From mundane to marvellous: Darren Fletcher's startling transformation
弗莱彻之星冉冉升起
Darren Fletcher's two-year-old twin sons are still a bit young for Hans Christian Andersen's fairytales but The Ugly Duckling is one bedtime read which should certainly resonate with their father.
弗莱彻2岁大的双胞胎儿子还太小听不懂安徒生童话，可是他们的爸爸应该在睡觉的时候讲讲丑小鸭的故事。
The Scot's slow-burn metamorphosis into a midfield swan has startled many of those formerly sniffy Manchester United supporters who once routinely greeted his inclusion on Sir Alex Ferguson's team-sheet with ill-suppressed oaths. Indeed many still seem unsure precisely how the man they used to dub "Darren Bloody Fletcher" imperceptibly transformed himself into the team's Mr Indispensable.
苏格兰正在蜕变为中场的白天鹅，一些曼联球迷过去曾经对他不屑一顾。确实以前也许看不出这位被称为“达伦.糟透了.弗莱彻”的球员怎么能变成球队不可或缺的一员。
Fletcher was certainly badly missed when suspension denied him duels with Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta during last May's European Cup final defeat by Barcelona, and it would be a major shock were Ferguson to exclude him from this evening's date with Arsenal.
在曼联 杯决赛输给巴塞罗那的比赛中，弗莱彻是最被人想念的。因为他能限制哈维和伊涅斯塔。如果他不能参加今晚对阿森纳的比赛的话会非常令人惊讶的。
"United fans used to have a downer on Darren," said Terry Butcher who, as Scotland's assistant manager, regularly coaches Fletcher. "But he's a complete midfielder, a rare all-rounder and although he's a slightly different player to Roy Keane, he can become as great."
“曼联球迷曾经低估了弗莱彻，”带弗莱彻的苏格兰助理经理特里.布彻说。“但他是个CM，少见的全面。但和基恩还不一样，他也能成为伟大的球员。”
That is some compliment for a 25-year-old who has spent several seasons in Keane's shadow, enduring the whole gamut of unflattering comparisons with United's former captain. While still a teenager, moreover, he had already, harshly, been dubbed "the poor man's David Beckham".
这位25岁的中场好几年都生活在基恩的阴影下，现在得到了赞誉。他过去常被人拿来不恰当的与基恩相比。那时他还不到20岁，现在他已经成了“穷人版贝克汉姆”。
"Darren was a central midfielder when I first saw him playing for Scotland Under-15s," Butcher added. "He only moved to the right for a while because that was where Sir Alex had room for him."
“我第一次看他为苏格兰U-15踢球的时候弗莱彻是正中场，”布彻说。“他过去被挪到右路，因为中路没他的地方。”
Long-term injuries to Keane's supposed successor Owen Hargreaves allied to Michael Carrick's issues with tackling and the gradual waning of Paul Scholes's star have subsequently re-acquainted Fletcher with the anchoring position he is fast making his own.
基恩的代替者哈格里夫斯有长期伤病。而卡里克的防守不够强硬，斯科尔斯又老了。弗莱彻正在快速的抢占中场的位置。
Despite sometimes deploying him in a more attacking role in Scotland colours – when he is as good as regarded as a tartan Steven Gerrard – Butcher believes that at Old Trafford Fletcher now dictates matters. "Darren can get games by the scruff of the neck and inject pace and tempo," the former England captain said. "He understands the game, reads it well, is improving all the time and United rely heavily on him."
虽然在国家队有时候要打攻击的位置，那时他还被看做苏格兰的杰拉德。布彻相信曼联现在已经离不开弗莱彻了。“弗莱彻可以为球队提供空间，”前英格兰队长说。“他了解足球，阅读比赛能力强。一直在进步，而现在曼联已经离不开他了。”
There was a time when many would have scoffed at such praise. Those were the days when the player's admirable box- to-box energy was frequently undone by needless concessions of possession and seemingly wayward positional sense. Happily, maturity is increasingly highlighting his technical ability and emphasising that a player who maybe once tried to do too much, too fast, boasts a decent football brain after all.
