趁着世界杯东风翻点东西，求指正# Translation - 译林
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1 楼
因为是糙快猛模式赶工的，总觉得语言上雕琢得不够，可是没时间了，先扔出来大家帮忙看看吧。
由于篇幅比较长，所以一段一段校对着来，免得看得累。
The Triumph of the pass
传以致胜
By the final whistle, the 2011 Champions League final had long since become an
exhibition. The ball zipped from blaugrana shirt to blaugrana shirt as
Manchester United chased and chased,reduced in the end simply to admiring the
filigree patterns of Barcelona’s passing. Two years earlier, in Rome, Barcelona had beaten United 2–0 in the final; this time the margin was the same – 3–1 – but the gulf between the teams was far greater. This was Barcelona absolutely at the top of their game, devastating the Premier League champions. ‘Nobody’s given us a hiding like that but they deserve it,’ said the United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. ‘They play the right way and they enjoy their football. They do mesmerise you with their passing and we never really did control Messi . . . In my time as manager, it’s the best team I’ve faced.’
当2011年欧冠决赛的终场哨声姗姗来迟之际，这场早早失去悬念的比赛已经按照表演赛的节奏踢了多时。皮球行云流水般地从一件巴萨球衣脚下滚向另一件巴萨球衣，与之相衬的背景板是身后喘着粗气徒劳追赶的曼联人。到最后连曼联队员自己也慢了下来，为的只是欣赏巴塞罗那在传递中透出来的那份精致。两年前在罗马，同样的决赛中巴塞罗那已经用一个2:0让曼联俯首称臣过一次，这回他们保持了相同的优势 —— 只不过比分变成了3:1，但两队之间的水平差距却已拉得更开，这支正在巅峰的巴萨谈笑间便将英超冠军辗得粉碎。”我们被打得没有还手之力，他们完全配得上奖杯，“ 时任曼联主教练的弗格森爵士感慨道。 “巴萨踢得很合理，并且也很享受自己的足球。他们完全用传球催眠了我们，而我们从来没有真正钳制住过梅西...当了这么多年教练，他们是我所碰过的最优秀的球队。“
That performance against United wasn’t even Barcelona’s best; the pinnacle
probably came in the 5–0 win over Real Madrid in November 2010, José Mourinho’s first clásico as manager of Madrid. Wayne Rooney, who watched the game on
television, admitted he found himself spontaneously standing up and applauding. He wasn’t the only one: Barcelona’s tiki-taka style was praised across the
world.
对曼联的那场决赛甚至都算不上是巴萨充分发挥的代表作，他们的巅峰之作当属2010年11月5:0屠杀皇马，那也是穆里尼奥接手皇家马德里以来首次在国家德比中亮相。根据鲁尼的回忆，那场比赛里他完全被巴塞罗那队的美妙表演所折服，在电视前看着看着自己竟然会情不自禁起立为其鼓掌。鲁尼绝不是唯一这么做的人：当时全世界都在为巴萨的tiki-taka[注1]风格叫好。
注1:tiki-taka, 最初由克鲁伊夫提倡，以精准短传为基础来追求极致控球的一种足球战术，日后在巴萨和西班牙国家队取得了极大成功。
Ferguson hadn’t changed his opinion of Barcelona by January 2012. ‘The
Barcelona team at the moment is by far the best team,’ he said. ‘We have
experienced three years of it and sometimes in football you have to hold your
hand up and say “they are better than us”. It’s not a crime or a weakness,
just a plain fact that the Barcelona team now, particularly with Lionel Messi
in the side, are just an extraordinary team.’ When the best player in the world plays for the best team in the world, there’s not a lot the rest of the world can do.
一直到2012年1月，弗格森对巴萨的看法仍未改变。“目前的巴塞罗那是迄今为止最棒的球队，” 他说。 “我们已经在他们的光芒下度过了三年，有时在足球界你必须举手承认：‘他们的确比我们牛。’ 这么说不丢人，只是在陈述一个普通的事实。现在这支巴塞罗那，尤其在拥有梅西的情况下，完全是个非凡的团队。” 当全世界最顶尖的球员同时又在世界上最好的球队中效力之时，其他队伍除了充当看客之外似乎也没什么辙。
Barcelona 3 Manchester United 1, Champions League final, London, 28 May 2011
(图注)巴塞罗那3:1曼联，伦敦，2011年5月28日欧洲冠军联赛决赛
Barcelona did not simply happen. This wasn’t the result of a handful of great
players all happening to be in the same place at once, or of one visionary coach leading a revolution. The Barcelona that won two Champions leagues in four
years, narrowly losing in the semi-final on the other two occasions, is the
result of four decades of evolution.
