LONDON — As the migration¹ of soccer players from Europe to China continues, much of the rhetoric² is falling short on understanding.

伦敦——随着足球运动员不断从欧洲迁徙到中国，许多夸夸其谈已无法让人理解。

After Alex Teixeira’s move to Liverpool fell through, and the Brazilian was sold days later for $55 million to the Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning, the former Liverpool defender³ Mark Lawrenson said in a Liverpool newspaper that Teixeira “must have the professional ambition of a gnat⁴.”

在巴西球员阿莱士·特谢拉(Alex Teixeira)转会利物浦告吹，并在几天后就以5500万美元身价加盟中国足球超级联赛俱乐部江苏苏宁之后，前利物浦后卫马克·劳伦森(Mark Lawrenson)在利物浦的一家报纸上说，特谢拉的“职业志向堪比蚊蚋”。

Likewise, when the Colombian Jackson Martínez left Atlético Madrid after barely half a season, the presumption⁵ was that he couldn’t cut it in Madrid. Ramires, the Brazilian sold by Chelsea, and Gervinho, the Ivory Coast striker sold by Roma, are other notable players who have joined Chinese clubs in recent weeks in what The Sun newspaper has called the “Great Haul of China.”

同样，当哥伦比亚球员杰克逊·马丁内斯(Jackson Martínez)仅在半个赛季之后就离开马德里竞技队(Atlético Madrid)时，人们推测他可能是无法适应马竞。切尔西(Chelsea)出售的巴西球员拉米雷斯(Ramires)以及罗马(Roma)出售的科特迪瓦前锋热尔维尼奥(Gervinho)，是最近几周加盟中国俱乐部的其他知名球员，而《太阳报》(The Sun)称他们为“中国大手笔”。

Players leaving European clubs and heading to different continents is nothing new, look at Major League Soccer. But there is a difference between what the Chinese clubs have done and what the M.L.S. did so selectively with big names like David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Andrea Pirlo.

球员离开欧洲俱乐部前往其他大洲并不是什么新鲜事，看看美国职业足球大联盟(Major League Soccer)。但中国俱乐部所做的，和美国大联盟有选择地对一些大牌球员如大卫·贝克汉姆(David Beckham)、蒂埃里·亨利(Thierry Henry)和安德烈·皮尔洛(Andrea Pirlo)所做的，存在很大区别。

The players heading west to M.L.S. have largely been at the end of their careers, trading their fame for a few seasons in the land of the dollar. Those rushing east to chase the renminbi are closer — much closer — to being in the prime of their careers.

前往美国大联盟的球员大部分已经到了自己职业生涯的晚期，用他们的名气在美元之国换来几个赛季的出场。而那些前往东方去追逐人民币的球员，与自己职业生涯的巅峰时期更为接近。

Many of them have been on the money trail since their early teens. Like soccer mercenaries, they have been shipped out of their countries in South America, Africa and, more recently, Asia, by talent spotters to join rich clubs in Europe.

他们当中有许多人从十几岁以来一直走在追逐金钱的道路上。就像足球雇佣兵，他们被球探从南美、非洲以及近期的亚洲国家带出来，加入了富有的欧洲俱乐部。

They know no other life. Their place at a top team is dependent on the whim⁶ of the coach, whose own tenure⁷ might not last a season at any one club. And when playing careers can be ended by the next tackle, why should we blame young men for crossing this final frontier in search of a living?

他们不知道其他的生活方式。他们在一支顶级球队的地位取决于教练的兴致，而教练自己的任期在任何一个俱乐部都可能不会持续一个赛季。既然足球的职业生涯随时都可能因为一次滑铲而终结，为什么要指责年轻人跨越底线，去追求生计呢？

It might just be — though nobody is betting on it — that a few of the hundreds now playing in the China are intrigued⁸ by the challenge of a different culture.

数百名现在效力于中国俱乐部的球员中，或许有一部分是受到了不同文化挑战的吸引——不过没有谁能断言。

The Lawrenson quip about Teixeira having “the professional ambition of a gnat” if he prefers Jiangsu over Liverpool is in itself dated. When Lawrenson, 58, played in Liverpool’s defense⁹ 30 years ago, it really was the team to play for.

劳伦森对特谢拉选择苏宁而非利物浦的讽刺之语“蚊蚋”的志向，本身就过时了。当58岁的劳伦森30年前在利物浦踢后卫时，当时那真的是一支值得效力的球队。

But Lawrenson, who grew up in northern England, did not have to move far or learn a new language or wonder how long management would last at Liverpool. When he joined the Reds, it was a career move to one of Europe’s most stable giants.

但是在英格兰北部长大的劳伦森，并不需要背井离乡、不需要学习一门新语言、不需要考虑利物浦的教练组能执教多久。当他加盟“红军”(Reds)时，这是前往欧洲最稳定的豪门之一的职业转变。

There is no such stability today, and very little expectation that a top player (other than Lionel Messi at Barcelona or Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid) will stay in one place for most of their prime.

