塞巴斯蒂安·波科尼奥利（中）在拉曼加的热身训练中指导他焕然一新的苏格兰队。
Sébastien Pocognoli (centre) instructs his new-look Scotland squad during warm-weather training in La Manga.
摄影：Sergio Lopez/Shutterstock 苏格兰这位未经验证的主教练代表了一个本可避免再次尴尬事件的组织所做的赌博。如果时间是主教练最珍视的商品，塞巴斯蒂安·波科尼奥利决定执教苏格兰也就不足为奇了。2028年欧洲杯东道主的身份意味着他们极难无缘该赛事。
Photograph: Sergio Lopez/Shutterstock Scotland’s unproven head coach represents a gamble made by an organisation who could do without another embarrassing episode f time is the commodity most cherished by a manager, Sébastien Pocognoli’s decision to lead Scotland is no surprise. Host nation status for Euro 2028 means it will be exceptionally difficult for them not to qualify for the tournament.
在周六于斯洛文尼亚开战的欧国联中，波科尼奥利可以大胆尝试，无需担心严重后果。
In the Nations League starting on Saturday in Slovenia, Pocognoli can experiment without fear of serious consequence. The 39-year-old has taken over a national team that represents a country which had not only – and partly unfairly – grown weary of Steve Clarke but screamed for a brave new dawn. The public wants what the public gets. They are unlikely to turn on Pocognoli, even if the start to his international management career proves bumpy. The Belgian has cannily called up a batch of untried and young players for his opening set of fixtures. Not all will be cut out for international football – Clarke’s mainstays remain crucial – yet the head coach will gain kudos for giving opportunity. An improvement in talent identification, including sourcing more players who qualify for Scotland through family bloodlines, is now a priority. Pocognoli’s salary, understood to be seven figures at base level, underlines the Scottish Football Association’s sense that they have sourced a difference maker from the out-of-work market.
这位39岁的教练接手了一支国家队，代表的国家不仅——某种程度上不公平地——厌倦了史蒂夫·克拉克，更渴望一个勇敢的新黎明。
In the Nations League starting on Saturday in Slovenia, Pocognoli can experiment without fear of serious consequence. The 39-year-old has taken over a national team that represents a country which had not only – and partly unfairly – grown weary of Steve Clarke but screamed for a brave new dawn. The public wants what the public gets. They are unlikely to turn on Pocognoli, even if the start to his international management career proves bumpy. The Belgian has cannily called up a batch of untried and young players for his opening set of fixtures. Not all will be cut out for international football – Clarke’s mainstays remain crucial – yet the head coach will gain kudos for giving opportunity. An improvement in talent identification, including sourcing more players who qualify for Scotland through family bloodlines, is now a priority. Pocognoli’s salary, understood to be seven figures at base level, underlines the Scottish Football Association’s sense that they have sourced a difference maker from the out-of-work market.
公众想要什么，就会得到什么。他们不太可能反对波科尼奥利，即使他的国家队执教生涯开局坎坷。这位比利时人精明地为首轮比赛征召了一批未经考验的年轻球员。
In the Nations League starting on Saturday in Slovenia, Pocognoli can experiment without fear of serious consequence. The 39-year-old has taken over a national team that represents a country which had not only – and partly unfairly – grown weary of Steve Clarke but screamed for a brave new dawn. The public wants what the public gets. They are unlikely to turn on Pocognoli, even if the start to his international management career proves bumpy. The Belgian has cannily called up a batch of untried and young players for his opening set of fixtures. Not all will be cut out for international football – Clarke’s mainstays remain crucial – yet the head coach will gain kudos for giving opportunity. An improvement in talent identification, including sourcing more players who qualify for Scotland through family bloodlines, is now a priority. Pocognoli’s salary, understood to be seven figures at base level, underlines the Scottish Football Association’s sense that they have sourced a difference maker from the out-of-work market.
