|
Direct football. No obsession with possession. More long passes. Little tiki-taka. 这支球队打法直接，不求控球权，擅踢长传球，不玩tiki-taka。 Counterattack, rather than painstaking buildup. 他们坚持防守反击战术，而非埋头苦打。 They have thrived, taking one week at time, with all the wrong formulas of football. O let’s call the game football for a change, shall we? 他们崛起了，只剩一周时间，而他们打法更是出人意料，有违常理。让我们把视角转向球队吧。 They have played more long passes that almost all teams in Europe, 6.9 percent, to be precise, against 1.1 to 1.6 percent by other European league leaders Bayern Munich, Paris St German, Barcelona and Juventus. 莱斯特城更多地是长传球，比例为6.9%，居欧洲联赛第一。确切地说，相比欧洲其他顶尖球队，如拜仁慕尼黑、巴黎圣日耳曼、巴塞罗那、尤文图斯等的1.1%到1.6%。 Possession, too, has not been their forte. Just 45.5 percent on average, third-lowest in the English Premier League. Only Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion have averaged less. 掌握控球权并非莱斯特城的专长，平均控球率仅为45.5%，在整个英超里倒数第三。仅有桑德兰和西布罗姆维奇位列其后。 The other teams, those that until a couple of months ago were their title rivals, have sworn by possession. Arsenal lead the field with about 56 percent possession, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur follow close behind with 55.2, 55.1 and 54.7 percent. Yet only Arsenal managed to beat them both times they met. 几个月前仍是夺冠对手的球队的控球率都很高。阿森纳以56%位居榜首，曼城、曼联和热刺分别以55.2%、55.1%和54.7%紧随其后。然而，仅有阿森纳在与这些球队的主客场对赛中获胜（阿森纳在客场输给了曼联，译注）。 Accuracy of their passes, too, has been the third-lowest in the EPL. 莱斯特城的丢球率也位居英超倒数第三。 Almost all their rivals have deep pockets. The top ones have spent as much on one player as they have on the entire team. 几乎所有的争冠对手都拥有雄厚的资金。最富的球队付给一个球员的工资抵得上莱斯特城整个球队的开支了。 They have played fewer players in the staring lineups than most other teams. Rotation has not been their winning mantra. Perhaps their coach, once mocked as the “tinkerman”, has tinkered the least with his team and played the least number of players in the starting lineups because he doesn’t have a deep reserve. Perhaps that has been a blessing in disguise, for it helped the players to be more cohesive. 比起大多数的球队，莱斯特城首发阵容的球员人数要少得多。他们的胜利并不是风水轮流转而已，其教练功不可没。由于球队资金有限，这位有“补锅匠”之称的教练以最小的变动改良球队，充分发挥最初阵容仅有的每个球员的长处。也许多亏了这种看似劣势的境况，反而使得球员们更加团结一心。 Until a week ago, seven of their players had been in the starting lineups in 32 or more games. Compare that with four for Spurs, two for the Gunners and one for each for the Red Devils and City. 截止一周前，莱斯特城首发阵容的7名球员打满了32场甚至更多场。相比而言，热刺仅剩4名，阿森纳2名，曼联和曼城各1名。 Their philosophy, too, has been different from the rest of the teams in Europe. They have made the best use of the resources at their command. They have used the long ball not because they are a physical side or less skillful, but to exploit the pace of their ace striker, who has earned the title of the Footballer of the Year. 莱斯特城的打法也与欧洲联赛的其他球队大相径庭。一旦掌握控球权，他们力求高效进球。他们并不是由于身体素质好或是技术不佳才使用长传球，而是为了将球准确地传给后来被评为“年度最佳球员”的主帅。 Yet they have proved the bookies and football pundits wrong. Indeed, the wily Foxes have outfoxed them all. But how dare they do that? Who gave them to the right to humble the behemoths of English football and their shining stars that cost the earth? Such audacity cannot be forgiven. They deserve the sternest punishment. They should be punished for making poorer teams dream again. They should be punished for surviving relegation last year this time and winning the league this season. They should be punished for bluffing everyone. They should be punished for restoring the glory of football. They should be punished by being elevated to the football hall of fame, if there is one. And perhaps their name should be changed from The Foxes to the Jackals. 甚至，他们应该从“狐狸”更名为“豺狼”更为贴切。 But for now, long live The Foxes! 但此时此刻，让我们一同高呼：莱斯特城万岁！ 译者：陈妍君 编辑：王楠
|
|
|
