内马尔与他的最后一届世界杯——选人到底在选什么

在巴西的里约热内卢，

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,

巴西国家队公布了，

the Brazil national team announced

2026 年世界杯的二十六人名单。

the 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup.

当主教练安切洛蒂，

When head coach Ancelotti

念到"内马尔"这个名字的时候，

read out the name "Neymar,"

现场爆发出了，

the venue erupted

全场最大的欢呼。

in the loudest cheer of the whole event.

那一刻，

In that moment,

内马尔本人哭了。

Neymar himself cried.

据报道，

According to reports,

他哭了很久。

he cried for a long time.

今天我们就从这一份名单出发，

Today, starting from this squad list,

聊一个比"内马尔入选"，

we'll discuss a topic bigger

更大的话题：

than "Neymar got selected":

一支球队选人，

when a team picks its players,

到底在选什么。

what is it really picking.

我们先把事实讲清楚。

First let's get the facts clear.

内马尔，

Neymar

今年三十四岁。

is 34 years old this year.

他是巴西国家队历史上的头号射手，

He is the top scorer in the history of the Brazil national team,

为国家队打进了七十九个球。

having scored 79 goals for the country.

这个数字，

That number

超过了贝利。

surpasses Pelé.

他是这一代人里，

He is one of the most gifted players

最有天赋的球员之一。

of his generation.

但是天赋，

But talent

和命运，

and fate

是两件事。

are two different things.

内马尔的职业生涯，

Neymar's career

其实是一个，

is, in fact, a story of

"一直很好，但始终差一点"的故事。

"always very good, but always just short."

他很年轻的时候，

When he was very young,

就在桑托斯，

at Santos

踢出了名气。

he made his name.

后来，

Later,

他去了巴塞罗那，

he went to Barcelona

和梅西、

and, with Messi

苏亚雷斯，

and Suárez,

组成了著名的进攻组合。

formed a famous attacking trio.

2017 年，

In 2017,

巴黎用一笔，

Paris, for a

创纪录的天价，

record-breaking sky-high price,

把他买走。

bought him.

那是足球史上，

That was, in the history of football,

最贵的一次转会。

the most expensive transfer ever.

所有人都觉得，

Everyone thought

内马尔会在那里，

that Neymar would, there,

拿到那座最重要的奖杯，

win that most important trophy

成为世界第一。

and become the world's number one.

但是这件事，

But that

始终没有发生。

never happened.

在世界杯上，

At the World Cup,

他的故事，

his story

更让人惋惜。

is even more regrettable.

2014 年，

In 2014,

世界杯在巴西本土举行。

the World Cup was held on Brazilian home soil.

所有人都期待，

Everyone expected

他带领球队夺冠。

him to lead the team to the title.

但他在比赛中受了伤，

But he was injured during a match

没能踢完。

and could not finish the tournament.

2018 年，

In 2018

2022 年，

and 2022,

巴西也都没能走到最后。

Brazil also could not go all the way.

2022 年那一届，

In that 2022 edition,

巴西在淘汰赛中，

Brazil, in the knockout round,

点球大战输给了克罗地亚。

lost a penalty shootout to Croatia.

内马尔坐在草地上哭的画面，

The image of Neymar sitting on the grass crying

很多人记到今天。

is one many people remember to this day.

可以说，

You could say

内马尔什么都得到过，

Neymar has won everything,

却又好像，

yet also seems

始终少了那一座，

to have always been missing that one trophy

他最想要的奖杯。

he most wanted.

然后，

And then

就是那次受伤。

came that injury.

2023 年十月，

In October 2023,

内马尔代表巴西比赛时，

while Neymar was playing for Brazil,

膝盖严重受伤。

his knee was seriously injured.

医生的诊断，

The doctors' diagnosis

是膝盖里的前十字韧带，

was that the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee

撕裂。

had torn.

这是运动员，

This is one of the injuries

最害怕的伤病之一。

athletes fear most.

很多人受了这种伤，

Many people who suffer this kind of injury

就再也回不来了。

never come back.

受伤之后的两年，

The two years after the injury

是内马尔职业生涯的低谷。

were the low point of Neymar's career.

