GINOLA 優勝美學

後防線的鋼鐵人，台灣血統 / A Taiwan Made Iron Man Difensore

2010年我發掘了夏維耶（Xavier Chen），隔年在各方努力下，他順利披上中華隊戰袍，不但打出精彩一戰，中華隊球迷破天荒的塞爆球場（15335名入場觀眾）、而且還擊敗了當年不敗的東南亞冠軍隊-馬來西亞，一個有國際水平的球員，竟可以帶來如此多的正面效果，那一夜很多足球人總算是長了見識、認清足球真的可以推展。其實在2011年秋季，我就發現藤田義明（Yoshiaki Fujita）有台灣血統，張望、觀察了一年多，我總算嘗試要認識他，希冀替台灣足球開啟另一次的奇幻之旅。

另有中日對照版本，刊載於TOKKA.cc (click HERE for Japanese-Chinese version)
 

Many Taiwanese people have established their reputation in the Japanese Professional Baseball League. Names of Yuan-Zhi Kuo(郭源治), Tai-Yuan Kuo(郭泰源), Wei-Yin Chen(陳偉殷) are well-known in Japan. However, during the 20-year history of Japanese soccer league(J.League), there has not yet any footprint of Taiwanese players; after some investigation and personal visits, I met Yoshiaki Fujita(藤田義明), a key player in the famous J.League team of Jubilo Iwata, who has a Taiwanese origin ...

 

2012賽季來到九月的第一天，我到了磐田隊所在地-Yamaha球場觀看J聯盟球賽，與以往出國看球大不相同，這次賽後居然要跟剛比完賽的選手吃飯，更特別的是，跟我約見面的是個有台灣血統的日本頂尖職業足球員。

The 2012 season has come to the first day of September. After painful connections, in the evening I finally arrived at Yamaha Stadium in Iwata City, with my body exhausted. However, the sense of fatigue all but disappeared the moment I walked into the stadium: very different from my past experience of going abroad to watch games, this time I will be dining with Jubilo Iwata player after the game.

身穿33號的藤田義明有著超過180公分的身高，看似細長，卻擁有防守球員該有的強壯肩膀，司職防守中場、中後衛-典型的防守線硬漢。幾年來是球隊主力，觀察整整一年半，做足了功課後、我決定與他接觸。

Wearing uniform number 33, Yoshiaki Fujita is more than 180 centimeters in height. Though seemingly slender, Yoshiaki has those strong shoulders of a successful defensive player, capable of handling the roles of defensive midfielder and center-back. He is a typical tough guy for the defensive line. Yoshiaki has been a key player in the team over the past few years, and unlike how Xavier Chen was scouted last time, I had been observing Yoshiaki in football matches for a whole year and a half through Japanese satellite broadcasting, doing enough homework before deciding to get in touch with him.

後防線大將，可勝任各位置
A Great Defensive Player, Capable of All Roles

那天進場觀看的球賽對手是領先的サンフレッチェ広島（後來的冠軍），兩隊打了場龍爭虎鬥的好比賽，我活像一組航空偵測雷達，隨時掃瞄著他的任何跑動：他比想像中更強，不僅體力驚人，還像個Iron Man的成為後防屏障。

Jubilo Iwata’s opponent was Hiroshima Sanfrence (which won the championship later), the leading team in the standings. The two teams were fighting for the first place in the league, playing a good game of a fierce battle. I was like an aviation radar device, watching the game and constantly observing Yoshiaki’s performance. I felt a surge of excitement in my heart several times during the game, because Yoshiaki was stronger than I had imagined, with amazing physical strengths guarding the back line like an Iron Man.

藤田義明的活動範圍很廣、奔跑積極，精神始終高度集中，創造出隊友不少空間，電視轉播上這些是看不到的…

Primarily playing center-back in the first half of the season, he took up the position of a defensive midfielder after his Brazilian teammate got injured. Whether it is ball retrieval, passing, or invading the opponent’s territory, Yoshiaki undoubtedly excels. Through TV broadcasts one can look at a lot of details, thanks to instant replay. Meanwhile, there is one big difference between attending the game and watching it on TV. Not being present in the stadium, you would have difficulties judging precisely whether the defensive player is making a good movement. You will not be able to see clearly on TV Yoshiaki’s wide area of movement, aggressive running, highly focused attitude, and how he creates a lot of space for his teammates...

