美国国家公共电台 NPR--NPR podcast tells the story behind Lionel Messi's journey to his final World Cup

NPR podcast tells the story behind Lionel Messi's journey to his final World Cup

Transcript¹

La ?ltima Copa, a new NPR podcast explores the meteoric² rise of Lionel Messi, one of soccer's greatest talents, and looks at why critics have relentlessly³ questioned his Argentinian identity.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

When soccer's World Cup kicks off, one of the sport's biggest stars will have his last chance to win a title that has so far eluded⁴ him. Lionel Messi is often spoken of as perhaps the game's greatest player ever, but he's never lifted the famous gold trophy⁵ for his country, Argentina. It is a constant source of criticism for the man nicknamed La Pulga Atomico, the atomic flea⁶, due to his small stature⁷ and the way he buzzes past defenders⁸. His determination to swat aside those complaints might be all the greater when you consider that the 35-year-old's identity as an Argentino has been questioned because he left the country as a teenager to begin his ascent⁹ to stardom in Spain. That's the inspiration behind the new NPR podcast La última copa - The Last Cup - which is out now, hosted by Jasmine Garsd.

All right. So, Jasmine, what made you want to make this podcast about Messi and this journey to his final World Cup?

JASMINE GARSD, BYLINE¹⁰: Well, you know, like Lionel Messi, I am from Argentina, and I'm very soccer obsessed¹¹. Soccer was a part of my life growing up. And I became just really fascinated with his relationship with his home country. And even though, you know, Lionel Messi is a huge superstar, there were some themes in his personal story that I definitely identified. There were echoes of things I had heard people in other immigrant communities talk about. It was, like, this story about someone who leaves home really young, spends a lot of their life wondering what could have happened, yearning¹², you know, in the nostalgia¹³, wondering if you can ever go back and then navigating¹⁴ that relationship when you do go back, which is very complicated.

MART?NEZ: Well, now, you wanted to make this podcast about Messi in both English and Spanish. Why was that important to you?

GARSD: You know, I had been thinking a lot about Lionel Messi. And I got into an Uber, and it was a Dominican driver, and he started talking to me in Espanol, and he started telling me about how he was getting older, and people back home wanted him to come back, but his life was here in New York. And as he was telling me this, I was like, whoa, I should do this story. You know, there's, like, a common element. There's a common theme. And every time I would hear this story, it would be in Espanol. And so I just - we really wanted to do it justice by telling it in both languages.

MART?NEZ: Now, the first three episodes are already out. So let's get a flavor from Episode 1.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #1: Lionel Messi - no, no, no. No, no, no. It's got away. It's got away.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: The greatest achievement you can have as a footballer is winning international trophies¹⁵ for your country. It just is a bigger legend than winning Champions League.

GARSD: The one thing Messi has never been able to achieve is to win a World Cup for his home country, Argentina.

(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #2: He's missed it. It's been saved.

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #3: But there was a target area, and Messi misplaced it.

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #4: Messi, even now he can't get his goal.

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #5: And he doesn't pick up the prize he really wanted.

GARSD: For most of his career, when Leo Messi put on that Argentina soccer jersey¹⁶, things got really bad really quick.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #6: He missed it.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #7: ...Lionel Messi put his shirt over his face. He's now crouched¹⁷ down with his head on the field.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Through interpreter) He was sitting on the floor, curled up in a ball, shaking, crying inconsolably.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

GARSD: Over the years, every time I would watch Messi play a big game for Argentina, I'd get really anxious, not just because I'm also from Argentina, and I hated watching our team lose; it was a personal anxiety about what I knew happened after every game. A lot of people back home would get angry at him.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Speaking Spanish).

GARSD: His critics would say that he only cared enough to play well for the European clubs, that he'd left Argentina too young, and now he was no longer Argentine.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: (Speaking Spanish).

GARSD: And the reason this rhetoric¹⁸ filled me with dread¹⁹ is that I too had to leave Argentina when I was a teenager, and it wasn't really by choice.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The national crisis has seen protesters taking to the streets, angry at the government's inability to end what is now three years of recession.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

GARSD: As happens to many immigrants, as time passed I would feel further and further away from home, and I was haunted by questions like, can I ever go back? If I do, will I be a foreigner in my own country?

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

GARSD: I know some people are going to say, Jasmine, chill out. Messi is an international superstar. He's got a great life. He's very wealthy. Don't try and make me feel bad for him. But one of the reasons I love soccer is because it's about so much more than a ball on a field with 22 players. And in this podcast, we're going to talk a lot about how soccer is a way to understand the world - class, race, immigration, colonialism.

MART?NEZ: That's an excerpt²⁰ from Episode 1 of the new NPR podcast La última copa - The Last Cup - and host Jasmine Garsd is still with us. Now, Jasmine, Messi has been voted the best player in the world a number of times. He's rewritten soccer's history books. But Diego Maradona is a god because in 1986, he pretty much single-handedly led Argentina to World Cup glory.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #8: ...Maradona. They're appealing for offside. The ball came back off the foot of Steve Hodge. And Maradona gives Argentina the lead.

MART?NEZ: So, Jasmine, if Lionel Messi never lifts the cup over his head, where will he rank in (speaking Spanish) - in the hearts of your countrymen?

GARSD: (Laughter) I think he's come around to being very beloved, and people have, like, a certain kind of, like, tenderness for him because they understand what he went through. I think the Diego Maradona represents something completely different to Argentina. I mean, he's this kid from the slums who, like, was really on the outskirts²¹ of society in terms of class and race, and he overcame all kinds of challenges to become this hero. But I do think that, you know, Leo Messi has come around and that people have finally started to embrace him. Yeah?

MART?NEZ: But if he never wins a cup, will he be as beloved?

GARSD: Don't say that, A. Don't invoke²² it.

(LAUGHTER)

MART?NEZ: I know. I know. We'll see. His last chance is coming up. Jasmine Garsd is the host La última copa - The Last Cup - out now wherever you get your podcasts. Jasmine, thanks a lot.

GARSD: Thank you so much. This was fun.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 meteoric   

adj.流星的，转瞬即逝的，突然的

参考例句：

• In my mind,losing weight is just something meteoric.在我眼中，减肥不过是昙花一现的事情。
• His early career had been meteoric.他的早期生涯平步青云。

3 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

4 eluded   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• The sly fox nimbly eluded the dogs. 那只狡猾的狐狸灵活地躲避开那群狗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The criminal eluded the police. 那个罪犯甩掉了警察的追捕。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

6 flea   

n.跳蚤

参考例句：

• I'll put a flea in his ear if he bothers me once more.如果他再来打扰的话，我就要对他不客气了。
• Hunter has an interest in prowling around a flea market.亨特对逛跳蚤市场很感兴趣。

7 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

8 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

10 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

11 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

12 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

13 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

14 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

15 trophies   

n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖

参考例句：

• His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

17 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

18 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

19 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

20 excerpt   

n.摘录，选录，节录

参考例句：

• This is an excerpt from a novel.这是一部小说的摘录。
• Can you excerpt something from the newspaper? 你能从报纸上选录些东西吗？

21 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

22 invoke   

v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求

参考例句：

• Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
• I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。