巴塞罗那队不是凭空诞生的。它既不是几个伟大的球员恰逢其时刚好凑在一块的集合，也不是在单个有远见的教练引导下突然爆发的革命。这支巴塞罗那之所以能够四年内两夺欧冠(而且其余两次也不过堪堪倒在决赛之外)，有这样的成绩完全是过去四十年传承进化结出来的果实。
The sixties were a grim decade for Barcelona. They became the first team to
eliminate Real Madrid from continental competition when they beat them in the
semi-final of the European Cup in 1961 but that was about as good as that decade got. They went on to lose to Béla Guttmann’s Benfica in the final and had
added only two Copas del Generalísimo and a Fairs Cup when they faced Slovan
Bratislava in the 1969 Cup-Winners’ Cup final in Basel.
上世纪六十年代对于巴塞罗那俱乐部来说是严峻的十年。唯一值得一提的是，1961年欧洲冠军杯的半决赛上他们成了首支在洲际大赛中淘汰皇家马德里的队伍。晋级决赛之后他们便倒在了古特曼率领的本菲卡脚下。等到1969年他们终于又打进欧洲优胜者杯的决赛，可在这之前的这近十年里，巴萨的荣誉室里仅仅是多出了两个统帅杯和一座博览会杯[注2]。
注2：统帅杯(Copa del Generalísimo)，西班牙佛朗哥独裁时期被改名的国王杯，佛朗哥时代结束后又改回西班牙国王杯(Copa Del Rey)。博览会杯则是欧洲联盟杯(UEFA Cup)的前身，由欧足联在1971年接手。后于2009年联盟杯再度改制为欧罗巴联赛(Europa League)。
Barca lost 3–2, prompting a spate of gloomy soul-searching that led to a
proposal that Helenio Herrera should be restored as manager. The prospect split the club. The president, Narcis de Carreras, and the coach, Salvador Artigas,
quit and the former Barcelona player Josep Seguer was appointed as interim
manager. By January 1970, the club lay tenth in the league and was struggling.
Radical action was needed and was taken, and an appointment was made that would change the course of the club, establishing a tradition that would still be
bearing fruit four decades later.
优胜者杯的决赛在巴塞尔举行，巴萨的对手是布拉迪斯拉法斯洛伐克人俱乐部。结果他们输了个2:3，苦涩的反省之下让埃拉尼奥·埃雷拉复辟的声音又开始冒头。俱乐部出现了裂痕，最终主席纳西斯·卡雷拉斯与教练萨尔瓦多·阿迪加斯双双下台，前巴萨名将何塞普·塞古尔临危受命成为看守教练。到了1970年1月俱乐部仍在联赛第十的位置上苦苦挣扎，一场激进的大手术已是势在必行。就在这个关头，下一任教练的任命改变了整个俱乐部的走势，也为四十年后的兴起奠定了基调。
Yet Vic Buckingham, with his creased face and neatly parted hair, didn’t look
much like a messiah, even if Ivan Ponting wrote of his ‘natural elegance and
flamboyant personality’ in his obituary in the Independent. He had played alongside Arthur Rowe and Bill Nicholson in Peter McWilliam’s Tottenham team of the late thirties and had gone on to become West Bromwich Albion’s longest-serving manager, winning the FA Cup in 1954. He was an ‘astute tactician’, Bobby
Robson, who played under him, wrote in his autobiography. ‘[He was] not afraid to take on board the hard lessons learned from the Hungarians and to experiment with our style of play.’
他的名字叫维克·白金汉，伊万·庞廷后来在独立报上为其撰写的讣告中曾盛赞他有着“自然的优雅和的华丽的个性”，不过起初人们很难把白金汉那张满是褶子的脸和整齐的中分发型与救世主的形象联系在一块。上世纪三十年代末，白金汉在麦克威廉麾下的托特纳姆热刺踢球，曾与阿瑟·罗还有比尔·尼科尔森同场效力。随后在西布朗他成了俱乐部历史上干得最长的主教练，并于1954年率西布朗赢得了足总杯。白是一个“精明的战术家”，作为弟子之一的博比·罗布森曾在自传里提道，“[他]从不畏惧从匈牙利带来的惨痛教训中汲取经验，在推行己方风格的战术实验上也从未退缩。“
Buckingham had had two spells as coach of Ajax, winning the league in his first and giving a debut to Johan Cruyff in his second, while laying the foundations
for the great team of Rinus Michels. By the time Barcelona approached him,
though, he had been out of football for over a year, disillusioned by the match-fixing scandal that had overwhelmed Sheffield Wednesday shortly after his
departure and by three acrimonious seasons in charge of Fulham. A brief stint in Greece with Ethnikos had begun to revive him but it was at Barcelona that he
ensured his legacy.
白金汉两度出任阿贾克斯教练。在第一个任期里有一个联赛冠军进账，接着第二个任期内又发掘提拔了克鲁伊夫，正是这一时期垒下的基础造就了日后米歇尔斯的那支伟大阿贾克斯。但等巴萨上门接洽的时候，白金汉已经脱离足球界工作一年多时间了，在这之前受假球传闻的困扰让他在谢菲尔德星期三过得不堪重负，随后跑到富勒姆去的三个赛季也是举步维艰。只有到后来远走希腊，把自己和艾辛尼克斯队绑在一起的那段日子才让白金汉缓了口气。当然，最终还是在巴塞罗那的那段岁月成就了他的江湖地位。
Charly Rexach, who spent twenty-two years at Barcelona as a player and a further twenty-two on the coaching staff, is in no doubt about Buckingham’s
significance. ‘There are certain managers in the history of football who have
stolen an excessive limelight, but Buckingham was not one of those who pretended that the team didn’t exist without him and it was only thanks to him that it
won or lost,’ he explained. ‘But he was the first coach I worked under who
taught us the importance of (1) having good players, (2) having discipline in
the changing room, and (3) having a game plan.’