傳球、鏟球的姿勢分析，他像極了前法國中場名將維埃拉（Patrick Vieira），藤田義明具有J聯盟平均之上的好身手，是磐田隊不可或缺的棟梁，而且被嚴重的低估。兩位年齡相近的隊友-前田遼一、駒野友一都是日本國家隊的不動名單，在磐田隊，藤田義明的重要性不輸給他們，當下我意識到，他甚至有入選日本國家隊的能力。

From the looks of his stature, passing, and even tackling, Yoshiaki is very much like the famous former France midfielder Patrick Vieira. Observing on-site, I found that his contribution is more than what is reflected by the data. Yoshiaki has skills above the J.League average. An indispensable pillar of Jubilo Iwata, he is seriously underestimated. At that moment I realized that he could even possess the qualifications to be selected for the Japanese national team.

He has played more than 90% of the games in the past few seasons and he is definitely a key player, obtaining good reviews after each game. Two of his teammates of similar age - Ryoichi Maeda and Yūichi Komano, are constantly on the member list of the Japanese national team. In Jubilo Iwata, Yoshiaki is just as important as they are.

母親是台灣人
Taiwanese mother

上回因電動遊戲發掘並成功吸引現已是隊長的Xavier Chen加入台湾隊的美好經驗，助長了我持續尋找海外好手的傻勁。(雖然遊說、安排他入籍台灣的過程讓我吃足苦頭) 長年透過Google隨意搜尋海外好手的過程中，無意間發現到藤田的事，奇蹟又再次發生了，雖然藤田選手有台灣血緣一事，我並非第一個發現的人，也稱不上天大的秘密，不過光這件事情就讓我興奮不已。

I was not the first one to discover that Yoshiaki has a Taiwanese origin, nor is this a big secret. It is my interest to habitually search via keywords (simply put, looking for a needle in the haystack) for any clue, because I am convinced that there must still be top professional players of Taiwanese descent in the world. I search whenever I have some spare time, and after modifying the keywords hundreds of times, the name of Fujita came up one day. The excitement was much like winning a lottery. Last time, the European player I scouted through video games has been officially transitioned, and is now the captain of the Taiwan national team and the number one superstar in the country. That experience has undoubtedly encouraged me to continuously look for good players, with sheer enthusiasm and courage.

當天賽後，我們倆像「見網友」的在JR濱松站前碰面，即使他不會說中文（他的妹妹中文倒是很流利），透過隨行朋友翻譯，話匣子一開便停不下來，言談之中不難察覺藤田個性溫和好相處（被球迷選為磐田隊最親切球員），職業球員在日本有著不錯的社會地位，許多球星私底下孤高難搞，他彬彬有禮、絲毫沒半點架子。

After that game, close to 11 pm, we met at the JR Hamamatsu Station, much like meeting computer pals, and dined at his most favorite Yonezawa beef BBQ restaurant. Even though he did not speak Mandarin, through simultaneous interpretation from my grade school classmate, our conversation went non-stop once it got started: from soccer to philosophy of life, we talked just about everything for two-and-a-half hours. From the conversation it was not difficult to notice that Yoshiaki has a kind personality and is easy to get along with (he was elected the kindest player in Jubilo Iwata – Okubo Grand Fan Service Award). Professional players in Japan have a fairly high social status; in private many players are stuck-up and hard to deal with, but Yoshiaki shows no arrogance at all.

藤田義明的母親是道地的台灣人，赴日本讀書時結識藤田選手的父親而落地生根，中學之前每一年都來台灣探視外公外婆，之後便再沒來過。年僅24歲時，藤田義明與演藝圈美女井川繪美結婚，年紀跟夏維耶一樣大的他，目前是兩個小孩的爸。

Yoshiaki Fujita's mother is a Taiwanese who went to study in Japan, where she met Fujita's father and put down roots. Before Yoshiaki went to middle school, the family came to Taiwan to visit his grandparents every year, but Fujita has not come to Taiwan since he entered middle school. He is the older brother with a younger sister who speaks very good Mandarin, and she chatted with us at the restaurant that night. At the age of only 24, Yoshiaki Fujita married the beautiful celebrity Emi Igawa. At the same age as Xavier Chen, he is now the father of two children.