他先去了，

He first went to

沙特阿拉伯的俱乐部，

a club in Saudi Arabia,

但因为伤病，

but because of injuries

几乎没怎么踢。

he hardly played at all.

后来，

Later,

他回到了桑托斯——

he returned to Santos —

那个他出发的地方。

the place where he started out.

今年二月，

This February,

他又接受了一次手术。

he had surgery once again.

回归之后，

After his return,

他在巴西联赛里，

in the Brazilian league

只打进四个球、

he scored only four goals

两次助攻。

and made two assists.

对一个曾经的，

For someone who was once

世界顶级球员来说，

a world-class player,

这样的数据，

this kind of data

是相当低的。

is fairly low.

所以，

So,

在名单公布之前，

before the squad was announced,

很多专业人士、

many professionals

很多退役球员都判断：

and many retired players judged:

内马尔，

Neymar

这一次很可能落选。

would very likely be left out this time.

然而，

And yet,

安切洛蒂选了他。

Ancelotti chose him.

这就引出了，

And that brings us to

今天真正的问题。

today's real question.

安切洛蒂，

Ancelotti

是一位非常有经验的，

is a very experienced,

老派教练。

old-school coach.

他执教过欧洲，

He has coached

几乎所有顶级球队，

almost every top club in Europe

赢过数不清的冠军。

and won countless titles.

在解释为什么选内马尔时，

In explaining why he chose Neymar,

他给出的理由，

the reasons he gave

很值得我们琢磨。

are well worth pondering.

他没有说，

He did not say

内马尔状态最好。

Neymar was in the best form.

他说的是三件事。

He said three things.

第一，

First,

他观察了内马尔整整一年，

he had watched Neymar for a whole year

发现他的身体状态，

and found that his physical condition

最近在持续改善。

had been steadily improving recently.

第二，

Second,

是经验。

it is experience.

这将是内马尔，

This will be Neymar's

第四届世界杯。

fourth World Cup.

顶级大赛的压力，

The pressure of an elite tournament —

他太熟悉了。

he knows it all too well.

第三，

Third,

也是最有意思的一点，

and the most interesting point,

是内马尔对球队"气氛"的作用。

is Neymar's effect on the team's "atmosphere."

安切洛蒂说，

Ancelotti said

内马尔在更衣室里，

that in the dressing room, Neymar

受到队友的喜爱和尊重，

is loved and respected by his teammates,

他能让整个球队的环境，

and he can make the whole team's environment

变得更好。

better.

这里，

Here,

就出现了现代足球里，

there appears, within modern football,

一个真实的矛盾。

a real contradiction.

今天的足球，

Football today

越来越依赖数据。

relies more and more on data.

一个球员跑了多少、

How much a player runs,

传球成功多少、

how many passes succeed,

进了几个球，

how many goals he scores —

全都可以被精确地算出来。

all of it can be precisely calculated.

按照纯粹的数据，

By pure data,

内马尔现在的表现，

Neymar's current performance

确实不够好。

is indeed not good enough.

但是安切洛蒂看重的，

But what Ancelotti values —

另外一些东西——

some other things:

经验、

experience,

领导力、

leadership,

更衣室的气氛、

the dressing-room atmosphere,

球队的"环境"——

the team's "environment" —

这些东西，

these things

几乎没办法用数字衡量。

can hardly be measured with numbers.

那么，

So,

安切洛蒂这样选，

is Ancelotti's pick

到底是一种浪漫，

a kind of romanticism,

还是一种智慧？

or a kind of wisdom?

两种看法，

Both views,

其实都有道理。

in fact, have their merit.

说它冒险的人，

Those who call it a gamble

理由很清楚。

have a clear case.

内马尔三十四岁，

Neymar is 34,

刚做完手术，

just out of surgery,

而且在名单公布之后，

and after the squad was announced,

他在俱乐部的比赛里，

in a club match

小腿又出现了，

he again had a slight

一点伤病。

calf injury.

让这样一名球员，

To send a player like this

去踢一届，

to play a long

漫长又激烈的世界杯，

and intense World Cup —

风险是真实存在的。

the risk is real.