‘查理’·雷克萨奇，在巴塞罗那效力时间长达22年，接下来又把另外22年的时光奉献给了巴萨教练组。在他眼里白金汉的重要性毋庸置疑。 “在足球史上有不少教练出风头的劲头太过了，仿佛没有他们就没有全队，或者比赛结果全由他们而定。但白金汉绝不是这种人，“ 雷克萨奇解释道，“而且我们从他那头一次学会了三件至关重要的事：
1) 要有好的球员搭配，2) 更衣室内要有纪律，3）得有备战规划。
With his taste for tweed jackets and silk ties, his love of cocktails, golf and horse-racing, Buckingham was seen as a perfect English gentleman. But there was a harshness beneath the charm and he swore copiously – particularly at players he didn’t rate. ‘There were six or seven players who if he found anywhere near the changing room, he’d simply tell to fuck off,’ said Barcelona’s then-captain Josep Fuste. He would also swear at the opposition, on one occasion writing ‘BETIS’ on the blackboard in the dressing-room then asking ‘Who are Betis?
Fuck Betis,’ and kicking the blackboard to the ground.
穿着上偏好用丝绸领带搭配花呢夹克，此外还热衷于鸡尾酒、高尔夫和赛马，白金汉看上去活脱脱就是个完美的英国绅士。然而魅力的外衣之下他仍然藏有火爆的一面，尤其是斥责那些他看不上的球员的时候，从这位绅士嘴里蹦出来的字眼可谓丰富多彩。“有那么六七个球员如果不小心在更衣室附近让他看见，白金汉会直接用’滚蛋’来问候他们。” 巴萨当年的队长福斯特回忆道。咒骂起对手来他也同样不遗余力，有一次他把写有”贝蒂斯“字样的黑板挂在更衣室里，然后当着全队质问道，”贝蒂斯？贝蒂斯谁啊？去他妈的贝蒂斯！“ 随后一脚把黑板踹到了地上。
‘He had some very clear professional concepts,’ said José-Maria Minguella,
who worked as his interpreter. ‘He used to say that once a match got under way, it was like a film that constantly changed scenes. Each player had to think of himself as an actor in that film, constantly adapting to the change of scene,
moving his position to deal with each move that was played.’
“他有一些非常清晰的专业概念，” 明奎拉当时担任白金汉的翻译。 “他常说，一旦一场比赛开始了，它就是一场不断变化场景的电影。每个球员必须把自己想象成在那部电影中出演的角色，不断去适应场景的变化，通过跑位来推动每一幕情节的进展。“
Buckingham led Barca to fourth and then, in his first full season, they finished a point behind Valencia in the championship before beating them in the final of the Copa del Generalísimo. A severe back problem, though, meant he returned to England that summer. Bar?a turned to the man who had taken on Buckingham’s
principles at Ajax and used them to form a European Cup-winning team:
Rinus Michels.
白金汉把巴塞罗那带到了第四的位置。接着在他执教的第一个完整赛季里，巴萨在联赛中仅以一分之差排在瓦伦西亚身后屈居亚军。随后在统帅杯的决赛中，他们又击败了瓦伦捧杯找回了点场子。随后的那年夏天，因受严重的背痛困扰白金汉不得不返回英格兰。巴萨转而寻找的下一任掌门来自阿贾克斯，他沿袭了白金汉在那儿的足球哲学并据此打造出了一支豪夺欧冠的王者之师 — 此人便是里努斯·米歇尔斯。
Initially, the move was not a success. Michels himself was unpopular, nicknamed ‘El Se?or Marmol’, the Man of Marble, for his apparent humourlessness.
Although Bar?a did win the Fairs Cup in September 1971, beating Leeds in the
final, many insisted the credit was down less to the Dutchman than Buckingham.
此举初看并不成功，米歇尔斯在巴塞罗那起步时略受冷遇，甚至还被人取了个绰号叫‘El Se?or Marmol’ — ”大理石人“，盖因荷兰人明显缺乏幽默感。尽管在1971年9月巴萨通过击败利兹又赢得了博览会杯，可许多人仍坚持这个奖杯更该归功于白金汉的遗荫而不是米歇尔斯的功劳。
Buckingham had insisted on discipline but Michels was even stricter. An incident after a cup defeat to second-division Sevilla in 1972–73 became notorious.