并非所有人都适合国际足坛——克拉克的核心主力依然至关重要——但主教练因给予机会而赢得赞誉。
In the Nations League starting on Saturday in Slovenia, Pocognoli can experiment without fear of serious consequence. The 39-year-old has taken over a national team that represents a country which had not only – and partly unfairly – grown weary of Steve Clarke but screamed for a brave new dawn. The public wants what the public gets. They are unlikely to turn on Pocognoli, even if the start to his international management career proves bumpy. The Belgian has cannily called up a batch of untried and young players for his opening set of fixtures. Not all will be cut out for international football – Clarke’s mainstays remain crucial – yet the head coach will gain kudos for giving opportunity. An improvement in talent identification, including sourcing more players who qualify for Scotland through family bloodlines, is now a priority. Pocognoli’s salary, understood to be seven figures at base level, underlines the Scottish Football Association’s sense that they have sourced a difference maker from the out-of-work market.
提升人才发掘能力，包括挖掘更多通过家族血统具备苏格兰参赛资格的球员，如今已成当务之急。
In the Nations League starting on Saturday in Slovenia, Pocognoli can experiment without fear of serious consequence. The 39-year-old has taken over a national team that represents a country which had not only – and partly unfairly – grown weary of Steve Clarke but screamed for a brave new dawn. The public wants what the public gets. They are unlikely to turn on Pocognoli, even if the start to his international management career proves bumpy. The Belgian has cannily called up a batch of untried and young players for his opening set of fixtures. Not all will be cut out for international football – Clarke’s mainstays remain crucial – yet the head coach will gain kudos for giving opportunity. An improvement in talent identification, including sourcing more players who qualify for Scotland through family bloodlines, is now a priority. Pocognoli’s salary, understood to be seven figures at base level, underlines the Scottish Football Association’s sense that they have sourced a difference maker from the out-of-work market.
据悉波科尼奥利的基本年薪达七位数，这凸显了苏格兰足总认为他们从失业教练市场上挖到了一位能改变现状的人。
In the Nations League starting on Saturday in Slovenia, Pocognoli can experiment without fear of serious consequence. The 39-year-old has taken over a national team that represents a country which had not only – and partly unfairly – grown weary of Steve Clarke but screamed for a brave new dawn. The public wants what the public gets. They are unlikely to turn on Pocognoli, even if the start to his international management career proves bumpy. The Belgian has cannily called up a batch of untried and young players for his opening set of fixtures. Not all will be cut out for international football – Clarke’s mainstays remain crucial – yet the head coach will gain kudos for giving opportunity. An improvement in talent identification, including sourcing more players who qualify for Scotland through family bloodlines, is now a priority. Pocognoli’s salary, understood to be seven figures at base level, underlines the Scottish Football Association’s sense that they have sourced a difference maker from the out-of-work market.
在职业生涯大部分时间都效力于祖国比利时的球队后，波科尼奥利成为了欧洲足坛一段童话般故事的核心人物。圣吉罗斯联队2025年的夺冠是他们九十年来的首个冠军。在托尼·布鲁姆及其青睐的分析工具“詹姆斯敦”介入后，圣吉罗斯的命运发生了翻天覆地的变化。虽然不能否认波科尼奥利的影响力，但一个贯穿始终、且布鲁姆的“秘方”在其中显著的主题是：整体体系可能比坐在教练席上的个人更为关键。包括战术风格在内的关键决策，均由圣吉罗斯的体育总监做出。
After a playing career spent mostly in his native Belgium. Pocognoli was central to a European football fairytale. The Union Saint-Gilloise title win in 2025 was their first in nine decades. USG’s fortunes had been transformed after the involvement of Tony Bloom and his favoured analytics tool, Jamestown. While it would be unjust to dismiss the influence of Pocognoli, an underlying theme where Bloom’s secret sauce is prominent is that the overall system may be more relevant than the individual in the dugout. Key decisions, including tactical style, at USG were made by the sporting director.
