LONDON — The last time that Germany beat Argentina to win the World Cup, the coach, Franz Beckenbauer, said that once East and West Germany became unified at the end of that year, no one would ever take the title off them.
伦敦——当德国队上一次击败阿根廷队夺得世界杯冠军时，时任德国队教练弗朗茨·贝肯鲍尔(Franz Beckenbauer)声称，一旦东西德在年底实现统一，就再也没有谁能从德国队手中夺走冠军的称号。
Beckenbauer was smiling that night in 1990 in Rome. His boast was meant to be taken lightheartedly.
那是1990年的一个夜晚，贝肯鲍尔人在罗马，面带微笑。他的话其实只是兴奋之时的无心之语。
It has taken 24 years for Germany to become the world champion again. Twenty-four years, and a complete overhaul of the way that the united nation identifies talent and then coaches it from kindergarten on up with the singular aim of putting the national team back on top of the world.
德国队花了整整24年，才再次成为世界杯冠军。除了24年光阴，统一后的德国还彻底改变了他们鉴别足球人才的方式，从幼儿园起就对他们进行培训，唯一的目的是让国家队重新成为世界杯冠军。
The depth of Germany’s talent pool is such that Mario Götze, whose beautiful goal won the final in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, became the first player to come off the bench to score the winning goal in a World Cup final.
德国的人才库深不可测，以至于马里奥·格策(Mario Götze)成了历届世界杯决赛中，首名以替补队员身份上场后攻入制胜球的球员。本周日，格策凭借着优美的进球帮助德国队赢得了在里约热内卢举行的决赛。
Götze’s goal broke the impasse that took us perilously close to another wretched penalty shootout to decide the world champion. And with that victory, Germany ended the seemingly eternal fact that nothing but South American teams had ever won a World Cup in the Americas.
他的进球打破了决赛险些要以另一场揪心的点球大战来决定世界杯输赢的僵局。德国队的获胜终结了一个看似永恒不变的事实，即除了南美球队，没有谁能在美洲大陆上赢得世界杯冠军。
So thank heavens for Götze. The coach Joachim Löw sent him in with, Löw said, the instruction to show the world he was a better player than Lionel Messi.
所以，感谢上苍送来了格策。德国队教练约阿希姆·勒夫(Joachim Löw)说，派格策上场时，曾指示他要向全世界展示，他是一个比利昂内尔·梅西(Lionel Messi)更棒的球员。
“Götze is a miracle boy,” the coach told reporters after the game. “He can play in any position and has superior technical qualities. I know he is able to decide a match, and he scored a great decider today.”
这位教练在赛后对记者说，“格策是神奇小子。他能在场上的任何位置踢球，他拥有非凡的技术素质。我就知道，他能决定一场比赛的输赢，今天，他攻入了一记妙不可言的制胜球。”
He did indeed, with a wonderful, knowing movement as he darted into Argentina’s penalty area after André Schürrle (also a substitute) made a dynamic burst down the left flank. Götze’s control of Schürrle’s pass with his chest and then his sublime volley — without even a glance to determine the goalkeeper’s position — were certainly superior techniques.
他的确技术非凡。安德烈·许尔勒（André Schürrle，也是替补队员）从左路突破后，格策以精彩绝伦、难以预料的动作直插阿根廷队的禁区。他以胸部控住许尔勒的传球，然后令人赞叹地凌空抽射破门——甚至无需瞥一眼去判断守门员的位置——这无疑是非凡的技艺。
It raises a small question as to why Löw made 82 million Germans — the united population — suffer through an entire contest that could have ended much sooner had Messi or Gonzalo Higuaín or Rodrigo Palacio made the most of their chances for Argentina.
这也提出了一个小问题，那就是勒夫为何要让全体8200万德国人从头到尾地熬完整场比赛？要不是梅西、冈萨洛·伊瓜因(Gonzalo Higuaín)和罗德里戈·帕拉西奥(Rodrigo Palacio)没能好好抓住机会为阿根廷队建功立业的话，这场比赛本来早就结束了。
But don’t let us be churlish. Löw has worked eight years (10 if your count his two years as an assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann, his predecessor) for this fulfillment.
不过，我们还是别这么小心眼吧。勒夫已经为实现目标努力了八年（如果把他给前任尤尔根·克林斯曼[Jurgen Klinsmann]担任助理的两年也算在内的话，那就是10年）。
The confidence shown by German coaches in being able to identify talent at a young age, and then making the national team their priority, is a model for the rest of the world.
德国教练彰显的自信心是全球其余队伍的榜样。他们能够慧眼识珠，而且能让国家队成为球员心目中的重中之重。
And, yes, there have been East German hands in this endeavor.
是的，这成就里也有东德人的功劳。
Matthias Sammer, a native of Dresden in East Germany, played a part in both the unification of the national team and the development of Götze.
来自东德德累斯顿的马蒂亚斯·萨默尔(Matthias Sammer)对于国家队的融合和格策的成长起到了关键作用。
Sammer was perhaps the closest thing Germany ever found to replacing Beckenbauer with his ability to glide between defense and offense. And before injuries curtailed Sammer’s career, he added 51 German caps to the 23 appearances he made for the East German national team.
