The Senegal national football team has attracted worldwide attention in Russia in the past few days and it wasn’t just because they’ve had the only win, so far, for an African nation at the World Cup – a 2-1 victory over Poland in Group H. Their manager, Aliou Cisse, is the only black person in charge of any of the 32 nations taking part in the tournament, despite the prevalence of black players.

　　最近几天，塞内加尔国家队吸引了全世界的目光。这不仅因为他们小组赛首场比赛2-1战胜了波兰，是目前本届世界杯上唯一赢球的非洲球队，还因为他们的主教练西塞( Aliou Cisse，施斯)是32支参赛球队里唯一一名黑人主教练。

　　“I am the only black coach in this World Cup. That is true, but really these are debates that disturb me,” Cisse told reporters. “I think that football is a universal sport and that the colour of your skin is of very little importance.”

　　“我是这届世界杯上唯一的黑人主教练。这是事实，但这些争论真的在干扰我，”西塞告诉记者。“我认为足球是全世界的运动，你是什么肤色并不是很重要。”

　　Cisse’s uniqueness made headlines, but it is far from an exception in the history of the tournament. It is actually the rule.

　　西塞以唯一一名黑人主教练的姿态登上头条，但赛场上其实也有很多黑人球员，这种现象并不是世界杯历史上的新鲜事，其实是一个惯例。

　　Expansion of teams, not places

　　参赛队伍变多了，但黑人教练没有

　　Black managers are a rare sight in World Cups. Even the expansion of the tournament from 24 to 32 teams has not helped.

　　黑人主教练在世界杯上一向少见。尽管世界杯决赛阶段参赛队伍从24支变成32支，但仍然没能使情况好转。

　　At France 1998, the first of the larger World Cups, there were no black coaches, despite an increase in the number of teams from countries with a majority black population – African nations, for example, went from three to five spots.

　　1998年法国世界杯上首次有32支队伍参加比赛。尽管来自黑人人口为主国家代表队的数量增加，比如非洲国家队伍从三支变为五支，但没有一名主教练是黑人。

　　Since then, only seven black professionals have had a chance to lead a campaign. Even the 2010 tournament, hosted by South Africa in a major victory for football on the continent, had a 32-0 score in the dugout.

　　从那时起到现在，世界杯历史上只有七名黑人主教练带队参加决赛阶段角逐。虽然2010年南非世界杯为非洲足球带来了巨大胜利，但在那届赛事上都没有一位教练是黑人。

　　“We can play, but not lead. Maybe the black man is only made to execute,” Florent Ibenge, the Democratic Republic of Congo coach told news agency AFP in a damning assessment of opportunities.

　　刚果民主共和国主教练伊本吉(Florent Ibenge)对黑人得到的机会十分不满。“我们可以踢球，但不能执教。可能黑人就是为执行别人命令而生的吧，”他向法新社表示。

　　Ibenge, who is still in charge and won the 2016 Africa Cup of Nations, was also referring to the fact that African countries have a tradition of employing white managers, usually seasoned European or South American professionals.

　　伊本吉现在仍是刚果民主共和国的主教练，曾带领球队赢得2016非洲杯冠军。他还提到非洲国家有聘请白人做主教练的传统，他们通常会选择经验丰富的欧洲或南美教练。

　　Unconscious bias

　　无意识的偏见

　　Dutch journalist and writer Simon Kuper, co-author of football book ‘Soccernomics’, argues that the situation is also influenced by unconscious bias.

　　荷兰记者兼作家西蒙.库珀(Simon Kuper)是足球书籍《足球经济学(Soccernomics)》一书的共同作者，他认为这种现象是由无意识的偏见导致的。

　　“When clubs and football associations hire coaches they are also thinking of PR. They are worried about how the manager will be received, so they go for someone who ‘looks like a manager’ in the end,” Kuper reckons.

　　“当各家俱乐部和足协选择主教练时，他们也在考虑公关宣传。他们会担心新的主教练会不会被接受，所以他们会选择‘看上去像教练’的人，”库珀说。

　　“And that means a white man, 40 to 60 years old, and with an alpha male mentality. They play safe, because if clubs or associations go outside the template they will face criticism if results don’t go their way.”

　　“这就意味着，这个人是白人男性，40岁到60岁之间，同时拥有强势男性心理。俱乐部和足协是为稳妥起见，因为如果他们找了一个打破常规的人，他们要在结果不如人意时面临批评。”

　　In the book, Simon and co-author Stefan Szymanski present findings showing that managers are much less influential in winning matches than conventional wisdom presumes.

　　在书中，库珀与合著者西曼斯基(Stefan Szymanski)发现，教练对赢球的影响远低于传统观点。

　　“Cisse did not win the match for Senegal. The players are responsible for 95% of victories. But the manager is the face of the team. Public and media interact with the manager and see him in press conferences. Instead of colour we should also be talking about gender. Because maybe a black woman could be a great manager.”

　　“为塞内加尔赢球的不是西塞。95%的胜利要归功于球员。但教练是一个球队的门面。公众与媒体都与教练打交道，会在记者会上看到他。除了肤色外，我们还可以讨论性别。因为黑人女性也可能会成为很好的教练。”

　　New generation

　　新一代

　　“But people would laugh if this ever happened. It is a crazy bias, but more unconscious. A striker is never chosen for PR reasons, but the coach or manager is. Sadly, football is not an industry that does a lot reflection. This situation would not stand in other fields,” Kuper says.

　　“但如果这种事情真的发生了，人们会笑。这种偏见很疯狂，但也更是无意识的。人们永远不会为了公关考虑而决定一个前锋，但是却可以这样决定一教练。可悲的是，足球不是一个会在这方面自己反思的行业，在其他领域这种情况不会被容许，”库珀说。

　　Cisse would be excused for dodging controversy when asked about the matter during a World Cup. But the Senegal coach addressed the issue on the eve of the country’s match against Poland.

　　西塞在世界杯期间被问及这个话题时，大可避开争议，没有人会责怪他，但这位塞内加尔主教练仍然选择在与波兰的比赛前夕回应了这项争议。

　　“Football is a universal sport and I represent a new generation that would like to have its place in African and world football. Beyond being good players, we [Africans] are very good in our tactics and we have the right to be part of the top international matches.”

　　“足球是一项全世界的运动，我代表了希望在非洲和世界足球中占有一席之地的新一代。我们(非洲人)是优秀的球员，技术精湛，我们有权利参加国际顶级赛事。”