但是说它有道理的人，

But those who say it makes sense

理由也很有力。

also have a strong case.

淘汰赛阶段的足球，

Football in the knockout stage

常常是由，

is often decided

几个瞬间决定的。

by a few moments.

而内马尔这样的球员，

And a player like Neymar

正是那种，

is exactly the kind

能在关键瞬间，

who, at the crucial moment,

做出别人做不到的事的人。

can do what others cannot.

还有一点，

There is another point.

一支球队，

A team

从来不只是，

is never just

场上的十一个人。

the eleven players on the pitch.

它是一个集体。

It is a collective.

一个有威望的老将，

A veteran with prestige,

对年轻球员的带动，

the lift he gives to young players,

对全队心气的影响，

his effect on the whole team's spirit,

是真实的，

is real —

只是没办法，

it just cannot

被写进数据表。

be written into a data sheet.

更何况，

What's more,

还有一层意思，

there is another layer of meaning

谁都不会明说，

that nobody will say openly,

但谁都明白。

but everybody understands.

内马尔三十四岁了。

Neymar is 34.

这几乎可以肯定，

This is almost certainly

是他最后一届世界杯。

his last World Cup.

一个为国家队，

A man who, for the national team,

进了七十九个球的人，

scored 79 goals,

一个一代人的偶像，

an idol of a generation —

他的国家，

his country

会希望用一种，

will want, in a

体面的、

dignified

温暖的方式，

and warm way,

和他告别。

to bid him farewell.

选他进名单，

Picking him for the squad,

某种程度上，

to some degree,

也是一个国家，

is also a country

在回答一个问题：

answering a question:

我们要怎样，

how do we

送别一位伟大的球员。

say goodbye to a great player.

当然，

Of course,

安切洛蒂也留了，

Ancelotti also left

一句很清醒的话。

one very clear-eyed sentence.

他说，

He said

内马尔不一定是主力，

Neymar will not necessarily be a starter:

"他踢得好，才会上场"。

"he plays if he plays well enough."

入选，

Being selected

不等于上场。

does not equal getting on the field.

这说明，

This shows

这并不是一次，

that this is not

纯粹感情用事的选择。

a purely sentimental choice.

门，

The door

为内马尔打开了，

has opened for Neymar,

但能走多远，

but how far he can go

还要靠他自己。

still depends on himself.

说到最后，

To close,

我想跳出足球，

I want to step outside football

说一点更普遍的东西。

and say something more general.

这个世界，

This world

正在变得越来越"可量化"。

is becoming more and more "quantifiable."

我们习惯了用数字，

We have grown used to using numbers

去评价一个人：

to evaluate a person:

成绩、

grades,

业绩、

performance,

各种指标。

all kinds of metrics.

数字有它的好处。

Numbers have their advantages.

它公平，

They are fair,

它清楚。

they are clear.

但是这次，

But this time,

内马尔的入选提醒我们：

Neymar's selection reminds us:

有些重要的东西，

some important things

确实落在数字之外。

do fall outside the numbers.

一个人的经验、

A person's experience,

他对周围人的影响、

his effect on the people around him,

他在困难时，

the way he does not give up

不放弃的样子——

in hard times —

这些东西，

these things

很难被打分，

are hard to score,

但它们是真实的。

but they are real.

最后，

Finally,

我想问你两个问题。

I want to ask you two questions.

第一个：

The first:

如果你是安切洛蒂，

if you were Ancelotti,

你会选内马尔吗？

would you choose Neymar?

第二个，

The second,

也许更重要：

and perhaps more important:

当我们评价一个人的时候，

when we evaluate a person,

除了那些，

besides the things

能被算出来的东西，

that can be calculated,

我们是不是，

should we

也应该给那些算不出来的东西，

also leave a place

留一个位置？

for the things that cannot?

这两个问题，

These two questions

没有标准答案。

have no standard answer.

但是值得你，

But they are worth

慢慢地想。

thinking about slowly.

好。

Okay.

今天就说到这里。

That's all for today.

我们下个故事见。

See you in the next story.