球员时代的萨默尔能够在防守与进攻之间自由转换。这种能力让他成了全德国境内替代贝肯鲍尔的最佳人选。在伤病断送了职业生涯之前，萨默尔曾51次代表德国国家队出场，在那以前还曾23次代表东德出场。
When he needed a job, the German Football Association hired him as technical director in 2006. Sammer’s specific task was to guide the youth teams, from the ages of 11 to 18, under the direction of Löw.
后来，当他需要一份工作时，德国足协(German Football Association)在2006年聘请他担任技术总监。萨默尔的具体任务是，在勒夫的指导下，执掌队员年龄在11岁至18岁之间的青少年队。
Götze, born in Bavaria but a product of Borussia Dortmund’s coaching academy starting at age 8, came under Sammer’s wing. I specifically recall the East German identifying the young Götze as “one of the best talents, ever, in Germany.”
于是，出生于巴伐利亚、但从8岁开始就待在多特蒙德俱乐部(Borussia Dortmund)青训营的格策，来到了萨默尔麾下。我清楚地记得，萨默尔当时形容年轻的格策是“德国有史以来最棒的天才之一”。
And when Sammer moved on from his national team role to become sports director at Bayern Munich, responsible for recruiting, he went after Götze. The buyout clause in his Dortmund contract cost about $50 million, an expensive welcome gift for Pep Guardiola when he took over as Bayern’s head coach a year ago.
萨默尔后来离开国家队的职位，成为拜仁慕尼黑俱乐部(Bayern Munich)的体育总监，负责招募球员，于是他挖来了格策。格策与多特蒙德的合同里的转会条款要价高达5000万美元（当时约合3亿元人民币）。那是一年前，对于即将担任拜仁主教练的佩普·瓜迪奥拉(Pep Guardiola)来说，这可是个昂贵的见面礼。
By then, Götze was beginning to come of age at 21. Guardiola has blended him, month by month, into the style that the coach brought from Barcelona.
当时，格策刚刚21岁，逐渐成熟起来。经过一个月接一个月的努力，瓜迪奥拉将格策与他从巴塞罗那带来的球风揉和到了一起。
To be better than Messi is more than a tall order. Something is wrong with the Messi we have seen at this World Cup — the Messi who emerged under the wing of Guardiola at Barcelona. Whether it is his hamstrings rebelling after so many seasons of relentless pressure, the sheer exhaustion of life for so long at the top, or something more serious, no one knows.
要做到比梅西还出色十分困难。不过，我们在这届世界杯上见到的梅西——那个在瓜迪奥拉麾下从巴塞罗那成长起来的梅西——仿佛有哪里不对劲。或许是他在经历过那么多赛季无休无止的压力之后，肌腱的损伤，又或许是在顶端待了太久，那种对生活深深的厌倦，亦或是无人可知的更严重的问题。
Or if they know, no one is telling. In any event, for FIFA to hand him the player of the tournament prize is a strange, misguided sop. Messi had his inspired moments. His goals and assists did carry Argentina through the first stage of this event, but he faded later in the tournament as Javier Mascherano grew magnificently and tenaciously into the country’s true leader during the World Cup.
即使有人知道，也没有捅破。无论如何，FIFA把整届杯赛的最佳球员奖项颁发给梅西，都是莫名其妙、判断失当的安慰奖。梅西在场上有过出彩的时刻，他的射门和助攻的确带领阿根廷队走过了小组赛阶段。然而，在之后的淘汰赛阶段里，哈维尔·马斯切拉诺(Javier Mascherano)有了令人惊异、坚韧不拔的成长，成了本届世界杯比赛中，带领自己国家球队的真正领袖。
Mascherano, along with his quiet and sometimes distastefully maligned coach, Alejandro Sabella, built an obdurate and reliable Argentine defense, even though it appeared they had none at all when the event began.
马斯切拉诺与他那沉默寡言、时而受到恶意中伤的教练亚历杭德罗·萨维利亚(Alejandro Sabella)一起，为阿根廷队建立起了稳固可靠的防线。要知道，在世界杯开赛之时，阿根廷队仿佛全无防守可言。
It is thanks to Argentina that, right to the end, the eclipse of South American soccer on its own continent was averted. Löw’s last throw of the dice, putting in his game winner when everyone around and against him were gasping for air and for energy, proved victorious.
多亏了阿根廷队，南美球队保住了在自家大洲上的荣耀，直到决赛的最后时刻。勒夫把最终赢得比赛的格策换上场时，仿佛是孤注一掷，此时无论是支持还是反对他的人，都紧张地喘不过气来。正是这一赌，决定了胜局。
“Yes yes yes !!! Jogi you did it !!! Huge compliment to Argentina, but the best team won the 2014 World Cup!!” Klinsmann messaged his friend via Twitter after the final.
决赛结束后，克林斯曼在Twitter上对他的朋友勒夫说：“棒棒棒！！！约吉你做到了！！！盛赞阿根廷，可是最棒的球队赢得了2014年世界杯！！”
Europeans have triumphed, at last, in the Americas.
欧洲人终于在美洲赢得了胜利。