正值顛峰期
at his best

曾被選入日本大學生代表隊，還沒有被日本隊徵召過，大學畢業後才開始職業生涯，轉會到大分トリニータ的藤田義明才真正站穩先發，表現一直不錯，曾經拿過J聯盟單月MVP，2011開季前被磐田隊網羅，一肩扛起後防線。

Yoshiaki had been selected for the Japanese national college team, but unfortunately he did not qualify for the Universiade of that year. As of now he has not been recruited for the Japan national team. After graduating from college he started his professional career, and it was not until he joined the team Oita Trinita was he firmly assigned the starting role. His performance has been good and he has won the J League monthly MVP. In 2011, he was recruited by Jubilo Iwata before the season opened, and he has taken up the major responsibility for the backfield since then.

 

10月底，我前往了濱松市再看一場磐田隊的球賽，賽後與他家人共進晚餐，此前磐田隊一個月沒贏球，前一場又被痛宰，近況十分差勁；這一場沒有好到哪，中場、前線輸送瑕疵不少，導致對手每次反擊都很有威脅，也幸好有藤田義明完美的防守，球隊追平仙台七夕星隊，成為聯賽冠軍追逐的攪局者。

It was the end of October when I went to watch another Jubilo Iwata game in Hamamatsu. I had dinner with his family after the game. We talked even more this time. Their opponent in the game on that day was the second-ranked team in the league, Vegalta Sendai, which was getting ready to surpass Hiroshima Sanfrence to go for the championship. Before then, Jubilo Iwata had not won for a month, and was badly slaughtered in the previous game. The morale of the guest team Vegalta Sendai was very high, and the game ended at 1-1. After watching the game I felt that Jubilo Iwata had been in a rather poor condition recently. Fortunately, there was Yoshiaki Fujita, who switched to center-back in the second half of the game, becoming a perfect barrier on the back line, allowing the team to catch up and tie the game. Capable of playing an important role in the J.League, he would have no difficulty in playing for the Taiwanese national team, not to mention that he is good at handling positions that are our weakest link.

台灣應該馬上有動作

Taiwan should act immediately

Yoshiaki Fujita has not been recruited by the Japanese national team and his mother is Taiwanese. Therefore, he is eligible to play for the Taiwanese national team (overseas Chinese). The Japanese media describe the current Japanese national team as "the strongest in the history of Japan": compared to past big-name players such as Hidetoshi Nakata, Shinji Ono, Masashi Nakayama, Kazu, etc., the current Japanese team consisting of Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda, Yasuhito Endo, Yuto Nagatomo , etc., is indeed stronger, with great talents for each position. Fujita has been at the height of his skills in the past two years, and many people in the industry have pointed out his growth. Even though there are many good players in the Japanese team, there is no guarantee that the backfield “all-rounder” Fujita will not be picked up.

有資歷、有台灣血統的海外職業好手，當然比本土選手強太多，上一次我們感動了夏維耶，再一次的發動攻擊（邀約加入）是必要的，能在J聯盟當主力，效力台湾隊自然然綽綽有餘，更別說藤田擅長的位置是我們最弱一環，我們得非常努力，才能再次得到一個頂尖級好手。

Experienced overseas professional players of Taiwanese descent are much more competent than their domestic counterparts. The overseas players bring an upgrade on overall strength, promote the improvement of soccer, and even become popular among the public. Just like the last time (how we moved Xavier Chen), it is necessary to take aggressive measure (invitation to join), because the Taiwanese national team is not strong enough, and the Taiwanese people need to once again demonstrate their globally unique human touch to reinforce the invitation to help us obtain another top-level player in Asia.

全神投入、穩健的貢獻，擁有好實力也一貫的保持低調，藤田義明是你我都熟悉的那種好球員，另外一張「沈默的王牌」。

Wholly focused, steadily contributing, and keeping a low profile despite excellent strength, Yoshiaki Fujita is the kind of good player that both you and I are familiar with, another "unsung hero”.