I know someone who wanted Arsène Wenger to remain Arsenal manager because — don’t judge a man by his friends — of the “semiotics of him”. This sage understood well enough that a coach then nearing 70 was hopelessly spent at football’s elite level. What justified his retention was that he was an omnilingual graduate, a political liberal, an aesthete among barbarians. That is, he annoyed all the right people. He was on our cultural team, even as he led our footballing one to three consecutive 5-1 losses to Bayern Munich.
我认识的一个人希望阿尔塞纳•温格(Arsène Wenger)继续担任阿森纳足球俱乐部(Arsenal FC)主教练，理由是——可别根据我的朋友来评判我——“温格的符号意义”。这位智者很清楚，作为一名当时年近七十的教练，温格在足球精英圈里已经力不从心。他应该留任的理由是：他精通多国语言，是政治上的自由派，是粗人当中的审美家。也就是说，他让合适的人群不爽。他与我们同属一个文化阵营，即便他带领我们的足球队连续三次1:5输给拜仁慕尼黑足球俱乐部(FC Bayern Munich)。