Seven players, including Rexach, tried to wind down over a game of cards in the hotel. They ordered two bottles of cava on room service, but Michels intercepted them, and hurled the bottles at the players, screaming at them about the lack
of discipline in Spanish football. He admitted later it had been an overreaction, one that said much about the mood of frustration that hung over the club.
白金汉很强调纪律，可米歇尔斯比他更为严格。1972-73赛季巴萨在某项杯赛上负于当时的乙级队塞维利亚，结果赛后的一出闹剧弄得人尽皆知。七名球员包括雷克萨奇本人在内当晚在下榻宾馆打牌解闷，这帮人通过客房服务还叫了两瓶酒。没想到米歇尔斯中途闯进来搅了牌局，荷兰人抓起酒瓶就往这些队员身上砸去，一边还厉声数落着西班牙足球的散漫作风。后来米歇尔斯自己也承认当时反应过激，这事侧面反映出了当时俱乐部上下弥漫的挫折情绪。
It was lifted only by the arrival of the third of the three figures who
transformed Barcelona in the early seventies, Johan Cruyff. Buckingham had made an approach to bring him from Ajax, even though foreigners were still banned
from playing in the Spanish league. The deal was done within a few weeks of that prohibition being lifted in May 1973. Barcelona had then gone fourteen years
without a league title, but when he arrived, Cruyff provided the jolt that
resurrected the club.
所谓三雄铸巴萨，直到三雄中最后一人的到来才彻底扫空那种焦虑气氛，让跨入七十年代后的巴萨面貌为之一新。这最后一位英雄便是约翰·克鲁伊夫。白金汉在位时就曾想把他从阿贾克斯挖过来，尽管那会西班牙联赛还不允许外援登场。等1973年5月禁令一解除，这笔交易即在几周内迅速达成。当时的巴萨已是十四年联赛无冠，克鲁伊夫的到来终于拼全了俱乐部复兴的最后蓝图。
That season, 1973–74, stands as perhaps the most extraordinary in Barcelona’s history. Franco was ailing and nationalist activity in Catalonia and the Basque country was increasing after the appointment of the hardline admiral Luis
Carrero Blanco as president. He was killed that December by a bomb planted by
the Basque separatist group ETA. With the centre weakening, a wave of Catalonian pride was unleashed, carrying along the football team and being reinforced by
it. Cruyff’s league debut came in a 4–0 win over Granada. The impact he had,
the impression he made, was immediate. ‘Cruyff not only plays for the rest of
the team; he makes the team play,’ a piece in Bar?a magazine explained the week after the game. ‘His quality brings out the best in those other Bar?a players whose quality was never in doubt but who sometimes stumbled rather than show the true measure of their worth. The team has turned into a homogenous unit, full o
f ideas and at ease with itself. And what all this means is that football has become fun again. It’s recovered that special grace which makes it the favourite sport of the masses.’
1973-74赛季或许是巴萨历史上最为非凡的一年。当年佛朗哥已病入膏肓，他指定的继任者海军上将路易斯·布兰科仍是个强硬派。此时加泰罗尼亚和巴斯克地区的民族独立运动又开始升温，73年底布兰科被巴斯克地区分离主义组织埃塔的汽车炸弹炸死，西班牙政局突陷动荡。中央政府的影响力在减弱，与之对应的是加泰罗尼亚地区的民族自豪感和自我意识在节节苏醒，这间接也带动了本地的足球事业发展(译注：巴塞罗那是加泰罗尼亚地区的首府)。在4:0大胜格拉纳达的比赛中克鲁伊夫完成了巴萨首秀。他在场上的影响力以及给球队带来的提升效应可谓立竿见影。“克鲁伊夫不光奉献了自己的球技，他还盘活了全队。“ 一周后的巴萨队刊如是写道。 “他的才华同时还激发了其他队友的潜能。以往因为种种原因那些巴萨队员未能充分发挥自身的水平，是克鲁伊夫推动他们把最好的一面得以展现。整支队伍变成了和谐的整体，心态放松之后的发挥自然创意满满。而这一切都意味着这里的足球恢复了乐趣，它又变成了有着独特魅力让老百姓喜闻乐见的运动。“
Better was still to come. The 1973–74 clásico at the Bernabéu was scheduled
for February, on the same day Cruyff’s son was due to be born. Cruyff’s wife, Danny, had a Caesarean so Jordi was born a week early, allowing Cruyff to play
in the game. He was mesmerising in a 5–0 victory. Joan Laporta and Sandro
Rossell, both of whom would go on to become presidents of Barcelona, watched the game as schoolboys.
