafford or the Sam Allardyce model Bolton Wanderers at the
Emirates.

如果巴薩還很高興的打個平手，那我們最後只能得到一場像1982年世界杯西德與奧地利的
平局一樣惡名昭彰的比賽。Mourinho的球隊展現出你所預期得到的，就像是，Old
Trafford的Stoke City或是Emirates的Sam Allardyce model Bolton Wanderers(看不懂
是甚麼梗)。

There was something grotesque about seeing this anti-football being
perpetrated under the flag of Real Madrid, the greatest club in the world,
the most successful side in the history of European football, the club of Di
Stefano, Gento and Galacticos, a club whose teams have always endeavoured to
play with a certain style. Just last year Real chased Barcelona all the way
in an enthralling Primera Liga title race before losing by three points,
scoring 102 goals in 38 games, and playing terrific football under Manuel
Pellegrini.

皇馬這世界上最偉大的俱樂部、在歐洲足球上擁有最成功的歷史地位、那個Di Stefano、
Gento與Galactions的俱樂部、那個總是努力著保持某種自我風格的球隊，看到這種反足
球的舉動發生在皇馬的旗幟下，這真是詭異。就算只看去年，皇馬在那迷人的西甲聯賽中
，積分追緊著巴薩，最後僅僅輸掉三點，38八場賽事中得到102分，在Manuel Pellegrini
的帶領下踢著優秀的足球。

The expectation was that Mourinho would work the oracle, as he had when
steering Inter Milan to last year's extraordinary Champions League victory.
And there was also a feeling that the quality of players available to him at
Real might see the birth of a new Mourinho. Perhaps the dour football at
Chelsea and Inter resulted from the type of players the manager had available
to him.

人們期望的是Mourinho將帶來光榮，就像他去年帶領國米拿到那非凡的歐冠冠軍，並有著
一種感覺，皇馬的銀河艦隊將會讓大家見識到一個新的Mourinho誕生，畢竟車車與國米嚴
苛的環境與隊伍的天份不能夠讓他發揮。

Sadly, things haven't turned out that way. What Wednesday's match showed is
that for Mourinho negativity has attained the status of a cherished
principle. Seeing the miserable set of the man, after he'd been sent from the
dugout for protesting against Pepe's sending off, you were reminded of
mugshots of Hollywood stars booked on drink driving charges. His desolation
was total. Because if you live by the creed that nothing matters but the
result, then defeat leaves with you nothing at all to hold on to.

遺憾的是事情不是這樣發展的。週三的比賽顯示出這些已經達到Mourinho那消極的標準了
。看看他在抗議Pepe紅牌而被關在鳥籠那可悲的樣子，令人想起那些酒駕被開單的好萊屋
明星的特寫。他整個就是賭爛，因為當你的生活原則就是不擇手段勝利至上，那麼輸球時
你甚麼都不剩。

It was fitting that Wednesday's coup de grace was provided by Messi. On a
nasty night, he reminded all of us why we still give allegiance to this often
frustrating game. Because the little Argentinian's run right through the
heart of the Real Madrid defence embodied the spirit of football at its best.
There is probably no other player on the planet who'd have been able to score
that goal. It had nothing to do with tactics or planning.

致命的一擊是來自Messi。在一個骯髒的夜晚，Messi提醒了我們為什麼我們還要繼續投入
在這往往令人沮喪的遊戲。因為這個阿根廷來的小矮個穿越了皇馬防守心臟，體現了最好
的足球精隨。世界上可能沒有其他球員可以作到這樣的進球。這跟甚麼戰術計劃都無關。

Messi simply took a short pass from one of his team-mates and set off on his
own. In fact, none of the other Barcelona players even bothered to support
him. They just sat back as though clearing the stage for a great performer to
do his solo.

Messi簡單地短傳給Busquets然後接回球，實際上，沒有任何巴薩的球員曾經對幫助Messi
有過抱怨，他們只是清空賽場讓這偉大的球員獨奏。

A player like Messi makes nonsense of all the guff about psychological
warfare and systems that gets talked about in the run-up to big matches. It
was impossible to defend against his run for the second goal; this was the
greatest footballer in the world proving yet again the old adage that talent
does what it can, but genius does what it must.