今天没有这样的稳定选项了，人们也很少期望一名顶级球员——除了巴塞罗那(Barcelona)的里奥内尔·梅西(Lionel Messi)或皇家马德里的克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多(Cristiano Ronaldo)——会将大部分巅峰时期奉献给一家俱乐部。

Besides that, Alex Teixeira was in a place he needed to get out of. He had moved, together with a whole batch¹⁰ of fledging Brazilian players, to Shakhtar Donetsk when they were in their teens and Shakhtar’s billionaire owner had the money to put his Ukrainian team on the map of global soccer.

除此之外，阿莱士·特谢拉也处在一个应该离开的地方。他和一大批刚起步的巴西球员一起，在十几岁时转会到了顿涅茨克矿工队(Shakhtar Donetsk)。顿涅茨克矿工的亿万富翁老板有钱把他的乌克兰球队带上世界足球的舞台。

Then came the civil unrest, the bombing of Shakhtar’s fine stadium and the team’s move hundreds of miles away, along with the inevitable¹¹ breakup of the club’s Brazilian core, which helped revolutionize soccer in a beleaguered¹² part of eastern Europe.

随后乌克兰发生内乱、顿涅茨克矿工队球场被炸、球队搬迁到数百英里之外，不可避免地造成该俱乐部巴西核心的离去，这促使东欧陷入困境的地区开展了足球改革。

So Alex Teixeira saw his teammates scatter¹³ to clubs that could afford to remove them from Donetsk. He saw negotiations¹⁴ between Liverpool and Shakhtar go to the brink¹⁵, then collapse¹⁶ at the deadline for transfers in Europe. It was said that the Brazilian only had to wait until the transfer window, in July, and Liverpool would seal the deal.

所以阿莱士·特谢拉看着队友们四散各处，到了能够将他们从顿涅茨克带走的俱乐部。他看着利物浦和顿涅茨克矿工队之间的谈判拖到最后一刻，然后在欧洲转会的最后期限破裂。据说巴西人需要等到7月份转会窗口开启，那时利物浦才能完成交易。

What were the guarantees on that? Six months is a long time in sports, and probably a longer time for a Brazilian marooned¹⁷ in Ukraine after some of his best pals¹⁸ had flown that nest.

这有什么保证？半年在体育界是很长一段时间，而对一名被困在乌克兰，且一些好朋友已经逃离的巴西人来说，这更让他度日如年。

It is human nature for someone like Alex Teixeira — who is extremely talented, by the way — to ask himself, “Why not China?” It would not be unrealistic for him to observe that scores of Brazilians, both top players and coaches, have joined the exodus¹⁹ there.

对于像阿莱士·特谢拉（顺便说一句，他非常有才能）这样的人来说，扪心自问“为什么不能去中国”是很自然的事情。在他看来，没有发觉大量巴西人（包括顶级的球员和教练）出走到中国，是什么异乎寻常的事。

Athletes do not have to cross cultural boundaries unless they really wish to. They can live wherever fortune takes them, and most barely ever come out of the cocoon²⁰ that surrounds players. They are encamped in training bases, sealed off from the community around them. Their housing is taken care of, along with the schooling²¹ for their kids, their food, even their camaraderie²².

运动员并非一定要跨越文化界限，除非他们自己真的想。他们逐财富而居，而且大多数人甚至不会脱离身边的小圈子。他们驻扎在训练基地，不与附近的社区接触。他们的住房、孩子的教育、饮食，甚至他们的朋友，都会受到特别照顾。

This is not exclusive to China. It can happen in Rome, in Madrid, even in Liverpool, because they might be required to play three games nearly every week in a 10-month season, and then they are taken off for overseas tours to make the club even more money and to build the brand.

这并非仅限于中国。这在罗马，在马德里，甚至在利物浦都有可能发生，因为球员们可能在长达10个月的赛季中，被要求每周打三场比赛，然后赶赴海外，为俱乐部赚更多的钱并打造俱乐部的品牌。

Those tours invariably go to one of two places — the United States or Asia.

这些海外之旅的目的地总是两个地方之一：美国或亚洲。

According to legend, the new frontier of China is where soccer developed, centuries before England and Scotland began to export it 150 years ago. China, of course, has gone through periods of upheaval²³, when its culture and economy and its sports could not even think about competing with the West.

相传，早在英格兰和苏格兰150年前开始输出足球的数个世纪之前，足球运动在中国这个新的前沿就有了发展。当然，中国经历了动荡的时期，那时它的文化、经济和体育根本无法与西方相提并论。

No more. And whatever the slowdown in China’s economy, there is clearly enough money left around for its clubs to throw unforeseen fortunes at the talented feet of foreign players.

不过那种情形已经一去不复返。无论中国经济增长再怎么放缓，显然它都有足够的钱，让各个俱乐部为有才能的外籍球员提供不可限量的财富。

The players are following the same instinct that Europeans did when they left a century or two ago to find their fortunes in places like Shanghai and Guangzhou: Go east, young man.

一两个世纪前，欧洲人前往上海、广州等地追求自己的财富，而如今球员们正跟随同样的本能：去东方，年轻人。