評論
打印
China
亞洲中國
Football
足球
Keepy uppy
逆襲
Chinese football fans at last have something to cheer about
中國球迷終于可以慶祝一次了
ALTHOUGH they excel at gymnastics and table tennis, the sport many Chinese really want to win at is football.
盡管在體操與乒乓領域都堪稱王者，但好多中國人真心想拿下的還是足球。
And yet, mired in match-fixing scandals and with little infrastructure to encourage schoolchildren, football has struggled.
不過如今的足球發展得很掙扎，首先聯賽深陷假球丑聞，其次學生們也沒什么場地踢球。
In November, though, Guangzhou Evergrande beat FC Seoul to become the first Chinese team to win the Asian Champions League.
但在11月，廣州恒大擊敗了首爾FC，成為了首支贏得亞冠聯賽的中國球隊。
Could its success have a broader impact?
恒大的成功能帶來更廣的影響嗎？
The team, previously known as Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, had been relegated to the second division because of match-fixing before it was acquired in 2010 by the Evergrande Real Estate Group.
在2010年恒大地產接手這家俱樂部前，恒大的前身廣州廣藥已經因假球而降入二級聯賽。
Since then, it has won the Super League, China's equivalent of England's Premier League, three times.
自那以后，恒大已先后三次問鼎中超聯賽。
On December 7th it narrowly failed to clinch the treble, beaten in the final of the Chinese FA Cup.
12月7日足協杯決賽恒大敗北，與三冠王失之交臂。
A revolutionary slogan has been reworked on the internet to celebrate the team's success: only real estate can save China.
網民們改編了革命口號來熱捧恒大的成功：只有恒大才能救中國。
The team's route to the top would be familiar to English fans.
英國球迷對于恒大登頂的方式很熟悉。
Evergrande, headed by Xu Jiayin, a billionaire member of the Communist Party, paid $15m for the club.
作為一名共產黨員，億萬富翁許家印領導著俱樂部，收購俱樂部花了他1500萬美元。
In 2012, it hired Marcello Lippi, a World Cup-winning Italian coach, for 16m a year.
2012年，恒大簽下了世界杯冠軍教頭馬塞洛·里皮，他的年薪是1600萬美元。
The club also procured three South American stars and many Chinese national-team members.
同時恒大還簽下了三位南美球星以及一干中國國腳。
Rowan Simons, chairman of China ClubFootball, which promotes the game, says this is just the start of such big spending.
致力于推廣足球運動的北京萬國群星足球俱樂部主席羅文·西蒙斯稱，這只是大筆燒錢的開始。
Evergrande's model may not boost the sport at lower levels, however. Relatively few young people play organised football because of lack of facilities and encouragement.
但恒大模式或許不會讓這項運動從基層得到發展，由于缺少基礎設施與資助，所以相對來說少有年輕人組隊踢球。
Parents prefer academic success to wasting time on sport.
家長們更希望孩子學業有成，而非在體育上浪費時間。
The recent visit of Britain's prime minister, David Cameron, brought some assistance.
英國首相戴維·卡梅隆最近訪問了中國，帶來了一些幫助。
The English Premier League agreed to support a coaching programme that aims to reach more than 1.2m Chinese students by 2016.
英超聯賽愿意支持一項培訓計劃，目標在2016年前接受120萬名中國學生參加培訓。
The initiatives are a good start, says Mr Simons, but a stricter line on match-fixing and more grassroots support will be needed before Chinese football can become world class.
西蒙斯表示，有積極性是一個好的開始，但是中國的足球要到達世界級水準，那還需要嚴控假球，以及更多的草根支持。
