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(jù)英國(guó)《每日電訊報(bào)》報(bào)道，在球員的進(jìn)球，球迷的尖叫及英國(guó)人對(duì)失敗的追問(wèn)中，一種新的模式在巴西席卷開(kāi)來(lái)。也許，這種模式會(huì)成為本屆世界杯最最具意義的闡述。

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(lái)看看各組比賽的結(jié)果和依然立足的球隊(duì)。巴西和墨西哥領(lǐng)跑A組。用新式打法擊敗衛(wèi)冕冠軍西班牙后，智利得以出線B組。哥倫比亞領(lǐng)銜C組。烏拉圭使英格蘭從D組淘汰，并為自己同哥斯達(dá)黎加一同晉級(jí)創(chuàng)造了機(jī)會(huì)。

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(guó)位列第二。而阿根廷則不負(fù)眾望在領(lǐng)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(jí)淘汰賽的16支球隊(duì)中就很可能有8支拉美球隊(duì)。這在世界杯歷史上將是一場(chǎng)史無(wú)前例的盛事但這也同時(shí)繼續(xù)了拉美球隊(duì)在世界杯中穩(wěn)步成長(zhǎng)的趨勢(shì)。他們晉級(jí)淘汰賽的數(shù)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(shì)在拉美球隊(duì)同歐洲聯(lián)隊(duì)日益擴(kuò)大的鴻溝——拉美球隊(duì)的足球資源和歐洲聯(lián)隊(duì)的資金——背景下越發(fā)突出。這也的確產(chǎn)生了很多問(wèn)題。其中一個(gè)問(wèn)題就是在拉丁美洲自1986年首次舉行世界杯后，我們還要將世界杯的獎(jiǎng)杯拱手讓給拉美球隊(duì)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.

盡管歐洲投入了大量的資金，做了各種精心的組織，進(jìn)行了各種研究以及做了10年的計(jì)劃，但我們最后還是發(fā)現(xiàn)最佳的球員依然是那些在童年時(shí)就磨練球技遠(yuǎn)離正規(guī)訓(xùn)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.

溫格在為法國(guó)電視臺(tái)在巴西工作時(shí)順便尋找出色的前鋒已經(jīng)早已不是秘密。前鋒是一個(gè)在球場(chǎng)上最具技術(shù)挑戰(zhàn)性的職位。而溫格的眼睛就一直盯在南美球隊(duì)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(jīng)說(shuō)過(guò)很多次，歐洲依然盛產(chǎn)很多優(yōu)秀的球員，但是，如果你仔細(xì)觀察就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)我們并不盛產(chǎn)優(yōu)秀的前鋒，”溫格說(shuō)：“我們優(yōu)秀的前鋒數(shù)量很少。世界上知名的前鋒大多來(lái)自南美洲。去年夏天， 拉達(dá)梅爾·法爾考去了摩納哥， 埃丁森·卡瓦尼則以高價(jià)轉(zhuǎn)到巴黎圣日耳曼，而蘇亞雷斯，每個(gè)球隊(duì)都想買(mǎi)到他。伊瓜因以高價(jià)轉(zhuǎn)到那不勒斯。但是在歐洲，很難發(fā)現(xiàn)身價(jià)很高的前鋒?！?/p>

“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(guó)，我能記得每個(gè)俱樂(lè)部的前鋒，他們的確培養(yǎng)出了一些很棒的球員，但他們沒(méi)有培養(yǎng)出一流的前鋒。我不知道是我們指導(dǎo)的方式有問(wèn)題還是現(xiàn)代的生活不適合球員技術(shù)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(chǎng)完敗智利到一周前西班牙慘烈出局世界杯，人們還沒(méi)感受到連續(xù)的球技。任何一支球隊(duì)，只要有阿萊克西斯·桑切斯作前鋒，阿圖羅·比達(dá)爾作中場(chǎng)，都會(huì)樂(lè)在心中。智利隊(duì)明天將會(huì)在球場(chǎng)上對(duì)陣荷蘭隊(duì)，這場(chǎng)球賽將會(huì)告訴我們桑保利所稱做的足球叛逃者是否能夠?qū)κ澜绫l(fā)起一場(chǎng)現(xiàn)實(shí)的挑戰(zhàn)。

