浅谈足球比赛精神之一：更多自由，养更好的鱼！

如上回讨论过的“足球比赛精神”，指足球基本原则，反映足球运动的规律。其高于足球竞赛规则，从另一个角度看是最重要的足球竞赛规则。需正确理解和恰当界定。

As discussed in the last post of the article, the Spirit of the Game, defined as the principles of football, reflects the nature of the game. It can override the laws of the game and is the most important Laws of the Game. As such, there is a high need to further understand and define the spirit of the game. 

我们邀请大家来参与进一步理解和界定足球比赛精神的心灵旅程。我在这里抛砖引玉。（注：精神的编号不代表其重要性程度。）

Aimed at drawing a framework of the spirit of the game, we are giving a try here. Football Guardians FC plan to contribute to the process with a series of the Spirits. You are welcome to comment and join in the journey. (Please be noted that the numbering of each spirit below, doesn't represent its importance level.)

足球比赛精神1：足球比赛应当是尽可能自由流动，最高境界是行云流水。

Spirit 1 - The game should be played as free-flowing as possible.

第一、这意味什么？

First, what does it mean?  

货比三家。为公平，我们挑选不隔着网的对抗性的团队运动，而且以该项运动的最高水平的联赛来比较。看下面的统计表。

No comparisons, no arguments. Let's weight soccer against other sports. To level the playing field, we choose contact-team-sports rather than individual sports or team sports played across nets and we pick up the highest level of pro leagues in the world. Look at this chart below.

上面的统计反映出：

1）净比赛时间VS比赛构成（从裁判鸣哨开球到鸣哨结束，不算加时和点球）的比率，足球领先。

2）每节或每个半场的持续时间，足球最长，45分钟，是别的运动的2-3倍。

The statistics reveal that:

1) The actual play ratio, actual playing time vs games duration (from the kick-off whistle to the whistle of ending of a match), UCL is leading. 

2) Regarding the period of each episode or half, soccer's is the longest, with 45' each half and is 2-3 times than others'.

基于以上分析，从自由流动性看，足球比其他四个不隔网的对抗性团队运动都高。就像看戏，越少中断，越精彩。这是足球运动最重要的特征之一。

Based on the above, soccer out performances the other big 4 contact-team sports, in term of free-flowing. It is like a drama, less interruption, better entertaining. This is one of the most distinguished features between soccer.

第二、“足球比赛精神1”对足球运动有多重要？

Secondly, how important of the Spirit-1, is to the game?

1）关乎胜败。

每场比赛均不同。每个场上形势均不同，而且每秒都在变化。

大部分状态下，踢球时，头脑是发热的，只是发热程度不一；不是纯粹的理性或逻辑推理。射门通常是充分的铺垫和前戏后的爆发。

你踢的多好很大程度是你的对手让你踢得多好。英国传奇教练弗格森说：“足球是两条平行线的冲突。” 足球的困难是对手造成的，而你无法控制对手如何踢（战略、战术、每个动作和组合）

1) It is about winning or losing. Why?

Every football match is different. Each football situation is different and evolving each second.

Football is played, most of the time, with heated blood rather than rational progressions with cooling heads. Eruptions of scoring need building up and sufficient fore plays. 

How you play well is depending on how your opponents play. "Football is a conflict of parallels." - Sir Alex Ferguson. Football is made difficult by your opponents and you can't control what your opponents how to play.

基于以上因素，足球是不可能按写好的剧本演的戏剧。在教练制定的战略和战术指导下，至少有45分钟是球员的自由选择下的踢球。足球难就在对手的个人运动、个人间组合、战术甚至战略的不可预测性和其不断的调整和演变，以及你是否能相应调整。一旦球员的上述自由没有了，球员变成机器，赢球就变成偶然。因人定胜机器。除非对手也踢的是机械的足球。"足球比赛精神1“可能是足球比赛输赢的前提。

Due to the above-mentioned factors, football playing can't be scripted. Players' freedom of individual choices and combinations of playing, at least for 45', within the strategies and tactics designed by coaches, are the foundation to the game. And the most difficult to cope with is the unpredictability of each individual movement and its combinations. 

Once the above-mentioned freedom is deprived out of players, playing will be dead and you may be easily beaten by your opponents with such freedom. Spirit 1 is a pre-condition to winnin or losing.

Secondly, how important of the Spirit-1, is to the game?

2）”足球比赛精神1“关乎踢的好还是一般。

2) It is about great play vs so-so play. 