以前很多人都对弗莱彻不以为然。那时候这位球员充沛的精力经常表现为到处乱跑和位置感不强。幸运的是，他越来越成熟，技术能力也越来越强。他也许以前是太积极了，以至于超过了自己的能力。
Fletcher certainly has good taste in role models and recently nominated Fernando Redondo, the former Argentina and Real Madrid anchorman, as his hero. "I loved the way Redondo played, how he sat deep and controlled games," said the midfielder, whose tag in the Old Trafford food chain has shifted from "weak link" through "workhorse" to "the most underrated player in the Premier League".
弗莱彻很会挑选榜样，他最近说前阿根廷和皇马中场雷东多是自己的榜样。“我喜欢雷东多踢球的方式，他控制比赛的方式，”这位中场说。他在OT的食物链中也从底层挪到了上层。现在他是EPL最被低估的球员。
As befits the occupant of a position demanding both extreme selflessness and supreme self-confidence, Fletcher has consistently resisted the urge to crow at former critics, never rising to the tempting bait. Ironically perhaps, the most cutting put-down was delivered by Keane four years ago, the Ipswich manager reflecting, somewhat bitchily: "I can't understand why people in Scotland rave about Darren Fletcher."
这个位置的球员应该既无私又自信，弗莱彻一直用行动回击批评者。最著名的批评是4年前基恩说的，这位伊普斯维奇经理曾经说：“我不知道苏格兰人怎么会喜欢弗莱彻。”
Ouch. Yet in reality Keane rather liked the kid, becoming his mentor. "Roy was probably the biggest influence on my career," Fletcher has said. "Roy made me realise what it means to be a Manchester United player."
不过其实基恩还是很喜欢这个小伙子的，在球队也经常帮助他。“基恩可能对我的职业生涯有最大的影响，”弗莱彻说。“基恩让我认识到怎样才能成为一个曼联球员。”
It also helped that Sir Alex took an almost paternal interest in the gawky, teetotal youngster from a family of agricultural workers who grew up on a sprawling council estate outside Edinburgh.
弗格森爵士也有很大帮助，这个淳朴的年轻人来自苏格兰爱丁堡附近的一个农业家庭。
"You'd be proud to have Darren as your son," said Butcher. "He's a lovely, honest boy. He's in love with football and, to me, he's a bit of a throwback." . Interestingly while Fletcher – ever ready to pass unselfishly to a better-placed, more extravagantly talented team-mate – dreams of evolving into an unfussily dominant Redondo-type figure, Butcher feels that his attacking inclinations and regular goalscoring exploits evoke comparisons with a more exalted name.
“能有弗莱彻这样的儿子你应该骄傲，”布彻说。“他是个可爱诚实的孩子。他热爱足球。”弗莱彻希望能从一个无私的球员变成更好的队友，他们想成为雷东多那样有统治力的球员。布彻觉得如果释放出他的进攻能力的话弗莱彻会更上一层楼。
"To me, Darren's almost a Bobby Charlton-type player. OK, Sir Bobby got a few more goals, especially from long range, but Darren's a very good passer and crosser, he's box to box and can play anywhere across midfield."If some Stretford Enders still regard such accolades as sacrilege, it does not diminish their new-found devotion to United's ugly duckling. As Butcher puts it: "Darren Fletcher is simply a very good footballer."
“对我来说，弗莱彻是一个查尔顿那样的球员。OK，查尔顿爵士进球更多，特别是远射很厉害。但弗莱彻也是个很好的传球者。他能覆盖整个球场，在中场无处不在。”如果斯查福德看台还是看不上他也改变不了丑小鸭变成白天鹅的现实。布彻说：“弗莱彻是一个很好的球员。” |
發表於 2009-8-30 09:17 PM
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