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(dá)黎加，阿根廷和哥倫比亞球員在此超越了自我?！拔覀冞€處于上升期，我們很有信心，但我們不能忘記我們的目標(biāo)是踢好球?！备鐐惐葋喌那颁h，特奧菲羅·古鐵雷斯說(shuō)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(zhì)外，似乎還有什么在巴西過(guò)去的十天中發(fā)揮著重要作用。畢竟，西班牙隊(duì)不能抗衡由兩名降級(jí)俱樂(lè)部球員組成的中場(chǎng)和一名被俱樂(lè)部開(kāi)除的中后衛(wèi)似乎有點(diǎn)說(shuō)不過(guò)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(duì)陣英格蘭的比賽中，當(dāng)蘇亞雷斯坐在板凳上靜等終場(chǎng)哨聲時(shí)，我們能感受到他在參加這場(chǎng)由近30年來(lái)南美洲舉辦的球賽時(shí)所散發(fā)出的強(qiáng)烈斗志和動(dòng)機(jī)。甚至在比賽前，哥斯達(dá)黎加的教練平托總結(jié)他的球隊(duì)在對(duì)陣意大利和英格蘭的態(tài)度時(shí)說(shuō)：“我們喜歡這樣的分組，斗牛越是兇猛，斗牛表演就越精彩。”

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(guān)重要，很顯然在巴西的比賽中，盡管當(dāng)場(chǎng)比賽中沒(méi)有他們國(guó)家的球隊(duì)，很多南美粉絲也會(huì)支持來(lái)自南美的國(guó)家。只有一個(gè)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(duì)在早先的六場(chǎng)比賽中都贏得了比賽，是因?yàn)樗麄兪侵鲌?chǎng)作戰(zhàn)。是的，英格蘭輸給烏拉圭是在像英國(guó)秋天一樣的天氣中舉行的，但是，通過(guò)他們?cè)趫?chǎng)上遲鈍的表現(xiàn)，人們不禁會(huì)想五天前在瑪瑙斯的比賽奪走了他們的狀態(tài)。

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，意大利在周五對(duì)陣哥斯達(dá)黎加時(shí)似乎也掙扎于這股熱浪?！蔽艺J(rèn)為歐洲球隊(duì)需要克服的主要障礙就是氣候——或者，更準(zhǔn)確地說(shuō)，球隊(duì)所面對(duì)的氣候變化，” 歐足聯(lián)的技術(shù)官員說(shuō)。

“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(jù)球隊(duì)的計(jì)劃，在這個(gè)大國(guó)的不同地方踢球就好像在三個(gè)不同的季節(jié)踢球。因此，技術(shù)也可能每場(chǎng)都不相同。如果歐洲球隊(duì)能闖過(guò)這個(gè)難關(guān)，他們就有可能取得勝利?！?/p>

“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.”

“在上屆世界杯中，兩支歐洲球隊(duì)在歐洲以外的球場(chǎng)上為爭(zhēng)奪冠軍進(jìn)行了巔峰對(duì)決，所以我認(rèn)為氣候狀況這一‘心理障礙’可以被移除。盡管以前曾是，但現(xiàn)在去其他的大陸作戰(zhàn)并不能作為不確定因素。”

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(dāng)然，歐足聯(lián)的說(shuō)法是對(duì)的，拉美球隊(duì)早期的強(qiáng)勢(shì)并不能保證決賽結(jié)果。要知道，上兩屆世界杯，在淘汰賽中改進(jìn)了表現(xiàn)后，最后進(jìn)入決賽的都是歐洲球隊(duì)。

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，本屆世界杯釋放的最初的信號(hào)是這種平衡在今年可能會(huì)略有調(diào)整。烏拉圭，哥倫比亞和智利很少能像現(xiàn)在這樣做好準(zhǔn)備同傳統(tǒng)強(qiáng)隊(duì)巴西和阿根廷作戰(zhàn)，并一同進(jìn)入總決賽。最后一次出現(xiàn)這種情況的是1950年，里約熱內(nèi)盧的馬拉卡納球場(chǎng)舉行了這場(chǎng)世界杯總決賽。

（譯者 dulisa27 編輯 齊磊）