您喜欢那种足球风格？可能您同意传统的行云流水的巴西或是传承克鲁伊夫哲学的巴萨（下图是其哲学下一个范例），是您喜欢的，对吧？

What kinds of football playing do you prefer? The traditional Brazil style, the Barca's following the philosophy of Johan Cruyff, aren't they?

他们的共同特点是？我们列举3个。您可能还有更多观点：

不断演变。球员的位置和阵型在不断调整。灵活的适应性；

传接球的连贯。一个射门前的组合可能有7-15脚间的传递配合（如上图）；

享受。球员骨子里享受足球。一旦启动电流，身体摇滚起来，精神自由飞翔，脚本随歌起舞。

What are the common features between them? We list 3 here and you may add up more.Evolving. Players keep moving their positions and the team formations are keeping changing. Adaptability. The connection of playings. A combination of one play may be completed by average 7-15 kicks. Enjoyment. Players play for fun and got this enjoyment feeling inside their bones. It goes electric and wavey when it is turned on. Players are flying up, no ceiling. Got that good song in their feet and dance all the way. Rock it. 

这是足球美丽和创造力的基石。法国队世界杯冠军球员图拉姆认为：”当身体和思想意识结合地好时，足球运动员就像艺术家“。这也是现代足球在160年的历程中成为世界第一运动的密码。

This is the cause of creativity and beauty of football. "Footballers can be like artists when the mind and the body are working as one. " - Lillian Thuram. This is why football become the most popular sports in the world. 

这项运动的创始者的哲学是：尽最大努力踢，让结果见鬼去。这个哲学在19世纪后半期到20世纪前期是主流。

The game was designed by its founders as a gentlemen sports, as 'play well and to hell the results'. This spirit has been upheld for an almost half century+. 

我们不得不承认，当职业化、商业化或其他因素掺杂进来，不计一切代价的去赢球，腐蚀这个足球精神和这项运动。

Meanwhile, we got to admit, winning at all costs, in particular when commercialization, professionalization and other motivations are involved, are rioting the spirit and the sports.

然而，当我们将现代足球在156年（1863-2019）的历史长河中看，永春的是足球的自由流动精神。这是人们谈论、回忆、向往和梦想的主旋律，而且是青少年足球和非职业足球的大流。即使是职业足球，长期踢丑陋的足球，不仅会让你失去球迷或赞助商的兴趣，从而在收入上受伤，而且当球员没有魅力足球的心灵驱动后，未必能长期赢球。

However, when we look at the game in a long run, when we look at the grassroots - the majority of the game played, free-flowing is the spirit that is sustainable and makes the game enjoyable. Even for pro teams, ugly football playing, will make your fans and sponsors not happy that will impact your revenues, and may back-fire on the pitch, when players lose the power generated by free-flowing playing.

据此，我们是否可以认为：

不自由，难赢球；

非流动，少魅力；

自由流动，足球规律？

May we argue that,

No freedom, no winning;

No flowing, no beauty, and enjoyment; and

Free-flowing, is the nature of the game?

第三、足球竞赛规则对此精神是如何反映的？

几个例子。

Thirdly, how are the Laws of the Game reflecting of this?Here some illustrations are as follows.

1) 每个半场间，没有暂停或休息。除非严重犯规、进球、出界、受伤处理、极端湿热天气下的降温暂停等。

1) Neither intervals nor breaks within each half. Ideally, the game should be played during each half without stoppages, except those necessaries such as serious fouls, goals, out of play and re-starts, injuries management, cooling breaks due to extreme hot/humid weather etc. 

2) 教练员在场边不指挥。

从1863年起，130年的历史上，足球竞赛规则是不允许教练员在场边指挥的。原因？可能是足球的创始者，追随维多利亚体育精神，认为接受教练员指挥的比赛等同于欺骗。即使是1993年足球竞赛规则调整后允许，也限定每次只有1人，在特定的狭小的技术区发指令，发完必须坐下。即使这样，有多大作用？足球场（不像篮球或者冰球或橄榄球或者五人制足球）太大，人太多，场上情况自由流动，千变万化，在场边指挥的效果？足球也不像美式橄榄球，每个球员都和教练组有电子通讯，其场上的每个行动可能都是教练临场指挥的结果（感谢国际足球理事会，到现在也拒绝学此点）。

2) No coaching by the touchline. 

