特约记者发自西班牙马德里
中国足协出台的U23政策强硬出台，其出发点自然是为了培养本土年轻球员，但这样做真的有用吗？
阳光底下无新鲜事，这条在中国国内引得骂声一片的政策，绝不是中国足协的原创。在拉美一些国家，类似规定层出不穷。第一站，我们来到墨西哥。
2005年，墨西哥足协颁布了一项“20/11条款”，即迫使各俱乐部至少要在让一名不满20周岁11个月的年轻球员，打满至少一半赛季。政策一出，由寡头们垄断的俱乐部抗议连连，但随着时间推移，当时看似荒唐的条款，却让怀疑者闭嘴。
自此条款执行以来，墨西哥各级别青年队，开始称霸世界。2005年至今，墨西哥U17少年队三次杀进世界杯决赛，2次称雄；2011年U20世界杯获得季军；2012年伦敦奥运会收获金牌。正是这项条款，让诸如小豌豆埃尔南德斯和安德雷斯·瓜尔达多这个年龄段的孩子，有了在联赛稳定的出场机会。
但“20/11”的成果，绝非建立仅此一条政策，其大背景，还是墨西哥足协整体的重建计划。
墨西哥足协每年用于青少年培训的投入超过2000万美元。假如一场联赛被安排在下午5点，那么通常在同一片场地上，下午2点是两队的U20较量，更早一些的上午11点的则是U17比赛。此外，墨西哥足协会在各年龄段队伍参加世界大赛前，进行大量的准备工作。
世界大赛进行前2年，队员会跟随俱乐部一周两练，继而再跟随国家队一周两练；每年跟随国家队参加四项国际赛事；此外墨西哥方面还会邀请诸如巴西、阿根廷之类的顶级强队，与国家队过招。一般，在一名墨西哥球员参加U17世界杯前，他已经积累了至少50场国际比赛经验，U20则至少90场。
事实上，青少年球员的选拔和培养机制，远比任何政策来得更有效，巴西就是最好的例子。在为五星巴西效力前，很多球员已经在各个年龄段成为了佼佼者。3次登顶U17世界杯，5次称雄U20，包括最近的奥运金牌，无法证明一切。因为帮助巴西斩获这些国际荣誉的年轻球员，甚至还不是最顶尖的一批，因为真正的精英集中在欧洲，而欧洲豪门则不会轻易放他们回国。
巴西成功的秘诀是什么？当然，对足球的热情自然首当其冲，但往往人们会被这种激情的文化所蒙蔽，以为巴西球员纯靠天赋踢球。事实并非如此，俱乐部和国家队层面的专业体系，才是关键。
在几份权威足球媒体的排行中，桑托斯和圣保罗被评选为世界十佳青训中心的前五名，前十名中，来自巴西南部的格雷米奥也位列其中。内马尔会告诉你，如果没有桑托斯队教练们的出色工作，他或许也无法练就精灵般的即兴舞步。
率领巴西男足获得94年美国世界杯的巴西金牌教头卡洛斯·佩雷拉表示：“在巴西，球星是批量生产出来的。根本不可能存在从街道或者沙滩上，突然杀出的绝世天才。这只是传说，只是神话故事，他们都生于长于俱乐部。”
BBC巴西足球专家西蒙·克利福德试图将巴西体系与毁人不倦的英格兰做个比较，“英国的足球青训体系，是让球员们每周训练4个小时。与之相比，16岁的罗纳尔迪尼奥在格雷米奥，每周训练量高达20小时！”
巴西和墨西哥有何不同？两国均为青少年足球界的王者，但一旦到了成年世界杯，表现则大相径庭。前者是每届大赛的夺冠热门，而后者则永远无法迈过16强大关。这其中有两个重要原因：
不管你信不信，巴甲联赛和墨西哥联赛的水平处于同一等级，均属于拉美最顶尖的两大联赛。但差别在于，巴甲联赛的外援比例，仅为10%；而墨西哥联赛的外援比例，则高达45%。有人问，难道是高水平外援毁了墨西哥足球？答案决不能如此武断，但有一点可以肯定——高水平外援的频繁涌入，的确会挤压本土年轻球员的生存空间。在这一点上，或许中国已经开始有所意识。
除了“请进来”，另一个差别则在于“走出去”。目前在欧洲高水平联赛，至少有200名巴西球员，而墨西哥却仅有15人。内马尔每天都和梅西、苏亚雷斯一起玩耍，大卫·鲁伊兹每天都要在训练中防守阿扎尔——只有不断和强者过招，自己才会愈发强大。这一点上，中国恐怕还有很长的路要走，因为即便是本国最好的前锋，也只有勉强跻身西乙中下游的水平。
如果光从这几方面来看，中国足协设定的U23球员使用强政，合情合理。但绝不表明这项规定无懈可击。
1966年英格兰世界杯，意大利国家队表现糟糕，于是决心闭门造车，禁止意甲使用外援。但如此极端的做法并没有在长时间内取得太大成效。1970年世界杯亚军的确让人惊喜，但之后的1974年世界杯，意大利队甚至没有迈过第一轮；1978年世界杯，他们奋起直追，勉强收获第四。1980年，意大利足协决定取消外援禁令，2年后的1982年西班牙世界杯，意大利终于将大力神杯捧入怀中。
