Lionel Messi—The Unconventional Leader1梅西，非同寻常的领袖

Lionel Andrés Messi is a footballer whose career brings envy to whosoever hears his name. Who wouldn’t want to have his ability to put defenders down， week in， week out， with just a drop of the shoulder？ What striker wouldn’t want to be so prolific that a season with less than fifty goals seems like a disappointing one？ Who wouldn’t want to compete with the elite midfielders for assists year after year and beat them every single time？ Who wouldn’t want to have a career as glittering as Messi’s？

利昂内尔·安德烈斯·梅西是一个足球运动员，听到他名字的人都对他的球员生涯羡慕不已。有谁不想拥有他那样的球技，一周接一周的比赛，他只要探探肩，就能把防守人耍得团团转？进球数不足50个的赛季会让他感觉失落，有哪个前锋不想像他一样多多进球呢？谁不想与精英中场球员比拼助攻，年年过招，又年年赢呢？谁不想拥有梅西那样辉煌的职业生涯呢？

He has deservedly earned the accolade of the best player on the planet and his individual trophy cabinet， as well as personal feats， emphasizes this even further. Even with all that he’s done on the pitch， with all the goals， all the assists and ever-growing list of honours， the Argentine2 still has his doubters. A major complaint they have against Messi？ His ability， or lack thereof， to be a captain. Lionel Messi， with the ball at his feet， is undoubtedly the best in the world but being the best on the team isn’t enough of a qualification to be a captain. It shouldn’t even be part of the criteria.

他赢得全球最佳球员的荣誉当之无愧，他收获的那些奖杯以及实现的个人成就进一步证明了这一点。即便他在绿茵场上倾尽所有，那些进球，那些助攻，还有接踵不断的荣誉，都未能免却这位阿根廷籍球星被人质疑。人们对梅西主要抱怨什么？抱怨其能力，或者说是他缺乏担任队长的能力。踢球的利昂内尔·梅西无疑是全世界最好的那个，但在球队里最会踢球并不能代表就有足够的资格来做队长。会不会踢球甚至不是考虑队长人选的标准之一。

To be the leader of a team as grandiose as Barcelona isn’t something that happens overnight. It takes years to prove that you deserve to wear the Senyera armband3 and lead the team through triumph and downfall. In Spain’s top flight， captains are often picked on the basis of seniority， but at Barça， things are done differently， with the Culés4 putting it to a vote. As per the 2018 elections， Messi emerged as the clear winner with Busquets as vice-captain， Piqué in third and Sergi Roberto fourth in line for the captaincy.

成为巴塞罗那这样的豪门球队的一队之长，不是一朝一夕的事儿。需要经年累月，证明你有资格佩戴加泰罗尼亚令旗颜色的队长袖标，并带领球队享受胜利和承受失败。在西班牙甲级联赛中，挑选队长一般是基于资历，但巴萨有所不同，是由投票决定。拿2018年的队长选举来说，梅西得票遥遥领先，之后是布斯克茨被选为副队长，皮克和塞尔吉·罗伯托分别位列第三和第四位。

What qualities does Messi have that would make them pick him as their leader？

球员们选梅西做队长，看重的是他的哪些素质呢？

It has to be said that no two captains are the same. Some are loud， others are calm but wherever they lie on the spectrum5， their role is pivotal to the success of the team.

应该说没有两个队长是一模一样的，有些人喧闹，有些人安静，无论是哪种特点，他们都应是球队的取胜之匙。

Well， to begin with， it’s his personality.

好了，先说说梅西的性格吧。

“I am more worried about being a good person than the best player in the world，” said Leo6 back in October 2012， “when all this is over7， what are you left with？” Before commanding respect， you need to earn it and no one will waste their time trying to listen to someone who they don’t respect. No one wants to have an arrogant， pompous personality leading them into games， or anything for that matter. Managing to get the entire locker room on your side is essential to building harmony and coherence among the players of the team. It makes the whole environment more conducive to work.

“我更在乎的是做个好人，其次才是做世界上最好的球员。” 2012年10月的时候，利奥说，“当离开球场的时候，你还剩下什么呢？”被人尊重前，你要去赢得这种尊重，没有人会浪费时间听一个他们不尊重的人指挥。没有人想跟着一个目中无人的家伙去打比赛，同样也不会做其他什么事。努力获得更衣室全体球员的支持，对构建队员间的融洽关系和增强凝聚力至关重要。这让整体氛围更利于工作。

Another thing that Messi does quite often， and quite well if I may add， is building the confidence back up for those players enduring a rough patch8. Taking a look back at 2015， in the race for the Golden Boot against Cristiano Ronaldo， Barcelona were awarded a penalty with Messi on a hat-trick9. Having seen that Neymar hadn’t yet gotten on the scoresheet despite it reading 7-0， he gave him the spot-kick which the Brazilian slotted home. This is something he repeated against Sevilla when Coutinho was low on confidence， as well as for Suárez against Real Madrid， Alavés and Huesca. Not only must captains be adept at playing， but they must also be able to bring out the best in their teammates： to inspire them to be greater， to instill confidence where it’s lacking. For the little man， this is something he’s mastered.

有件事梅西常做，要我说，他做得相当不错，就是帮助状态低迷的球员找回自信。回顾一下2015年，梅西正与克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多角逐金靴奖，巴塞罗那队获得一个罚点球的机会，梅西因此有机会上演帽子戏法。尽管比分来到7-0，梅西看到内马尔还没有斩获进球，就把点球机会让给了他，巴西人一蹴而就把球送入球门。他屡次三番这样做，像对阵塞维利亚时他让点给了信心低落的库蒂尼奥，对阵皇家马德里、阿拉维斯、韦斯卡的时候他都让点给了苏亚雷斯。队长不仅要自己球技精湛，还要能把队友的全部潜力激发出来：激励他们更加强大，信心不足时帮他们找回信心。这个小个子的男人对干这种事儿烂熟于心。

As far as restoring confidence and defending his teammates is concerned， Messi is more than ready to quiet the cursing mouths of even his own fans when he needs to. In one instance， once again with Coutinho at the Camp Nou10， the fans were jeering him for his below-par performance against Liverpool. After scoring his first goal and the team’s second of the night， Messi faced the fans at the “Gol Nord11” gesturing at them to stop whistling at the Brazilian. In the post-match interview， Messi spoke about the team being in a definitive moment， but also rubbished the manner in which the fans conducted themselves， calling their actions “ugly”. He then insisted on togetherness and support whether the player had a good game or not. This was his hundredth game as Barcelona captain and he made sure to set an example for those watching.