The Laws of the Game had been insisting on this for 130 years. One of the reasons is that the founder of the game, following Victorian sports virtue, believe coaching is cheating. Furthermore, the impacts of coaching by the touchline is very limited, considering of the spread of the pitch, the number of the players and the free-flowing of the playing, even after it was legalized at the Year 1993. Even so, the tactical instructions can only be given by one person per time and within the technical area. This is quite different from futsal, basketball, and hockey that are played in smaller size areas that you can easier to convert tactical instructions; also from American football, in which almost every movement of players are directed by coaches via headsets. (Thanks to IFAB to refuse to follow this model.)

3) 各种鼓励进攻的规定。如保护进攻球员的规定、赢球3分而不是2分。

3) Protection and promoting of offending play. 3 points for a win rather than 2. Protecting of ball-players from deliberate attempts to destroy their skills. 

4)有利规则和其他。包括在场边处理受伤球员、1987年开始允许补时、1992年开始禁止故意回传球被守门员用手接球、处罚拖延时间等。

4) Advantages rules and other rules, such as treatments of injuries outside the touchlines, added time after each half (1987 change), goalkeepers banned from handling deliberate back-passes (1992 change) etc. And time-wasting is punishable. 

足球竞赛规则，从1863年至今，一直是遵循”足球比赛精神1“的。

The Laws of the Game has been written since 1863, on the foundation of the Spirit 1.

第四、这一精神和原则，对裁判员执法、教练教球、管理者管理足球的影响和启示？

Fourthly, what does the principle impact refereeing, playing and coaching, and administrating of the game? 

很多专业性的、各自领域的其他人写的指南。这里举几个例子。

They are plenty of guidelines on the above those areas and here some examples.

1) 裁判员执法。

您喜欢英超吗？为何？下表显示欧洲4大联赛的犯规数据，英超最少、德甲第二、西甲和意甲相当。这是因为英超是跟随维多利亚精神的君子们踢的足球还是因为英超的裁判员更多的追随”足球比赛精神1“？可能两者兼有。

1) For referees.

Do you like EPL? The reasons? The chart below indicates that fewer fouls are recorded at EPL. Is that because of EPL played by gentlemen with more gentlemanship spirit  in mind than those other leagues or due to England referees' style and understanding of the Spirit 1? Maybe both.

2017年新华社公布的一项统计显示，每场英超中断次数在100次，西甲106次，德甲和意甲107次。似乎英超裁判更不愿意叫犯规？如果因微小的犯规吹停比赛而打乱了足球比赛的自由流动性，裁判员应当谨慎。只要能让比赛不失控，裁判员应当越少干预越好，让自己”不存在“，让比赛的自由流动决定比赛的结果，而不是裁判员，这是裁判的要求和执法的艺术。

A statistics by Xinhua at 2017 discloses that the number of interruptions at EPL's matches is 100, Laliga 106, Bundesliga and Serie A 107. Are referees less reluctant to call a foul at EPL?If interruptions at minor offenses kill the flow of the games, referees should refrain from immediate actions. Minimizing the number of interruptions as long as you don't lose control of the match. Let the flow of the game determine the outcome of the match, this is the art of refereeing. 

两个实例：

对成年职业足球和青少年足球的犯规的处理，可能是不一样的；

对在禁区内犯规和在中场犯规的处理，可能不一样。

Two practical examples. 

Judging and punishing a foul committed by minors should be different from managing of those pro players. 

Whether or not to call a foul in the penalty area may be different from the decision for a foul at midfield, since fouls are fouls but for the sake of the free-flowing, the decision may be different.

而且，射门多数来自充分的前戏或者不断的铺垫。一旦将这一铺垫的进程打扰，压力就缓解了，对进攻方不利，对防守方有利，爆发可能就没有了。只会依据足球竞赛规则的硬性规定而忽略足球比赛精神的执法，很有可能不反映双方的实力，改变了一场比赛的结果，这是对足球的犯罪。

Eruptions of scoring need building up and sufficient fore plays. Once a build-up is broken, the pressures may be gone, the defending teams may be abel to steal a chance to breathe, and the eruptions may be no more. Discontinued playing are against the team offending but to the advantage of the defending. Such officiating relying only on the letters of the Laws of the Games, may change the result of a match and is a crime to our game.

2) 对教练员而言。

2) For coaches.