好戏还在后头。根据1973-74的西甲赛程，第二回合的西班牙国家德比被安排在二月份轮到皇马在主场伯纳乌迎战巴萨。巧的是克鲁伊夫儿子的预产期本来也挤在同一天，但他老婆丹尼决定实施剖腹产，于是约尔迪提前一周来到了这个世界。这样一来喜当爹的克鲁伊夫仍可以抽身去参加那场大战，结果在一场5:0的大胜中他发挥得淋漓尽致。这场经典盛宴把两个观战的小朋友看得如痴如醉，其中一个叫拉波尔塔，另一个叫罗塞尔，日后他俩相继成为巴塞罗那俱乐部的主席。
(未完待续)
由于篇幅比较长，所以一段一段校对着来，免得看得累。
The Triumph of the pass
传以致胜
By the final whistle, the 2011 Champions League final had long since become an
exhibition. The ball zipped from blaugrana shirt to blaugrana shirt as
Manchester United chased and chased,reduced in the end simply to admiring the
filigree patterns of Barcelona’s passing. Two years earlier, in Rome, Barcelona had beaten United 2–0 in the final; this time the margin was the same – 3–1 – but the gulf between the teams was far greater. This was Barcelona absolutely at the top of their game, devastating the Premier League champions. ‘Nobody’s given us a hiding like that but they deserve it,’ said the United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. ‘They play the right way and they enjoy their football. They do mesmerise you with their passing and we never really did control Messi . . . In my time as manager, it’s the best team I’ve faced.’
当2011年欧冠决赛的终场哨声姗姗来迟之际，这场早早失去悬念的比赛已经按照表演赛的节奏踢了多时。皮球行云流水般地从一件巴萨球衣脚下滚向另一件巴萨球衣，与之相衬的背景板是身后喘着粗气徒劳追赶的曼联人。到最后连曼联队员自己也慢了下来，为的只是欣赏巴塞罗那在传递中透出来的那份精致。两年前在罗马，同样的决赛中巴塞罗那已经用一个2:0让曼联俯首称臣过一次，这回他们保持了相同的优势 —— 只不过比分变成了3:1，但两队之间的水平差距却已拉得更开，这支正在巅峰的巴萨谈笑间便将英超冠军辗得粉碎。”我们被打得没有还手之力，他们完全配得上奖杯，“ 时任曼联主教练的弗格森爵士感慨道。 “巴萨踢得很合理，并且也很享受自己的足球。他们完全用传球催眠了我们，而我们从来没有真正钳制住过梅西...当了这么多年教练，他们是我所碰过的最优秀的球队。“
That performance against United wasn’t even Barcelona’s best; the pinnacle
probably came in the 5–0 win over Real Madrid in November 2010, José Mourinho’s first clásico as manager of Madrid. Wayne Rooney, who watched the game on
television, admitted he found himself spontaneously standing up and applauding. He wasn’t the only one: Barcelona’s tiki-taka style was praised across the
world.
对曼联的那场决赛甚至都算不上是巴萨充分发挥的代表作，他们的巅峰之作当属2010年11月5:0屠杀皇马，那也是穆里尼奥接手皇家马德里以来首次在国家德比中亮相。根据鲁尼的回忆，那场比赛里他完全被巴塞罗那队的美妙表演所折服，在电视前看着看着自己竟然会情不自禁起立为其鼓掌。鲁尼绝不是唯一这么做的人：当时全世界都在为巴萨的tiki-taka[注1]风格叫好。
注1:tiki-taka, 最初由克鲁伊夫提倡，以精准短传为基础来追求极致控球的一种足球战术，日后在巴萨和西班牙国家队取得了极大成功。
Ferguson hadn’t changed his opinion of Barcelona by January 2012. ‘The
Barcelona team at the moment is by far the best team,’ he said. ‘We have
experienced three years of it and sometimes in football you have to hold your
hand up and say “they are better than us”. It’s not a crime or a weakness,
just a plain fact that the Barcelona team now, particularly with Lionel Messi
in the side, are just an extraordinary team.’ When the best player in the world plays for the best team in the world, there’s not a lot the rest of the world can do.
一直到2012年1月，弗格森对巴萨的看法仍未改变。“目前的巴塞罗那是迄今为止最棒的球队，” 他说。 “我们已经在他们的光芒下度过了三年，有时在足球界你必须举手承认：‘他们的确比我们牛。’ 这么说不丢人，只是在陈述一个普通的事实。现在这支巴塞罗那，尤其在拥有梅西的情况下，完全是个非凡的团队。” 当全世界最顶尖的球员同时又在世界上最好的球队中效力之时，其他队伍除了充当看客之外似乎也没什么辙。
Barcelona 3 Manchester United 1, Champions League final, London, 28 May 2011
(图注)巴塞罗那3:1曼联，伦敦，2011年5月28日欧洲冠军联赛决赛
Barcelona did not simply happen. This wasn’t the result of a handful of great
players all happening to be in the same place at once, or of one visionary coach leading a revolution. The Barcelona that won two Champions leagues in four
years, narrowly losing in the semi-final on the other two occasions, is the
result of four decades of evolution.
巴塞罗那队不是凭空诞生的。它既不是几个伟大的球员恰逢其时刚好凑在一块的集合，也不是在单个有远见的教练引导下突然爆发的革命。这支巴塞罗那之所以能够四年内两夺欧冠(而且其余两次也不过堪堪倒在决赛之外)，有这样的成绩完全是过去四十年传承进化结出来的果实。
The sixties were a grim decade for Barcelona. They became the first team to
eliminate Real Madrid from continental competition when they beat them in the
semi-final of the European Cup in 1961 but that was about as good as that decade got. They went on to lose to Béla Guttmann’s Benfica in the final and had
added only two Copas del Generalísimo and a Fairs Cup when they faced Slovan
Bratislava in the 1969 Cup-Winners’ Cup final in Basel.