西班的例子则糟糕得多。在很长时间里，西甲只允许西班牙本国球员参赛。诚然皇马和巴萨使用政治手腕，使几名顶尖球员轻而易举地获得国籍，但其余球队根本想都不敢想。由于缺乏竞争力，西班牙球员在国家队的表现始终差强人意。1974年，当西班牙队再一次缺席世界杯后，这项荒唐的禁令才得以取消。接下来的一切，就是崭新的历史。
当然限制外援的另一大隐患，则是本土球员的价格虚高。英格兰球员就是最好的例子，一本英国护照，通常能使得球员身价至少虚高一倍；在墨西哥，一名在国家队勉强排上第五顺位的前锋，却能以1800万美元的身价，打破国内转会纪录。疯狂没有休止的意思，另一支球队正准备掷出2000万，打破他们竞争对手的纪录；在哥伦比亚，联赛强队最早抢占优秀本土青训资源，收获大批青年才俊。但之后，越来越多俱乐部加入竞争，青训足校一时间成为稀缺资源，于是合作费用水涨船高，但球员质量却有日趋平庸之势。
这样的例子，在中国同样屡见不鲜，一名连国内顶尖都算不上的边后卫，竟然在冬季转会窗，荣登世界转会前十排行榜。
如果无法合理控制这些疯狂行为，即便中国足协未来出台再多政策，也无济于事。毕竟条款总存在漏洞，而只要寡头商人们总将足球视为生意，他们必然有可乘之机。到头来，伤害的还是中国足球。
Martin del Palacio：欧洲著名体育媒体人，FIFA记者，《世界足球》、《四四二》、《体育画报》、《踢球者》特约足球评论员。
英文原作赏析：
The Chinese Football Association announced last night that it wouldn’t allow registration in the Super League to any team that does not comply with the rule of U23 players. This is the latest in a series of measures that seeks to improve the quality of football in China, and the logical question is, are they actually useful?
In order to be able to respond correctly, we should analyze what has happened in other parts of the world, where similar measures have been introduced. And, although it may seem surprising, our first stop is Mexico.
In 2005, the Mexican FA decided to create the “Rule 20/11”, which forced teams to use a player under 20 years old 11 months in at least half of the games in the Mexican league. At first, the clubs protested, but with the passage of time, the results surprised even the most skeptical.
Since the implementation of the measure, Mexico became a world power in age limit competitions. Since 2005 to date, El Tri have won two U17 World Cups and reached a final, were third place in the U20 in 2011 and won the Olympic gold medal in London 2012. Thanks to the rule they debuted players like Javier “Chicharito” Hernández and Andrés Guardado.
It might then be thought that the measure was a success, and partly so, but there are other factors to consider. Rule 20/11 was part of a much larger reconstruction of Mexican football.
