tenaciously #3
本日より、このブログに仲間入りいたしますbookmarkと申します。まだまだ未熟ではありますが、常時英心の心で頑張っていきたいと思いますのでどうぞよろしくお願いいたします。
今回取り上げる記事は、Ｗ杯でグループリーグ敗退に終わったサッカー日本代表に関するものです。残念ながら多くの人びとの期待とはかけ離れた結果で終わってしまった日本代表ですが、記事では日本のサッカーについて分析されています。
その中で気になった単語は”tenaciously”です。『ジーニアス英和辞典』(4版，大修館書店)によると、形容詞の”tenacious”で「（〜を）しっかりつかんでいる」、または「（考え、影響などが）頑強な、不屈の、断固とした、しつこい」という意味がありました。日本代表が相手ディフェンダーの間でしつこく、粘り強く、パスを回していたという意味になります。
The organizational power the Japanese players cultivated enabled them to compete well even with soccer powerhouses—but only in friendly matches. When it came to the World Cup, they could not show “Japan’s style of play” that Zaccheroni and his players had honed over the previous four years.
Were the Japan players overawed? No. Japan exited the World Cup early on because of their lack of gamesmanship and immature game-managing skills, which are needed to seize the upper hand in top-level competitions.
Japan’s opening loss to Cote d’Ivoire was symbolic, and eventually fatal for the Samurai Blue’s efforts to advance to the knockout stage. Japan struggled to cope with the African team from the start, which aggressively kept up the pressure.
Japan scored the opening goal, but it was Cote d’Ivoire that took the initiative. The Samurai Blue did almost nothing to change the tide of the game—they could have passed behind Cote d’Ivoire’s defense line or tenaciously exchanged passes among defenders to confuse the Elephants. The Japanese players were too gentlemanly in their tackling. A bit more enthusiasm in this respect could have dampened Cote d’Ivoire’s ardor.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001422896
