男足亞洲盃三戰全勝後路在何方

CANBERRA, Australia — For Chinese soccer fans, the new year is already an unusual one. After years of frustration, disappointment and cynicism with the national team, the 2015 Asian Cup is becoming a big success, with China winning all three games so far and finishing first in Group B.

澳大利亞堪培拉——對於中國球迷來說，剛剛開始的2015年已經是不同尋常的一年。在對國家足球隊多年的沮喪、失望和懷疑之後，2015年的亞洲盃上捷報頻傳，中國隊贏得了迄今爲止的全部三場比賽，以B組第一名的成績晉級。

First-round eliminations in the 2007 and 2011 Asian Cups, combined with complete failures to even come close to qualifying for any of the three World Cups since 2002, have made the national team something of a laughingstock among fans.

2007年和2011年的亞洲盃首輪就被淘汰，而且在2002年以後的三屆世界盃(World Cup)預選賽中，成績都遠不足以取得參賽資格，這讓中國國家足球隊在球迷心中幾乎成了笑柄。

Being the worst-performing team to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup — it got in as the best third-place team in a group — deepened the gloom.

此外，中國隊還是2015年亞洲盃預選賽中表現最糟糕的隊伍，作爲成績最好的小組第三名球隊晉級決賽圈，這讓球迷們更加鬱悶了。

The qualification campaign ended in March 2014 with a 3-1 loss against Iraq. It was Alain Perrin’s first game as head coach after he was appointed with little fanfare and excitement, with many wanting the 2006 World Cup winner Marcello Lippi to take over. The Italian coach had led the Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande to domestic and Asian Champions League titles.

2014年3月結束的預選賽的最後一戰，中國隊以1比3不敵伊拉克隊。這是阿蘭·佩蘭(Alain Perrin)擔任主教練之後的首場比賽。他被任命幾乎沒有引起任何轟動或是興奮的情緒，許多人當時希望2006年世界盃中，帶領隊伍奪冠的馬爾切洛·裏皮(Marcello Lippi)擔任國足主帥。這名意大利教練曾帶領中國足球超級聯賽俱樂部廣州恆大在國內和亞洲的冠軍盃聯賽中取得冠軍。

But after winning what looked like a tough group, Perrin is now preparing for an Asian Cup quarterfinal on Thursday night against the host, Australia, in Brisbane, after victories over Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and North Korea.

不過，在一個看起來實力強勁的小組勝出之後，佩蘭正在爲週四晚上在布里斯班舉行的亞洲盃四分之一決賽做準備，屆時中國隊將對陣東道主澳大利亞隊。中國隊目前已經戰勝了沙特阿拉伯隊、烏茲別克斯坦隊和朝鮮隊。

“After three difficult matches, we have a new record for Chinese football,” said Perrin, a 58-year-old Frenchman who has coached two of his country’s biggest clubs, Lyon and Marseille. “We have nine points after the group stage, but now we are looking forward. We have to keep working hard. That is what we are doing. We have a good team spirit, we believe in each other, work hard for each other and we want to do as well as we can.”

“在三場艱難的比賽之後，我們爲中國足球創造了新的紀錄，”佩蘭說。這名58歲的法國人曾經執教過法國兩個最大的俱樂部，里昂和馬賽。“在小組賽之後，我們已經得了9分，不過現在，我們要向前看。我們必須繼續努力，我們現在就是這麼做的。我們有很好的團隊精神，我們相互信任、爲了彼此而奮力拼搏，我們想要儘可能做到最好。”

Going into the tournament, expectations were low, though the lack of pressure has perhaps helped China’s performance on the field. But with the improved results, Chinese fans who had become accustomed to failure and letdowns are learning to enjoy watching their national team.

剛走上這次比賽的賽場時，人們的期望很低。不過或許正是因爲沒有壓力，才提升了中國隊在場上的表現。但如今，在有了不錯的成績之後，已經習慣了輸球和失望的中國球迷，正在學着享受國足的比賽。

Here in the Australian capital on Sunday, passionate red-shirted supporters nearly filled the 25,000-capacity stadium for the final group game with North Korea. They were rewarded with a goal after just 45 seconds and a fine performance in the first half. The second half saw their team under serious pressure from North Korea, but it hung on for a 2-1 win.

週日在澳大利亞的首都，激動的球迷身穿紅色T恤衫，前來觀看中國隊與朝鮮隊的最後一場小組賽，可以容納2.5萬人的體育場幾乎坐滿了觀衆。他們在開賽45秒後，就得到了一粒進球的回饋，中國隊上半場表現出色。下半場，中國隊感受到了朝鮮隊的巨大壓力，但仍然以2比1取勝。

“You can see that the fans are happy and enjoying this,” said Yu Haijing, a reporter covering the Asian Cup for Xinhua, the state-run news agency. “It is the same back in China, with people starting to get behind the players and the coach. People are enjoying watching the team for the first time in years. It will be really hard to beat Australia, but fans are looking forward to it. There is nothing to lose now. There’s no pressure as the team is already successful.”

