[(Title)] Fernando Hierro has guided Spain from crisis to World Cup group winners

KALININGRAD, Russia -- Two weeks ago, Fernando Hierro thought he would be enjoying the World Cup as technical director for the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

俄罗斯KALINGRAD -- -- 两周前，费尔南多·耶罗认为自己将以西班牙皇家足球联合会技术总监的身份，享受世界杯足球赛。

He would ride the emotional roller coaster of watching Spain, make sure the administrative issues surrounding the team were running smoothly and help out manager Julen Lopetegui when needed.

他会坐视西班牙情绪颠簸，确保团队的行政问题的顺利进行，并在需要时帮助总教练胡伦·洛佩特吉。

But the real pressure would be on Lopetegui, who would make the crunch decisions that would no doubt have a huge say on how far  would progress in the tournament.

但是真正的压力将会在洛佩特吉身上，他会做出关键决定，而这些决策无疑将在比赛的推进有很大的发言权。

Of course, by now everyone knows what happened next.

当然，现在每个人都知道接下来发生了什么。

Lopetegui was dismissed June 13 -- just two days before Spain's first game at the World Cup -- after it was revealed that he had signed a contract with Real Madrid to take over as their next manager after the tournament.

洛佩特吉于6月13日被开除，也就是在西班牙世界杯赛前两天被开除的，此前他透露，他已经与皇马签订了合同，在锦标赛后接任下一任主教练。

He did this without informing his bosses at the RFEF until literally minutes before the club announced it. It was left to Hierro to step in under emergency circumstances.

在俱乐部宣布前几分钟，他一直没有通知西班牙皇家足球联合会的老板，而是让耶罗在紧急状况下入场。

Two schools of thought soon emerged. One wondered openly just how much managing Hierro would have to do. This is a veteran group, after all, containing the likes of Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, David Silva and Andres Iniesta.

两种猜想不久就出现了，一类人公开怀疑耶罗到底能否胜任，毕竟，这是一个经验丰富的团体，包括塞尔吉奥·拉莫斯、杰拉尔德·皮克、戴维·席尔瓦和安德烈斯·伊涅斯塔。

This is a team that could practically manage itself, or so the thinking -- or was it more hoping? -- went.

这个团队实际上可以自我管理，至少人们是这样想的——或者这样期望。

So the fact that the sum total of Hierro's managerial experience was a single season in the Segunda Division with Real Oviedo was glossed over to a degree.

因此，耶罗的总管理经验是Segunda分部与皇家奥维耶多同时进行的一个赛季。

The other line of thinking is that Hierro isn't making the decisions.

另一种想法是，耶罗不是做决定的那个人。

It's been suggested more than once in the past two days that someone else is pulling the strings, including one theory that Lopetegui is some manager Svengali, directing things behind the scenes.

过去两天里不止一次有人提出，有其他人在幕后协助指导球队，有一种猜想是洛佩特吉在幕后指导事情。

"Lopetegui has his job now, and I've got my job now. We're not sending texts to each other," Hierro said with no small amount of patience. "We each have our own personality and our own identity. I'm the head coach.

“洛佩特吉现在找到了工作，而我现在有我的工作，我们不会给对方发短信，”耶罗有点不耐烦的说，“我们都有各自的个性和自己的身份，我是总教练。”

We are friends, and we might communicate as friends, but we don't talk about tactics. Please don't think I call Julen and ask him. That's water under bridge. I'm aware of my responsibilities."

我们是朋友，我们可以作为朋友进行交流，但我们不谈论战术，不要以为我打电话给胡伦去问他，那是桥下水，我意识到我的责任。

The first line of thinking shortchanges just how crucial a manager's influence can be, because no matter how experienced the side, there are still moments when a manager has to make difficult decisions. The second underestimates Hierro himself.

第一中猜测低估了管理人员的影响力有多么关键，因为不管有多少经验，经理们仍然需要做出艰难的决定，第二种猜测低估了耶罗本人。

So of course, on Monday night against an already eliminated Morocco side that was proving especially stubborn, Hierro was tested on both counts and emerged with considerable credit.

当然，周一晚间，在摩洛哥已经淘汰的那边被证明是特别顽固的，耶罗在这两个方面都受到考验，并赢得了信赖。

With the score tied 1-1 with 16 minutes to go, Hierro made a move that outwardly looked counterintuitive. He made a double switch that included bringing off forward Diego Costa and replacing him with Iago Aspas.