上世纪六十年代对于巴塞罗那俱乐部来说是严峻的十年。唯一值得一提的是，1961年欧洲冠军杯的半决赛上他们成了首支在洲际大赛中淘汰皇家马德里的队伍。晋级决赛之后他们便倒在了古特曼率领的本菲卡脚下。等到1969年他们终于又打进欧洲优胜者杯的决赛，可在这之前的这近十年里，巴萨的荣誉室里仅仅是多出了两个统帅杯和一座博览会杯[注2]。
注2：统帅杯(Copa del Generalísimo)，西班牙佛朗哥独裁时期被改名的国王杯，佛朗哥时代结束后又改回西班牙国王杯(Copa Del Rey)。博览会杯则是欧洲联盟杯(UEFA Cup)的前身，由欧足联在1971年接手。后于2009年联盟杯再度改制为欧罗巴联赛(Europa League)。
Barca lost 3–2, prompting a spate of gloomy soul-searching that led to a
proposal that Helenio Herrera should be restored as manager. The prospect split the club. The president, Narcis de Carreras, and the coach, Salvador Artigas,
quit and the former Barcelona player Josep Seguer was appointed as interim
manager. By January 1970, the club lay tenth in the league and was struggling.
Radical action was needed and was taken, and an appointment was made that would change the course of the club, establishing a tradition that would still be
bearing fruit four decades later.
优胜者杯的决赛在巴塞尔举行，巴萨的对手是布拉迪斯拉法斯洛伐克人俱乐部。结果他们输了个2:3，苦涩的反省之下让埃拉尼奥·埃雷拉复辟的声音又开始冒头。俱乐部出现了裂痕，最终主席纳西斯·卡雷拉斯与教练萨尔瓦多·阿迪加斯双双下台，前巴萨名将何塞普·塞古尔临危受命成为看守教练。到了1970年1月俱乐部仍在联赛第十的位置上苦苦挣扎，一场激进的大手术已是势在必行。就在这个关头，下一任教练的任命改变了整个俱乐部的走势，也为四十年后的兴起奠定了基调。
Yet Vic Buckingham, with his creased face and neatly parted hair, didn’t look
much like a messiah, even if Ivan Ponting wrote of his ‘natural elegance and
flamboyant personality’ in his obituary in the Independent. He had played alongside Arthur Rowe and Bill Nicholson in Peter McWilliam’s Tottenham team of the late thirties and had gone on to become West Bromwich Albion’s longest-serving manager, winning the FA Cup in 1954. He was an ‘astute tactician’, Bobby
Robson, who played under him, wrote in his autobiography. ‘[He was] not afraid to take on board the hard lessons learned from the Hungarians and to experiment with our style of play.’
他的名字叫维克·白金汉，伊万·庞廷后来在独立报上为其撰写的讣告中曾盛赞他有着“自然的优雅和的华丽的个性”，不过起初人们很难把白金汉那张满是褶子的脸和整齐的中分发型与救世主的形象联系在一块。上世纪三十年代末，白金汉在麦克威廉麾下的托特纳姆热刺踢球，曾与阿瑟·罗还有比尔·尼科尔森同场效力。随后在西布朗他成了俱乐部历史上干得最长的主教练，并于1954年率西布朗赢得了足总杯。白是一个“精明的战术家”，作为弟子之一的博比·罗布森曾在自传里提道，“[他]从不畏惧从匈牙利带来的惨痛教训中汲取经验，在推行己方风格的战术实验上也从未退缩。“
Buckingham had had two spells as coach of Ajax, winning the league in his first and giving a debut to Johan Cruyff in his second, while laying the foundations
for the great team of Rinus Michels. By the time Barcelona approached him,
though, he had been out of football for over a year, disillusioned by the match-fixing scandal that had overwhelmed Sheffield Wednesday shortly after his
departure and by three acrimonious seasons in charge of Fulham. A brief stint in Greece with Ethnikos had begun to revive him but it was at Barcelona that he
ensured his legacy.
白金汉两度出任阿贾克斯教练。在第一个任期里有一个联赛冠军进账，接着第二个任期内又发掘提拔了克鲁伊夫，正是这一时期垒下的基础造就了日后米歇尔斯的那支伟大阿贾克斯。但等巴萨上门接洽的时候，白金汉已经脱离足球界工作一年多时间了，在这之前受假球传闻的困扰让他在谢菲尔德星期三过得不堪重负，随后跑到富勒姆去的三个赛季也是举步维艰。只有到后来远走希腊，把自己和艾辛尼克斯队绑在一起的那段日子才让白金汉缓了口气。当然，最终还是在巴塞罗那的那段岁月成就了他的江湖地位。
Charly Rexach, who spent twenty-two years at Barcelona as a player and a further twenty-two on the coaching staff, is in no doubt about Buckingham’s
significance. ‘There are certain managers in the history of football who have
stolen an excessive limelight, but Buckingham was not one of those who pretended that the team didn’t exist without him and it was only thanks to him that it
won or lost,’ he explained. ‘But he was the first coach I worked under who
taught us the importance of (1) having good players, (2) having discipline in
the changing room, and (3) having a game plan.’