克雷格·穆尔霍兰被任命为苏格兰足协首席足球官，其职责之繁杂正如其头衔之模糊。在曾于流浪者队和诺丁汉森林队担任幕后角色后，穆尔霍兰担任此职的资历令人存疑。换个国家的人来给苏格兰足球“批改作业”，结果可能大不相同。穆尔霍兰说得头头是道，实际成效如何仍有待观察。
Craig Mulholland has been appointed as the Scottish FA’s chief football officer with a role as varied as the title is vague. After background roles at Rangers and Nottingham Forest, Mulholland’s credentials for this post are questionable. Somebody from another country may have marked Scottish football’s homework differently. Mulholland talks the talk. The rest remains to be seen.
除了敦促苏格兰俱乐部多起用本土年轻球员——他在此方面注定会有参半的成果——以及聘请了一批平庸的各年龄段教练外，穆尔霍兰自8月获任命以来一直与波科尼奥利并肩工作。穆尔霍兰称数据是寻帅工作的核心，他聘请了一家体育情报机构不仅协助选帅，还在最近的一次峰会上向各俱乐部做汇报。正如波科尼奥利所证明的，分析手段若只搞半套是无法奏效的。
Alongside urging Scottish clubs to field more homegrown youngsters – he is destined to have varying results on that front – and hiring a batch of underwhelming age-group coaches, Mulholland has been at Pocognoli’s side since his August appointment. Mulholland spoke of data as central to the manager search, having employed a sports intelligence agency not only to assist with that but to present to clubs at a recent summit. As Pocognoli will attest, analytics cannot prevail via half measures.
穆尔霍兰断言“首次担任国家队主帅的人比第二次担任的人更成功”，这番言论颇为引人注目。这缺乏适当的背景语境。路易斯·德拉富恩特、加雷斯·索斯盖特和迪迪埃·德尚接手时虽技术上属于“新手”，却继承了杰出的球员阵容。这也偏离了重点；苏格兰已成为常规赛事参赛国。该国需要的是一位能攻克克拉克在两届欧洲杯和一届世界杯上撞上的“铜墙铁壁”的教练。
Mulholland’s assertion that “people doing an international job for the first time are more successful than those doing it for the second time” was striking. This lacked appropriate context. Luis de la Fuente, Gareth Southgate and Didier Deschamps inherited outstanding players despite technically being rookies. It also missed the point; Scotland have become regular tournament participants. What the country needs is a coach who can negotiate the brick wall hit by Clarke at two European Championships and a World Cup. Scott McKenna reacts to Vinícius Júnior’s goal for Brazil, which in effect ended Scotland’s disappointing 2026 World Cup.
斯科特·麦肯纳对维尼修斯·儒尼奥尔为巴西队打进的进球做出反应，这实际上终结了苏格兰令人失望的2026年世界杯之旅。
Photograph: Marta Lavandier/AP For Pocognoli, this is a shot at redemption. His post-USG stint at Monaco lasted only 38 games before he was sacked. The period was not entirely disastrous, with Pocognoli guiding the team to the Champions League’s knockout phase. At both clubs, his development of young players has been praised. Scotland hope the skill is transferable during short international periods.
。他在离开圣吉罗斯联合后执教摩纳哥仅38场比赛便被解雇。这段时期并非全然糟糕，波科尼奥利曾带领球队闯入欧冠淘汰赛阶段。在两家俱乐部，他培养年轻球员的能力均受到赞誉。苏格兰希望这一技能能在短期的国家队集训中得以复制。
Photograph: Marta Lavandier/AP For Pocognoli, this is a shot at redemption. His post-USG stint at Monaco lasted only 38 games before he was sacked. The period was not entirely disastrous, with Pocognoli guiding the team to the Champions League’s knockout phase. At both clubs, his development of young players has been praised. Scotland hope the skill is transferable during short international periods.
