金融时报:世界杯上的战术革命

世界杯上的战术革命

世界杯是检验各种新旧门派技战术打法的舞台。FT体育专栏作家西蒙·库珀兴奋地说，这次世界杯上看到了一种“战术革命”正在风行全球，这是什么战术打法？它的代表人物和代表球队是谁？

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

ball-player/playmaker 组织进攻的球员

run into space 进攻跑位，跑空当

centre-back 中后卫，后卫有back和defender两种说法

centre-forward （站桩式）中锋

tenet ['tenɪt; 'tiːnet] 原则

own goal 乌龙球，即防守球员不慎将球打入自家球门

World Cup: Fast-passing style slowly spreads around the globe (685 words)

By Simon Kuper in Rio de Janeiro

As I write (admittedly on the world-famous beach of Copacabana in Rio), it has been a surprisingly joyous World Cup. The group stage is ending with an average of close to 3 goals per game, the highest since 1970. More than that, the most impressive teams (as opposed to the one-man bands) are converging around a similar style: fast, forward passing. There is no obvious winning team yet, but there is a dominant style.

The key, as the US coach Jürgen Klinsmann (legendary German forward, national team captain and coach) always tells his players, is that both ball and man must move quickly. That requires lots of running into space. This is what we have seen from the Colombians, Chileans, Germans, Americans and Ghanaians. The Dutch, too, practise fast-passing attack, though almost only on the counter-attack. These teams have all learned from Spain that fast passing wins matches. It is just that the Spaniards seem to have forgotten this.

From the early 1970s until recently, this high-speed passing game was peculiarly western European. But what we are seeing in Brazil is that the style is spreading globally. Chile were inspired by the Dutch, the US by the Germans, while Colombia came around to fast passing after their own slow passing of the 1990s failed. No wonder that fast-passing teams such as the US and Algeria feature several European-raised players.

The best teams at this World Cup play like European clubs such as Barcelona or Bayern Munich, but with one missing element: teams rarely press opponents to win the ball. It is just too hot in Brazil, especially in the north, explains Germany's coach Joachim Löw, who has kept his team more “compact” than usual.

To pass fast, you need lots of players who can pass. The consequence is that almost every player in the best sides looks like a passing midfielder. In fact, Chile's three-man defence includes two original midfielders. The new footballer is an all-rounder who can attack and defend, as exemplified by France's midfielders Paul Pogba, Yohan Cabaye and Blaise Matuidi. Holland's coach Louis van Gaal has said he wished he had a Pogba or Matuidi.

Specialists are dying out. Good teams here do not field wingers glued to the touchline, midfield ballwinners who specialise in tackling and cannot pass, or big non-ball-playing centre-backs (only England stuck with that one). Relatively stationary centre-forwards such as Brazil's Fred or Belgium's Romelu Lukaku are struggling. “Players must be mobile nowadays,” says Löw. “Static strikers do not exist anymore.” Germany's lone forward, Thomas Müller, runs and passes like an attacking midfielder. The tournament's best strikers, such as France's Karim Benzema or Robin van Persie of the Netherlands, are playmakers as well as scorers.

Only two big teams are winning while ignoring almost every tenet of contemporary football.

Brazil and Argentina have each parasited off a lone genius, Neymar and Lionel Messi respectively. Argentina have defenders who do not like having the ball, while Brazil's central defence delights in leisurely square passes. Each of these two team's strategy seems to be, 1. Somehow get ball to genius, 2. Hope he does something. So far, this has more or less worked. Neymar has scored four of Brazil's seven goals. Messi has four of Argentina's six, while one was an unprovoked own goal, and another went in off Marcos Rojo (Argentine defender)'s knee. Playing three modest teams, Argentina won each game by a single goal. Brazil and Argentina have diagnosed themselves with pretty much the same problem: slow passing from central midfield. Brazil has tried to cure this by replacing Paulinho with the quicker, more forward-passing and running Fernandinho. Messi – raised in western European football – seems to have told Argentina's coach Alejandro Sabella to field playmaker Fernando Gago to improve the team's forward passing from midfield. This has not helped much so far, but perhaps if you have a genius you can win the World Cup playing outdated football.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1.What is the main reason that this is “a surprisingly joyous World Cup”?

A.It is held in a joyous country Brazil.

B.This article is written on the Copacabana beach.

C.The goals scored is 44-year-high.

D.Fast, forward passing style is the new sexy.

答案(1)

2.What do we know about football tactics of the past?

A.Goals scored were significantly less.

B.The formation was loose, not compact.

C.Players were more specialized in their own business.

D.Coaches did not use midfilders as defenders and forwards.

答案(2)

3.Which two teams are playing “outdated football”?

A.Holland and Chile.

B.Brazil and Argentina.

C.Germany and USA.

D.Spain and England.

答案(3)

4.Which of the following match between style and team is incorrect?

A.Brazil: let Neymar organize attack.

B.Holland: fast-passing counter-attack.

C.Germany: every player is mobile and can pass.

D.Argentina: give the ball to Messi and wait for goal.

答案(4)

* * *

(1)答案：D.Fast, forward passing style is the new sexy.

解释：在第一段中，作者先得瑟说自己是在世界闻名的里约科帕卡巴纳海滩上写这篇文章的。然后说小组赛的进球甚至是44年来最多的。接着More than that….快速向前传递打法让不少球队取得了好成绩。

(2)答案：C.Players were more specialized in their own business.

解释：这道题难度较大。作者在多个地方分散的表达了这个意思，还举了一些球员的例子（不了解他们完全不影响理解），倒数第三段的Specialists are dying out这句话是重要线索。

今天流行的打法是，大量使用较全能的，而不是能力较专一的球员：前锋和后卫也要像擅长传球的中场球员那样踢。 AB不正确。D让中场球员踢后卫是智利队的特例。

(3)答案：B.Brazil and Argentina.

解释：文章最后两段都在讲（黑）它们。

(4)答案：A.Brazil: let Neymar organize attack.

解释：BCD都是正确的。巴西和阿根廷严重依赖本队球星，Each of these two team's strategy seems to be, 1.把球给内马尔或梅西，2.期待他们进球。也就是即让他们组织又让他们进球。