In conjunction with it, the Mexican FA made a huge investment in the preparation of each of the National Teams. During the two years prior to each World Cup, players train twice a week with their clubs and another two with the National Team, go to four international tours a year and host many of the best teams in the world, such as Brazil and Argentina, who participate in tournaments in Mexico. Before playing his first match at the U-17 World Cup each Mexican player must have at least 50 international matches, and before the Under-20 he must have 90.
In fact, a good structure of detection and development of talents is more important than any rule. The best example is Brazil. In addition to being a five-time world champion at the absolute level, the Scratch du Oro is also a power in age-limit competitions. They have been three-time U-17 world champions, five-time U-20 world champions and current Olympic gold medalists. All this without usually being able to count with their best players, who can not play the World Cups because their teams in Europe will not let them go.
What is the success of Brazil? Of course, a huge passion for football, but also a very professional system in their clubs and national teams. In a recent story from Bleacher Report, two Brazilian teams, Santos and Sao Paulo were considered among the 10 best youth setups in the world. And Gremio was included in another similar ranking by TheCoachDiary site.
The competition among Brazilian clubs for attracting young talents is enormous; in the end, a sale can represent revenues of up to 20 million dollars, which is why they invest in excellent infrastructure, coaches, scouts, medical staff and even technology. When you see Neymar making a genius move there is a part, of course, of improvisation, but much has to do with the excellent work that the coaches did in Santos with him.
This is better explained by none other than Carlos Alberto Parreira, the coach that took Brazil to the world title in USA 94. “In Brazil players are fabricated, they are produced. There are no more players from the beach or from the street. This is a myth, a legend. They are built, grown in the clubs.” In an article by the BBC, Brazilian football expert, Simon Clifford, compares the Brazilian system with that of perennial underachievers England. “The English academy system is one where players are training for just four hours a week. Compare that to Ronaldinho when he was a 16-year-old with Gremio, where he would have been training for up to 20 hours a week.”
What is the difference between Brazil and Mexico? The two are powerhouses in young teams, but in the real World Cups, one is always a candidate for the title while the other can never go beyond the Round of 16. There are two fundamental reasons and in one China is doing the right thing and in the other the wrong thing.
Although you may not believe it, the Brazilian and Mexican leagues are more or less on the same level. They are considered the two best in Latin America. The big difference between the two is that in the Brazilian Serie A only 10% of the players are foreigners while in the Liga MX it is 45%. In that sense, the limitation of foreign players in China is a step in the right direction. In order for your talents to develop, they have to play at the highest level.
The problem is the second difference. Brazil has more than 200 players in Europe, while Mexico has 15. Neymar plays every day with Messi and Luis Suárez. David Luiz must face Hazard in training. Playing with the best always makes you better. China has no players in Europe and it does not look like it will in the near future.
This said, China is taking some steps in the right direction by limiting the number of foreigners and forcing teams to have U-23 players, but some words of warning must be said.
In 1966, after the terrible performance of its National team in the World Cup in England, Italy decided to ban all the foreigners from Serie A. The results didn’t improve so much. After a great second place in Mexico 70, Italy failed to advance to the second round four years later and finished fourth in Argentina 78. In 1980 the Italian FA decided to finish the ban and two years later, the team finally managed to win a World Cup in Spain 82.
Spain had an even worse experience. For years, only Spanish-born players could compete in La Liga. While it’s true that Real Madrid and Barcelona managed to circumvent those limits by naturalizing players, most of the teams didn’t have that luxury. As a consequence of that lack of competitiveness, Spanish players struggled every time they donned the national shirt. It wasn’t until after La Roja failed to qualify to their second World Cup in a row in 1974 that the ban was abolished. The rest, as we know, is history.
So, the limits that the Chinese FA has imposed look sensible, but it has to be extremely careful because, as the Italian and Spanish experiences show, too much can really mean too much. And rules will not do any good if they do not have a project behind. Age-limited National Teams must become a priority, as in Mexico, and exporting players to European leagues should also become a priority, as in Brazil.
Otherwise, the Chinese FA can take whatever action it wants, but the situation will not change in the slightest and China will continue to go from failure to failure in world football.