A near unblemished injury record has seen the wardrobe-like centre-half become the first overseas outfield player to reach 400 Premier League appearances, while an FA Cup winner's medal achieved at Portsmouth also serves as a marker of his unquestionable success on these shores.
一份几乎美玉无瑕的伤病记录,帮助这位“大衣柜一般”的中卫成为了第一个达到400场英超联赛出场的海外球员。再加上在朴茨茅斯获得的足总杯获胜者奖牌,作为一个军功章,彰显着他在海岸这一侧取得的的无可争辩的成功。
Yet, inexplicably, there is no French cap.
仍然,令人费解的是,没有一次法国队出场纪录。
“It's hardly believable when you see the names of some of the centre-backs who have played for France since Sylvain rose to prominence in the early 2000s,” says France Football’s England correspondent Philippe Auclair. “You'd have thought he'd have been given a chance at some point, that he'd had the qualities for that.
“这令人难以置信——自从迪斯汀从2000年代早期崛起,你再看看那些为法国队出场过的中后卫们的名字,”《法国足球》英格兰特派记者菲利普·奥克莱尔说,“你肯定觉得他应该被给予表现机会,因为他绝对够资格。
“Why the scouts at the French FA would have overlooked him is a question you would have to put to them because, honestly, it doesn't make any sense.”
为什么法国足协的球探们会漏掉他绝对是个值得追寻的问题,因为,坦白的说,这根本讲不通。