由于足球是自由的表达和不断的情况变化的，按照教练事先写好的剧本踢球和按教练制定的原则由球员自由处置，是两种不同的教练方式。教练需创造条件，让球员学会在战略和战术的指导下，培养自己判断、处理挑战、面对压力、灵活调整、快速决定、果断执行等能力。组织训练需实现上述目的。比赛和教学赛是最好的教练。有时，没有教练比有教练更好。

Since playing is an expression of freedom and continually evolving of game situations are the nature of the game, you got to distinct teaching how to play by your predefined scripts and guiding how to play by players themselves. 

Players have to learn, with coaches' guides, how to assess the situation, how to handle pressures, how to face challenges, how to coordinate with each other, how to adapt according to your opponent's tactics and movements, how to make decisions among options and how to execute and act. 

And don't teach dead football. Please organise training sessions to let plays free-flowing and let players learn from the game.The game is the best coach. Sometimes, no coaching is beter than being coached. 

教练应当鼓励球员犯错、尝试。不应限制球员的自由。在训练中不打断足球的自由流动。如果身体和心灵的结合是艺术，艺术是多大程度上教出来的？

And coaches should encourage experiments by players and no afraid of mistakes made by players. No to limit the freedoms of players. No to kill the flow of the playing. If footballers are artists integrating body and mind well, to what extent, can arts be taught?

还有一点。需掌握训练比赛和休息的度。过分训练，只会让球员感觉枯燥无味，用尽其激情。同时，枯燥的没有乐趣的机械训练，只会让青少年远离足球，失去足球的乐趣和本质。让球员球员保持对比赛的饥渴，这样才有创造力和激情，自由流动才有基础。让足球训练充满乐趣，才是足球长久之道，才是正确的青训。

And over-training also kills football, since football needs a fresh mind to get the free spirit out to play creative football. Otherwise, football playing is a machinery exercise and then you are close to losing the games and losing the players' hearts. Once that enjoyment is gone, there will be dry drills only. You have to ensure players hunger for the game so that they have enouge reserves to be freely flowed out during the match. 

3）足球管理者。一些方向性的注意事项。

3) For administrators.Some directions to look at.

竞赛规程。应当进一步鼓励进攻和自由流动的足球，惩罚消极的不计一切代价赢球的队伍。如积分相等时的排名办法。

足球发展。留出足够的时间和空间给没有组织的足球、街头足球。这是世界足球大师，如贝利、齐丹等的成功秘密，也是反映足球运动精神1的，因为球员在这种环境下，能更自由发挥，能从比赛中学习。特别是青少年足球发展中，应根据不同年龄段，留出三分之一到三分之二的自由时间。

Competitions regulations, shall be designed to award free-flowing football, and punish those winning at all costs, in particular making the games broken, such as the tie-breaking rules.

Football development. Leave sufficient time and space, for unorganized and/or street football for players to experiment and learn from free football. That is the secret of 'producing' greatest footballers, such as Pele, Zidane etc. Before becoming professionals, unorganised and/or street football, arguably, should take 1/3 to 2/3 time of players' development.

看2018世界杯的统计数据。

Look at the FWC2018's statistic below. 

我们在对净比赛时间在65分钟以上的比赛津津乐道，而感觉45分钟净比赛时间的比赛乏味可陈，昏昏欲睡。虽然赛会制比赛，会让队伍保守。但对比赛的管理者和组织者，应当不断调整足球竞赛规则，让这种现象越来越少。否则，足球就会输给曲棍球、冰球或其他运动。

While exciting to watch those 65'+ effectively actual playing time matches, we are very disappointed at those matches of only 45' playing time, which make football worse than hockey, in particular considering that VARs are becoming regular tools at elite levels. 

基于以上分析，我们能否推断出以下结论：

足球和别的运动不一样的地方，是自由流动，其最高层次为行云流水；

足球运动的自由流动，关乎输赢，关乎足球的乐趣和美丽；

足球运动的自由流动，是足球成为世界第一运动的基础；

足球比赛的自由流动是裁判员、教练员、球员、管理者需遵从的规律。

”足球比赛精神1“可能是足球规律之一。

In conclusion.

Free-flowing makes football as football, not other games.

Free-flowing contributes to the popularity and the growth of the game.

Free-flowing is the foundation of the beauty of the game. 

Spirit 1 may be one of the natures of the game.

最后，我们想以下面的常识结束本期对”足球比赛精神1“的讨论。

活水养鱼。更多自由，更好的鱼。好鱼来自大自然。

Last but not least, fish is only live at free-flowing water. The more freedom, the better fish.

Notes: the cover pitch is sourced from the getty image at FIFA.com. The Total Football diagram is sourced from pri.org.

From: FT Guardians FC