随着比分追平1-1，比赛还剩16分钟，耶罗做出了一个看起来不合常理的举动。 他做了一个双重转换，包括将前锋迭戈科斯塔替换为伊阿古阿斯帕斯。

Costa has already bagged three goals in this World Cup, and provides the kind of physical presence that can score an ugly goal when needed.

在本届世界杯上，哥斯达黎加已经取得了三项进球，并且体现了在关键时刻能够进球的实力。

Initially, it looked like Hierro's move wouldn't so much backfire as be inconsequential. An 81st-minute header from Morocco's Youssef En-Nesyri put the Atlas Lions ahead and seemingly in control.

起初，看起来耶罗的举动并不是什么大错特错。 来自摩洛哥Youssef En-Nesyri的第81分钟头球将阿特拉斯狮队处于领先，并似乎处于控制之中。

But then Hierro's move did pay off, as Aspas' delightful back-heel in the second minute of stoppage time gave Spain a 2-2 draw that secured top spot in their group.

但耶罗的举动确实取得了回报，在随后在补时阶段的第二分钟，Aspas的令人愉快的后卫让西班牙队以2-2平局在小组中位居首位。

"I knew in those final meters [Aspas] could be decisive and that's what he did," Hierro said through a translator. "He's an intelligent lad, he knows how to finish, he's very lively, and is very smart in footballing terms.

耶罗通过一名翻译说：“我知道阿斯帕斯的最后一刻可能是决定性的，他做到了。他是一个聪明的小伙子，他知道如何完成，他很活泼，而且在足球比赛中也很聪明。”

He came in with a great deal of intensity, putting a lot of pressure on the opponent, appearing where they weren't expecting him, and that's exactly what we needed.

他来的时候精力非常充沛，给对手施加了巨大的压力，他们似乎没有料到他的到来，这就是我们需要的。

We needed someone who could move in the little space that was available in their penalty area."

“我们需要一个能够在他们的罚球区可用的小空间中移动的人。”

So three games into his international managerial career, Hierro can point to Spain finishing atop Group B, one that was trickier than it might have looked on paper.

因此在管理职业生涯的第三场比赛，耶罗可带领西班牙从B组出线，这比看上去要难得多。

Yet there are still some considerable issues facing this Spain team which need to be rectified.  have conceded five goals in three games, which no doubt grates on Hierro, an imperious centre-back in his playing days, mostly with Real Madrid.

但在三场比赛中，西班牙队仍面临一些需要纠正的重大问题。 已经在三场比赛中被对方五次破门，毫无疑问，他在主场迎战皇家马德里队的主力中锋耶罗。

"That's not the way forward, that's what I've told my players," he said about the team's defensive record. "They are mature professionals and they understand."

“那不是前进的道路，这就是我告诉球员的，”他说到球队的防御纪录。“他们是成熟的专业人员，他们理解。”

There have been individual errors -- Ramos in particular had a rough night and bore some responsibility for both goals -- as well as more team-wide breakdowns. Goalkeeper David De Gea seems to be encountering a slump at the worst possible time.

有个别的错误 - 尤其是拉莫斯有一个艰难的夜晚，对这两个目标承担一定的责任 - 以及更多的整个团队的故障。 守门员David De Gea似乎在最糟糕的时候遇到了低迷。

And on the night, Morocco might have easily scored more than the two goals they put on the scoreboard.

在夜晚，摩洛哥的得分可能比他们在记分牌上设定的两项进球还多。

Hierro wouldn't be drawn into the root cause of the breakdowns, only acknowledging that more work needed to be done.

耶罗不会被引为崩溃的根源，只是承认还需要做更多的工作。

"This is not going to stop here," he said. "We need to continue working, and as of tomorrow we need to start the process of in-depth analysis of the match against Russia."

“这不会止于此，”他说，“我们需要继续工作，直到明天，我们需要开始对俄罗斯进行深入分析的进程。”

Solving his team's defensive issues will likely determine just how far Spain goes in this World Cup. But for now, Hierro is pushing enough of the right buttons to get his team into the knockout rounds.

解决球队的防守问题可能决定西班牙在本届世界杯中能走多远。但目前耶罗正在用足够的按键让球队进入淘汰赛。

Given the chaos that reigned at the start of the tournament, that's no small feat.

鉴于世界杯开始时的混乱局势，这并非小小的壮举。

Now the hard part that is the World Cup knockout stages begins.

现在世界杯淘汰赛的艰难阶段开始了。