[2008.05.22] We won, so let’s make it worse 赢得了冠军，输了啥？

ENGLISH hearts, you would think, are swelling with pride. In Moscow on May 21st for the first time two English teams faced each other in the final of the Champions League, a football competition that pits 32 of the best teams across Europe against each other. Manchester United prevailed over Chelsea, as the rest of the continent looked on.
英国人的心里应当是充满自豪的。5月21日，莫斯科，欧洲冠军联赛的决赛中首次出现了两支英国球队会师的场面。（欧洲冠军联赛是一项足球赛事，参赛者是欧洲各国联赛中的32支最强的队伍。）在这场全欧洲瞩目的比赛中，曼彻斯特联队最终战胜了切尔西。

Ronaldo: not English, but great
C·罗纳尔多：不是英国球员，而是伟大的球员

Hosting the world’s best without actually besting them is often called “the Wimbledon effect”, after the prestigious tennis tournament that Britain holds each year but is seldom in danger of winning. A better parallel may be with financial services: the City of London thrives on the back of an open market and international talent.
举办着世界上最高水平的赛事，自身却实力平平，这便是“温布尔登现象”。这个名字来源于著名的网球赛事温布尔登公开赛。每年一度的温网在英国举行，然而英国人却鲜有机会染指冠军。也许用金融服务业的情况来做比更为恰当：正是开放市场与国际人才造就了伦敦金融城的繁荣。

The Premier League’s main source of strength is its financial clout. Since the early 1990s, when stadiums were upgraded and lucrative broadcasting deals agreed upon, the league has become a money-spinner. Foreign investors have poured in (Liverpool and Manchester United are owned by Americans, Chelsea by a Russian). England’s big four clubs are among the world’s ten richest, according to Deloitte, an accounting firm. This allows the clubs to hire the best players, which in turn draws crowds and increases revenues.
英超联赛的主要力量来源于其财政影响。上世界90年代初以来，随着体育场的扩建， 以及一系列利润丰厚的电视转播交易的达成，英超联赛成了一架印钞机。外国投资者蜂涌而至（美国人买下了利物浦与曼联，切尔西则被俄罗斯人收购）。根据会计 公司Deloitte的统计，在世界足坛最富有的十家俱乐部中，英国的四大俱乐部全部榜上有名。有了钱，俱乐部就可以买来最优秀的球员，而优秀球员则为俱 乐部吸引更多的球迷，最终可以转化成财政上的收益。

In most industries such a virtuous circle would be a cause for celebration. But Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, football’s governing body, cites English dominance of the Champions League as proof of the need to restrict how many foreigners a team may field. Michel Platini, the head of UEFA, the European wing of FIFA, concurs. Some old-style hoof-it English managers claim that import restrictions would somehow help the coaching of young British talent.
在大多数产业中，这样的良性循环都是值得庆幸的事。然而国际足联（足球管理机构）主席赛普·巴特勒却表示，英超球 队在欧冠联赛中的优势证明，需要对每个球队中能上场的外援球员数量加以严格限制。欧洲足联（国际足联的欧洲分部）主席米加勒·普拉蒂尼也随声附和。有些冥 顽不化的英国俱乐部管理人员也表示，对外援严加限制会有助于英国本土年轻球员的成长。

This is the sort of protectionist tosh that most industries have not dared utter in public since the 1970s. How could a sport get better by limiting competition or lowering standards? English children are bad at football mainly because their training is bad (something other places have fixed). The league football in Britain is unimaginably better than it was. With luck EU labour law will stop Mr Blatter and keep it that way.
自上个世纪70 年代以来，还没有哪项产业敢公然说出这种带有贸易保护主义的胡言妄语。限制竞争，降低赛事水平，体育运动水平就能提高了？英国孩子足球踢的不好的原因是因 为他们没有受到良好的训练，而其他国家已经解决了这个问题。英国的足球联赛水平已经远非昔日可以想像。幸好，欧盟的劳动法案会阻止巴特勒，让英国联赛保持 现状。