adamant 復習
今季前半戦絶好調の香川選手、その活躍ぶりを受け、英紙 Trival Footballでは同選手の特集を組んでいます。
Shinji Kagawa: How the Man Utd reject is flying again with Borussia
Shinji Kagawa. Just as Chicharito has shown at Bayer Leverkusen, little Shinji is proving there's life after Manchester United.
Last season, they were worried at Borussia Dortmund. The fans' favourite had been returned by United - on-loan - a mere shadow of his former self. Even his much-anticipated reunion with coach Jurgen Klopp failed to lift the midfielder. It appeared United had handed back damaged goods.
The great irony is that it was Klopp's decision to step down - and the arrival of Thomas Tuchel in his stead - which reignited Kagawa's football this season.
中略
Suddenly, the nimble goalscoring midfielder is now also becoming known as a ball-winner. His tackling success rate up by almost 8% on last season and in the recent clash with Schalke, he won 65% of challenges.
Kagawa may disagree, but BVB chief Michael Zorc is adamant: "He's back to his old self.
"He's now working at extremely high levels. You get the feeling that he'll never get tired. Shinji is again a very important player for us."
The change in Kagawa's game is noticeable, as Zorc adds: "He does not score as many goals, but he is creating even more than during his first time with us."
以下省略
取り上げるのは“adamant”になります。Dictionary.comでは”[Adjective] 1. utterly unyielding in attitude or opinion in spite of all appeals, urgings, etc. 2. too hard to cut, break, or pierce. [Noun] 3. any impenetrably or unyieldingly hard substance. 4. a legendary stone of impenetrable hardness, formerly sometimes identified with the diamond.”と、『ジーニアス第三版』では「きわめて堅いもの、《古》ダイアモンド」「〔…の点で〕強固な、穀然とした態度をとる〔in/doing about doing〕；動じない、不屈の〔to〕；〔…だと〕強固に主張する」と定義されています。語中に”adam”があることから、相当に強い表現と推測でき、ドルトムントのスポーツディレクター・ミヒャエル・ゾルク氏の香川選手への信頼の強さが伺えます。
また、本文中で香川選手は”a ball-winner”と称されています。調べてみると” a player in a sport such as soccer who gains possession of the ball from an opposing player”(Merriam-Websterより)とあります。サッカー用語に該当する表現は思いつきませんが、適当な日本語をあてるなら「ボール奪取に長けた選手」となるでしょうか。イングランド・プレミアリーグでの激しいフィジカルコンタクトに揉まれ、守備能力においても成長しているようです。ブンデスリーガも後半戦を迎えました、前半戦に続き、香川選手が良いニュースを届けてくれるのを期待しましょう。(あいづ)