Messi這種球員讓所有那些談及進行一場大比賽的心理戰甚麼的鬼扯蛋全都變成無意義，
要防守他那第二顆進球的單刀是不可能的，這位世界上最偉大的足球員再次證明了那句
Edward Bulwer-Lytton的老格言：有才華的人作他能作的事，而天才作他必須作的事。

And yet there was also something oddly familiar about Messi's slalom towards
goal. Look at it again and you see that it's the kind of run most of us did
as kids, dribbling the ball in the back yard, the front garden or the top
field, commentating under our breaths, "he beats one man, beats two, beats
three, beats the 'keeper, goal." Messi's masterpiece was this run raised to
the Nth degree but it is still a recognisable cousin, a remarkable reminder
that sport at its best remains rooted in play.

Messi的進球也有著一些我們非常熟悉的影子，再看一次那個進球，看那跑步的樣子就像
大部分的我們小時候一樣，在後院、前園或者操場裡邊跑邊盤著球，屏住呼吸念著＂過了
一個傢伙、過了兩個、過了三個、過了守門員，GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL～＂
Messi的傑作就是這樣的盤球，然後提高了幾個層次，但仍舊是個熟悉的動作、具體地點
醒大家運動最美好的根本在於享受其中。

We need to be reminded of that. Because there is enough grim stuff in the
news, about economic crises, terrorist attacks and natural disasters, without
making a grim thing out of sport as well. The likes of Mourinho make football
seem like just one more corporate takeover bid. Messi reminds us that, for
all the money involved, we're still talking about a kids' game. And football
is at its best when it connects us with that more innocent part of ourselves.

我們需要想起這件事，因為有太多關於經濟危機、恐怖攻擊與自然災害等讓人恐懼的新聞
，而沒有讓令人受不了的事遠離運動。Mourinho作的事讓足球變得只像又來個甚麼企業收
購。Messi讓我們想起，那些牽涉到金錢以外，我們還在談論一個孩子們的遊戲，而當足
球連結到我們最純真的自己時，這正是足球最好的一面。

When the proceedings got particularly spiteful on Wednesday, Ray Houghton
bemoaned on RTE the example that this was setting for the football-loving
kids of the world. Yet, in the end, what those kids will remember is Messi's
goal. Kids are like that, they look on the positive side.

當週三那帶著惡意的過程進行時，Ray Houghton在RTE惋惜地說全世界喜歡足球的孩子都
在看著。然而，到最後，孩子們會記得的，是Messi的進球，孩子們喜歡，他們總是看著
積極的一面。

On Thursday morning, I played the goal for my nine-year-old daughter on
YouTube. It just felt like something she should see, like a heron in flight,
a spectacular sunset or The Wizard of Oz. We watched it again and again and
again, this small still moment of beauty carved out single-handedly by a man
who is enough on his own to justify the entire enterprise of professional
football. We live for moments like that.

週四早上，我讓我九歲的女兒看youtube上Messi的進球，只是覺得這是她該看的，就像蒼
鷺的飛翔、就像壯觀的日出或是綠野仙蹤。我們看了一次又一次，這個由Messi一人一筆
描繪出的美麗瞬間，捍衛了整個職業足球的精隨。我們是為了這樣的瞬間而活著。

There are myriad moments from Messi which you'd like to pass on to the next
generation. But Mourinho? Well, try sitting your kids down in front of one of
his whingeing, bitching press conferences, and explain that this is all about
'subtle mind games' and see how long they'll stay interested.

我們有著無數Messi的奇蹟時刻想傳給下一代，而Mourinho？試著讓你的孩子坐在電視機
前看著任一場Mourinho那充滿抱怨的婊子記者會，然後解釋給孩子聽這就是所謂的＂不可
思議的心理戰術＂，看看他們能感興趣多久。

Because in the words of John Keats, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty -- that is
all/Ye know on Earth and all ye need to know." And Messi is always on the
side of beauty.

It's the only side to be on.

在John Keats的字句裡寫著＂美是真理，真理是美麗的－這就是地球上所有我們知道也必
須知道的事。＂Messi永遠是美的一方。

也是那唯一永恆的一方。




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剛剛去確認是小布沒錯，感謝。

※ 編輯: ssom            來自: 89.159.249.73        (05/02 15:20)


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davy50707: [轉寄]Salvation in beautiful truth - JeSuisDavy板