“可以看出，球迷們很開心，很享受比賽，”官方媒體新華社報道亞洲盃的記者徐海靜說。“在中國也是一樣的，人們開始支持球員和教練了。多年來，人們第一次感覺觀看這支球隊的比賽是一種享受。要想打敗澳大利亞真的很難，但球迷們都頗爲期待。不會有什麼損失，也沒有壓力，因爲這支球隊已經成功了。”

Australia, one of the tournament favorites, beat Kuwait, 4-1, and Oman, 4-0, before losing to South Korea, 1-0.

澳大利亞隊是本屆比賽的奪冠熱門之一，先後以4比1和4比0的比分擊敗了科威特和阿曼，後來0比1負於韓國。

“Australia is a very strong team,” Sun Ke, a winger who has scored three goals in the tournament so far, said in Chinese. “It is also the host, and that makes the next match very difficult. But if we can focus on the game and prepare as well as possible and concentrate well, then we can leave the field with our heads high.”

“澳大利亞隊是一支實力非常強的隊伍，”迄今爲止已在本屆比賽中踢進了三粒球的邊鋒孫可用漢語說。“澳大利亞隊也是主場，這會使下一場比賽非常艱難。但如果我們能專注於比賽，盡全力做好準備，注意力非常集中，那我們就能昂着頭離開球場。”

That is already the case. This new China team is more resolute than previous versions and does not come apart at the first setback. Despite falling behind against a highly rated Uzbekistan team in the second game, China kept calm, came back to take a 2-1 lead and played out the game with few problems, a departure from the past.

實際上這一點已經做到了。現在的中國隊比過去的隊伍更堅定，也不會剛一遭受挫折就消沉。在第二場比賽中，儘管落後於評價頗高的烏茲別克斯坦隊，中國隊還是保持冷靜，並以2比1反超，整場比賽幾乎沒有出現什麼問題，走出了過去的挫折。

“The coach trusts the players, and if we can follow his instructions and take our opportunities and keep our concentration, then we can get good results,” Sun added.

“教練很信任球員，如果能遵照他的指導，抓住機會，保持注意力集中，我們就能取得好成績，”孫可接着說。

There has even been time for the team to win a few hearts in Australia. When Saudi Arabia was awarded a penalty kick during their group match, goalkeeper Wang Dalei asked Stephen White, an Australian ballboy who was behind the goal, which way he should dive. “Wang turned around and asked if I should jump left or right, so I said left, so he jumped left and saved it,” White told local media. “He celebrated with the team, but at the end of the game, he came and gave me a hug.” China went on to win, 1-0, and White went on to become a minor celebrity.

中國隊甚至還藉此機會贏得了一些人的喜愛。在小組賽期間，當沙特隊獲罰點球時，中國隊門將王大雷問球門後的澳大利亞球童斯蒂芬·懷特(Stephen White)，自己應該往哪一邊撲。“王大雷轉過身，問我他應該往左邊還是右邊跳，我說左邊，於是他撲向左邊，撲出了點球，”懷特對當地媒體說。“他和隊友慶祝撲救成功，不過比賽最後，他走過來和我擁抱。”之後中國以1比0獲勝，而懷特也變得小有名氣。

It all helps. Soccer may be China’s most popular sport, but the country lags behind South Korea and Japan on the field, despite having a much larger population. Persuading parents to allow children to take up the game has been a significant challenge. Positive news coverage, good results and a national team that makes fans proud could be a major plus in persuading them to do so.

這一切都有幫助。足球可能是中國最受歡迎的運動，但儘管人口遠超韓國和日本，在球場上中國卻落後於這兩個國家。說服家長允許孩子踢足球一直是一個重大挑戰。正面的新聞報道、好的成績，以及一支讓球迷引以爲豪的國家隊，都有助於說服家長。

“The national team was in need of a good international competition, and China winning their group has already shattered expectations,” Tom Byer, a soccer consultant who is advising the Education Ministry in China on how to introduce soccer into schools, said by email. “The Chinese government has just created a policy that makes football compulsory in schools. I believe we are about to see the long-awaited football boom in China. This policy and the good results could be the spark.”

“國家隊需要有力的國際競爭，中國隊在小組賽中獲勝就已經超出預期了，”就如何讓足球走進校園，爲中國教育部提供諮詢的足球顧問湯姆·拜爾(Tom Byer)在電子郵件中說。“中國政府已經制定了一項政策，要求足球成爲學校的必修課。相信我們即將在中國看到期待已久的足球熱潮。這項政策以及出色的比賽結果，都可能成爲可以燎原的星星之火。”