波科尼奥利的优势很可能成功转化到国家队层面，在于他的执教能力。他亲和力强、为人正派，能够带动核心球员。本周在拉曼加的集训中，全队享受着高强度的训练和清晰的战术指令。“基本原则是整体进攻并压缩场地空间，”波科尼奥利表示，“当我们需要防守时，要像兄弟一样并肩作战。丢球后，我们要尽快夺回球权。这对我来说是基础。”本期欧国联比赛窗口期，因斯科特·麦克托米奈正在从心脏手术中恢复，波科尼奥利无法征召他。苏格兰在门将和中后卫位置上依然薄弱。外界寄望奥利·麦克伯尼抓住国家队生涯的第二次机会。波科尼奥利惯用的阵型是3-4-3。
Pocognoli’s strength, which may well translate successfully to the international game, was in coaching. He is likable, honourable and will take senior players with him. The group have enjoyed the intensity of sessions and clarity of message during a camp in La Manga this week. “The basic principle is to attack together and squeeze the pitch,” Pocognoli says. “When we need to defend, we have to defend like brothers. When we lose the ball, we try to regain it as soon as possible. That for me is the base.” Pocognoli is without Scott McTominay for this Nations League window as the midfielder recovers from a heart procedure. Scotland remain weak in the goalkeeping and centre-back departments. Much stock is being placed on Oli McBurnie seizing an international second chance. Pocognoli’s typical formation is 3-4-3.
克拉克近日在爱丁堡出席一场晚宴时的言论让苏格兰足协尴尬不已，他谈到如何强迫雇主在世界杯前给他一份四年合同，相关言论被公之于众。这一插曲对克拉克的形象也无益，不过足球人为自己谋利绝非新鲜事。
Clarke embarrassed the Scottish FA during a recent dinner appearance in Edinburgh, where comments about strong-arming his employers into handing him a four-year contract before the World Cup were made public. The episode did not reflect well on Clarke either, albeit football people looking out for themselves is hardly a new concept.
苏格兰足协首席执行官伊恩·麦克斯韦尔在介绍波科尼奥利时，满口“进化”之谈。“我认为在很多方面，苏格兰足球需要实现现代化，”他说，“我们需要在一系列领域改变做事的思路。” 鉴于麦克斯韦尔曾傲慢地驳回那些质疑克拉克续约是否明智的人，这番言论根本无法让人当真。几个月内，基调就变成了“变革”。麦克斯韦尔突然成了创新的拥护者，而他自2018年起就已在任。
Ian Maxwell, the Scottish FA’s chief executive, purred about evolution when introducing Pocognoli. “I think in a lot of aspects, Scottish football needs to modernise itself,” he said. “We need to think differently about how we do things across a range of areas”. It was impossible to take this sentiment seriously given Maxwell’s haughty dismissal of those who questioned whether the Clarke extension was wise. Within months, the message was one of change. Maxwell, suddenly an advocate of innovation, has been in office since 2018.
波科尼奥利的亮相发布会，被苏格兰足协姗姗来迟地公开撤回对詹尼·因凡蒂诺连任国际足联主席的支持所掩盖。这一举动笨拙至极，与世界杯前后发生的诸多乱象如出一辙，那届世界杯令人惨不忍睹。苏格兰足协主席、国际足联财务委员会主席迈克·穆兰尼依然守口如瓶，沉默引人注目。波科尼奥利是由一群令人无法信服的人聘用的。
Pocognoli’s unveiling was overshadowed by the Scottish FA belatedly getting around to publicly withdrawing support for Gianni Infantino continuing as Fifa president. This was clumsy, as in keeping with so much that happened before and during a miserable World Cup. Mike Mulraney, the Scottish FA’s president and the head of Fifa’s finance committee, remains conspicuous by his silence. Pocognoli has been hired by unconvincing people.
苏格兰上一次前往卢布尔雅那是2017年，那次之行以无缘次年世界杯告终，戈登·斯特拉钱还拿“基因局限”当借口为自己的无能开脱。此后的大部分年头，其中七年在克拉克麾下，苏格兰重新成为国际赛场上一支不可忽视的力量。波科尼奥利能否在该基础上再造辉煌，还是会让支持者后悔“求得太早”，这将是一个极具看点的悬念。
Scotland’s last trip to Ljubljana, in 2017, concluded with failure to reach the following year’s World Cup confirmed and Gordon Strachan using genetic limitations as a feeble excuse for his own shortcomings. The majority of the intervening years, seven of them under Clarke, have seen Scotland become a relevant international force once more. Whether Pocognoli can build on that foundation or leave supporters believing they should have been careful what to wish for will be a subject of great intrigue.