‘查理’·雷克萨奇，在巴塞罗那效力时间长达22年，接下来又把另外22年的时光奉献给了巴萨教练组。在他眼里白金汉的重要性毋庸置疑。 “在足球史上有不少教练出风头的劲头太过了，仿佛没有他们就没有全队，或者比赛结果全由他们而定。但白金汉绝不是这种人，“ 雷克萨奇解释道，“而且我们从他那头一次学会了三件至关重要的事：
1) 要有好的球员搭配，2) 更衣室内要有纪律，3）得有备战规划。
With his taste for tweed jackets and silk ties, his love of cocktails, golf and horse-racing, Buckingham was seen as a perfect English gentleman. But there was a harshness beneath the charm and he swore copiously – particularly at players he didn’t rate. ‘There were six or seven players who if he found anywhere near the changing room, he’d simply tell to fuck off,’ said Barcelona’s then-captain Josep Fuste. He would also swear at the opposition, on one occasion writing ‘BETIS’ on the blackboard in the dressing-room then asking ‘Who are Betis?
Fuck Betis,’ and kicking the blackboard to the ground.
穿着上偏好用丝绸领带搭配花呢夹克，此外还热衷于鸡尾酒、高尔夫和赛马，白金汉看上去活脱脱就是个完美的英国绅士。然而魅力的外衣之下他仍然藏有火爆的一面，尤其是斥责那些他看不上的球员的时候，从这位绅士嘴里蹦出来的字眼可谓丰富多彩。“有那么六七个球员如果不小心在更衣室附近让他看见，白金汉会直接用’滚蛋’来问候他们。” 巴萨当年的队长福斯特回忆道。咒骂起对手来他也同样不遗余力，有一次他把写有”贝蒂斯“字样的黑板挂在更衣室里，然后当着全队质问道，”贝蒂斯？贝蒂斯谁啊？去他妈的贝蒂斯！“ 随后一脚把黑板踹到了地上。
‘He had some very clear professional concepts,’ said José-Maria Minguella,
who worked as his interpreter. ‘He used to say that once a match got under way, it was like a film that constantly changed scenes. Each player had to think of himself as an actor in that film, constantly adapting to the change of scene,
moving his position to deal with each move that was played.’
“他有一些非常清晰的专业概念，” 明奎拉当时担任白金汉的翻译。 “他常说，一旦一场比赛开始了，它就是一场不断变化场景的电影。每个球员必须把自己想象成在那部电影中出演的角色，不断去适应场景的变化，通过跑位来推动每一幕情节的进展。“
Buckingham led Barca to fourth and then, in his first full season, they finished a point behind Valencia in the championship before beating them in the final of the Copa del Generalísimo. A severe back problem, though, meant he returned to England that summer. Bar?a turned to the man who had taken on Buckingham’s
principles at Ajax and used them to form a European Cup-winning team:
Rinus Michels.
白金汉把巴塞罗那带到了第四的位置。接着在他执教的第一个完整赛季里，巴萨在联赛中仅以一分之差排在瓦伦西亚身后屈居亚军。随后在统帅杯的决赛中，他们又击败了瓦伦捧杯找回了点场子。随后的那年夏天，因受严重的背痛困扰白金汉不得不返回英格兰。巴萨转而寻找的下一任掌门来自阿贾克斯，他沿袭了白金汉在那儿的足球哲学并据此打造出了一支豪夺欧冠的王者之师 — 此人便是里努斯·米歇尔斯。
Initially, the move was not a success. Michels himself was unpopular, nicknamed ‘El Se?or Marmol’, the Man of Marble, for his apparent humourlessness.
Although Bar?a did win the Fairs Cup in September 1971, beating Leeds in the
final, many insisted the credit was down less to the Dutchman than Buckingham.
此举初看并不成功，米歇尔斯在巴塞罗那起步时略受冷遇，甚至还被人取了个绰号叫‘El Se?or Marmol’ — ”大理石人“，盖因荷兰人明显缺乏幽默感。尽管在1971年9月巴萨通过击败利兹又赢得了博览会杯，可许多人仍坚持这个奖杯更该归功于白金汉的遗荫而不是米歇尔斯的功劳。
Buckingham had insisted on discipline but Michels was even stricter. An incident after a cup defeat to second-division Sevilla in 1972–73 became notorious.
Seven players, including Rexach, tried to wind down over a game of cards in the hotel. They ordered two bottles of cava on room service, but Michels intercepted them, and hurled the bottles at the players, screaming at them about the lack
of discipline in Spanish football. He admitted later it had been an overreaction, one that said much about the mood of frustration that hung over the club.
