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Do you know who I feel sorry for? The National Theatre. Next March it opens a new run of Dear England, James Graham’s tribute to the England football manager Gareth Southgate. As things stand, the script will need the intervention of a sensitivity reader.
你知道我爲誰感到遺憾嗎？國家劇院。明年3月，他們將上演詹姆斯•格雷厄姆(James Graham)致敬英格蘭足球隊教練加雷斯•索斯蓋特(Gareth Southgate)的新劇《親愛的英格蘭》(Dear England)。就目前的情況來看，這個腳本將需要一個敏感的讀者的介入。
Southgate’s star is falling. After England’s nil-nil draw against Slovenia on Tuesday, English fans booed and threw empty beer cups at him. This wasn’t defeat (England proceeded to the knockout stages of the European Championships); but it still felt like betrayal.
索斯蓋特的星光正在隕落。週二英格蘭隊零比零戰平斯洛維尼亞隊後，英格蘭球迷對他報以噓聲，並向他扔空啤酒杯。這並不是失敗（英格蘭隊進入了歐錦賽淘汰賽），但這仍然像是背叛。
Maybe the most bitter divorces follow the most intense love affairs. The British public once felt so let down by Tony Blair precisely because it had been so enamoured of him. So too with Southgate.
也許最痛苦的離婚是在最激烈的愛情之後發生的。英國公衆曾經對託尼•布萊爾(Tony Blair)感到如此失望，正是因爲他們對他如此傾心。索斯蓋特也是如此。
He hasn’t been just another England manager struggling with the so-called impossible job. After taking charge in 2016, he became the sweetheart of the nation — or at least of its centrist dads. He showed that you can wear a waistcoat when you’re not at a wedding or a snooker table. Now he risks putting us off knitted polo shirts forever.
他並不是又一個在所謂的不可能的工作中掙扎的英格蘭主教練。在2016年接任後，他成爲了全國的寵兒——或者至少是中間派父親們的寵兒。他展示了在婚禮或斯諾克桌上以外的場合也可以穿著背心。現在，他有可能讓我們永遠不再穿針織馬球衫。
Our love affair was born of a particular moment. By 2016, England fans had all hope squeezed out of them. Southgate used the low expectations to relax his players. “We really probably are not going to win this World Cup,” his character tells them in Dear England.
我們的愛情故事誕生於一個特殊的時刻。到了2016年，英格蘭球迷已經失去了所有的希望。索斯蓋特利用了這種低期望來放鬆他的球員。「我們真的很可能不會贏得這屆世界盃(World Cup)，」他在《親愛的英格蘭》中告訴他們。
It was also a moment when Conservative MPs were going gently insane, fuming about things like the BBC’s annual report having only one union jack. Southgate articulated a non-Brexity patriotism. He backed his players’ support for social change, writing: “I have never believed that we should just stick to football.”
這也是保守黨議員們漸漸發瘋的時刻，對BBC年度報告只有一面英國國旗之類的事情憤怒不已。索斯蓋特表達了一種非脫歐的愛國主義。他支援球員們對社會變革的支援，寫道：「我從來沒有認爲我們應該只關注足球。」
Results were secondary, but good: England made the World Cup semi-finals and then the final of Euro 2020. They even won a penalty shootout.
結果是次要的，但不錯：英格蘭進入了世界盃半決賽，然後進入了2020年歐洲盃的決賽。他們甚至贏得了點球大戰。
The problem is that fans now want more. They’re no longer satisfied by players who take the knee and frolic in swimming pools on inflatable unicorns. They’re ready to win. And they suspect Southgate is tactically inadequate.
問題在於球迷們現在想要更多。他們不再滿足於那些單純下跪並在充氣獨角獸上嬉戲的球員。他們渴望勝利。而且他們懷疑索斯蓋特在戰術上的能力不足。
England have the players of the season for Europe’s top two leagues: Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham. Yet their build-up play has been as slick as Joe Biden’s debate answers; their passes as accurately targeted as Donald Trump’s fundraising emails. We’ve gone from Dear England to dear me.
英格蘭擁有歐洲兩大頂級聯賽的賽季最佳球員：曼城(Manchester City)的菲爾•福登(Phil Foden)和皇家馬德里(Real Madrid)的裘德•貝林厄姆(Jude Bellingham)。然而，他們的組織進攻就像喬•拜登(Joe Biden)的辯論回答一樣流暢；他們的傳球就像唐納•川普(Donald Trump)的籌款郵件一樣準確。我們從親愛的英格蘭變成了我的媽呀。
Still, the abuse hurled at Southgate is part of a sad trend. In this week’s TV debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, an audience member asked mockingly: “Are you two really the best we’ve got to be the next prime minister of our great country?” Does everything have to be so coarse, so complaining?
然而，對索斯蓋特的辱罵是一個令人悲哀的趨勢的一部分。在本週的電視辯論中，裏希•蘇納克(Rishi Sunak)和基爾•斯塔默(Keir Starmer)之間的一位觀衆嘲笑地問道：「你們兩個真的是我們偉大國家下一任首相的最佳人選嗎？」難道一切都必須如此粗魯，如此抱怨嗎？
But it’s not over. At the 1990 World Cup, England drew their first game. The Daily Mail asked: “Have you ever witnessed a more embarrassing exhibition of wasted energy and spilled adrenalin in the history of ball games?” England went on memorably to reach the semis. Their manager, Bobby Robson, ended up knighted and adored.
但事情還沒有結束。在1990年世界盃上，英格蘭在第一場比賽中打平。每日郵報(Daily Mail)問道：「你是否見過比這更令人尷尬的浪費能量和溢位腎上腺素的球類比賽歷史？」英格蘭隨後令人難忘地進入了半決賽。他們的經理博比•羅布森(Bobby Robson)最終被封爲爵士並備受崇敬。
Southgate’s team may not be as bad as they have looked. In three matches at the Euros, they have given away no clear-cut chances from open-play; the only goal they’ve conceded is a 30-yard strike. “Defences, rather than attacks, tend to win tournaments, and England have actually been very solid,” tactical analyst Michael Cox has said.
索斯蓋特的球隊可能沒有看起來那麼糟糕。在歐洲盃的三場比賽中，他們沒有給對手創造出明顯的機會；他們唯一失球是一次30碼的射門。「防守，而不是進攻，往往能贏得錦標賽，而英格蘭實際上非常穩固，」戰術分析師邁克爾•考克斯(Michael Cox)說。
Like Robson, Southgate has maintained his dignity. While the Netherlands’ coach Ronald Koeman has blamed his players for not running in the right positions, Southgate has only blamed himself. On Tuesday, the beer cups landed near him only because he had gone over to thank the fans. You feel sure he will never sell out. But if the team loses on Sunday against Slovakia, it’s possible that neither will Dear England.
像羅布森一樣，索斯蓋特保持了他的尊嚴。荷蘭的教練隆納•庫曼(Ronald Koeman)責怪他的球員沒有站在正確的位置上奔跑，索斯蓋特只責怪自己。週二，啤酒杯降落在他附近只是因爲他走過去感謝球迷。你可以肯定他永遠不會出賣自己。但如果球隊在週日輸給斯洛伐克，那麼《親愛的英格蘭》可能也不會贏。