白金汉很强调纪律，可米歇尔斯比他更为严格。1972-73赛季巴萨在某项杯赛上负于当时的乙级队塞维利亚，结果赛后的一出闹剧弄得人尽皆知。七名球员包括雷克萨奇本人在内当晚在下榻宾馆打牌解闷，这帮人通过客房服务还叫了两瓶酒。没想到米歇尔斯中途闯进来搅了牌局，荷兰人抓起酒瓶就往这些队员身上砸去，一边还厉声数落着西班牙足球的散漫作风。后来米歇尔斯自己也承认当时反应过激，这事侧面反映出了当时俱乐部上下弥漫的挫折情绪。
It was lifted only by the arrival of the third of the three figures who
transformed Barcelona in the early seventies, Johan Cruyff. Buckingham had made an approach to bring him from Ajax, even though foreigners were still banned
from playing in the Spanish league. The deal was done within a few weeks of that prohibition being lifted in May 1973. Barcelona had then gone fourteen years
without a league title, but when he arrived, Cruyff provided the jolt that
resurrected the club.
所谓三雄铸巴萨，直到三雄中最后一人的到来才彻底扫空那种焦虑气氛，让跨入七十年代后的巴萨面貌为之一新。这最后一位英雄便是约翰·克鲁伊夫。白金汉在位时就曾想把他从阿贾克斯挖过来，尽管那会西班牙联赛还不允许外援登场。等1973年5月禁令一解除，这笔交易即在几周内迅速达成。当时的巴萨已是十四年联赛无冠，克鲁伊夫的到来终于拼全了俱乐部复兴的最后蓝图。
That season, 1973–74, stands as perhaps the most extraordinary in Barcelona’s history. Franco was ailing and nationalist activity in Catalonia and the Basque country was increasing after the appointment of the hardline admiral Luis
Carrero Blanco as president. He was killed that December by a bomb planted by
the Basque separatist group ETA. With the centre weakening, a wave of Catalonian pride was unleashed, carrying along the football team and being reinforced by
it. Cruyff’s league debut came in a 4–0 win over Granada. The impact he had,
the impression he made, was immediate. ‘Cruyff not only plays for the rest of
the team; he makes the team play,’ a piece in Bar?a magazine explained the week after the game. ‘His quality brings out the best in those other Bar?a players whose quality was never in doubt but who sometimes stumbled rather than show the true measure of their worth. The team has turned into a homogenous unit, full o
f ideas and at ease with itself. And what all this means is that football has become fun again. It’s recovered that special grace which makes it the favourite sport of the masses.’
1973-74赛季或许是巴萨历史上最为非凡的一年。当年佛朗哥已病入膏肓，他指定的继任者海军上将路易斯·布兰科仍是个强硬派。此时加泰罗尼亚和巴斯克地区的民族独立运动又开始升温，73年底布兰科被巴斯克地区分离主义组织埃塔的汽车炸弹炸死，西班牙政局突陷动荡。中央政府的影响力在减弱，与之对应的是加泰罗尼亚地区的民族自豪感和自我意识在节节苏醒，这间接也带动了本地的足球事业发展(译注：巴塞罗那是加泰罗尼亚地区的首府)。在4:0大胜格拉纳达的比赛中克鲁伊夫完成了巴萨首秀。他在场上的影响力以及给球队带来的提升效应可谓立竿见影。“克鲁伊夫不光奉献了自己的球技，他还盘活了全队。“ 一周后的巴萨队刊如是写道。 “他的才华同时还激发了其他队友的潜能。以往因为种种原因那些巴萨队员未能充分发挥自身的水平，是克鲁伊夫推动他们把最好的一面得以展现。整支队伍变成了和谐的整体，心态放松之后的发挥自然创意满满。而这一切都意味着这里的足球恢复了乐趣，它又变成了有着独特魅力让老百姓喜闻乐见的运动。“
Better was still to come. The 1973–74 clásico at the Bernabéu was scheduled
for February, on the same day Cruyff’s son was due to be born. Cruyff’s wife, Danny, had a Caesarean so Jordi was born a week early, allowing Cruyff to play
in the game. He was mesmerising in a 5–0 victory. Joan Laporta and Sandro
Rossell, both of whom would go on to become presidents of Barcelona, watched the game as schoolboys.
好戏还在后头。根据1973-74的西甲赛程，第二回合的西班牙国家德比被安排在二月份轮到皇马在主场伯纳乌迎战巴萨。巧的是克鲁伊夫儿子的预产期本来也挤在同一天，但他老婆丹尼决定实施剖腹产，于是约尔迪提前一周来到了这个世界。这样一来喜当爹的克鲁伊夫仍可以抽身去参加那场大战，结果在一场5:0的大胜中他发挥得淋漓尽致。这场经典盛宴把两个观战的小朋友看得如痴如醉，其中一个叫拉波尔塔，另一个叫罗塞尔，日后他俩相继成为巴塞罗那俱乐部的主席。
(未完待续)
