回憶可再創(chuàng)未來(lái)Memories will help achieve soccer’s goal

There’s a plaque outside the Aztec stadium in Mexico City. It commemorates the football teams of Italy and West Germany for the “Game of the Century” during the 1970 World Cup. Hyperbole? Exaggeration?

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在墨西哥城的阿茲臺(tái)克體育場(chǎng)（Aztec?Stadium）外豎著一塊紀(jì)念碑，向1970年墨西哥世界杯中，帶來(lái)“世紀(jì)之戰(zhàn)”的意大利與西德足球隊(duì)致敬。這一舉措太過(guò)夸張？還是小題大做？

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At the risk of calling in the men with the white coats, I might suggest the exact opposite. A slight understatement. While that semifinal had more goals scored in extra time than any other World Cup match, and this is where I probably need medical supervision, there were at least two other matches in that World Cup that could have earned a similar accolade before the Italian and West German teams took the field. So what is a World Cup? It is Gunfight at the O.K. Coral but the Mexican 1970 World Cup was High Noon.

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冒著可能會(huì)被醫(yī)生檢查我腦袋的危險(xiǎn)，我將提出一種恰恰相反的觀點(diǎn)。這塊碑可能有點(diǎn)輕描淡寫了。雖然那次半決賽加時(shí)賽中的進(jìn)球數(shù)在所有世界杯比賽中都首屈一指，但我認(rèn)為其實(shí)在“世紀(jì)之戰(zhàn)”前，那屆世界杯中就本有另兩場(chǎng)比賽可以獲得類似榮譽(yù)。。什么是世界杯？如果一般而言我們將其比作西部片《龍爭(zhēng)虎斗》（Gunfight at the O.K. Coral），那么1970年的墨西哥世界杯就是反傳統(tǒng)西部片《正午》（High Noon）。

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For drama, skill, panache, flair and brilliance, there has never been one like it since. Football fans occupy a different time and space, what Einstein might describe as a parallel universe. Our year, at least in Europe, starts in August and ends in June. Regional variations apply. Nostalgia may not be what it used to be, especially for football fans.

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不論從戲劇性、球技、氣派、球員資質(zhì)還是取得的輝煌方面，那場(chǎng)比賽都是后無(wú)來(lái)者的。足球迷們居住在一個(gè)可能被愛(ài)因斯坦稱之為平行宇宙的時(shí)空中。至少歐洲足球迷們的一年由八月份開(kāi)始，六月份結(jié)束。這可能存在區(qū)域性差異。人們懷舊的往往不是事物本身，對(duì)于足球迷而言更是如此。

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My boyhood football heroes are tackling arthritis instead of other players. Alchemists on the pitch decades ago now have difficulty finding a formula to climb the stairs. I was thinking of this last month as I ascended the steps, increasingly gasping, to the upper tier of the Bird’s Nest to watch two London teams in a pre-season friendly. Now I have to declare a vested interest. I am rather partial to things Arsenal, have been since 1969. As for “The Other Team”, Chelsea, well, I can appreciate that some may find them worthy of a degree of support that I find strangely at odds with the advancement of civilization.

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我童年時(shí)代的足球巨星們現(xiàn)在正在對(duì)付關(guān)節(jié)炎而不是與其他球手廝殺。幾十年前球場(chǎng)上的“煉金術(shù)師”們現(xiàn)在難以爬上樓梯。這是我上個(gè)月在鳥(niǎo)巢體育場(chǎng)拾級(jí)而上，越來(lái)越氣喘吁吁時(shí)想到的。當(dāng)時(shí)我正要登上上層觀眾席觀看兩支來(lái)自倫敦的足球隊(duì)進(jìn)行季前友誼賽?，F(xiàn)在我先聲明一下我的既定立場(chǎng)。自1969年起，我就是阿森納（Arsenal）俱樂(lè)部的忠實(shí)粉絲。至于“另一支隊(duì)伍”切爾西（?Chelsea），我可以理解有些人覺(jué)得他們值得得到某種程度的支持。雖然我認(rèn)為這一想法有些奇怪且與文明進(jìn)步方向不符。

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Be that as it may, what struck me was the fact that 56,000 Chinese fans turned up to watch it. There was a fair smackering of children and teens with their parents and a lot of men and women in their early twenties and almost as many women as men in attendance. This delighted me more than Chelsea’s disallowed goal.

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盡管如此，真正打動(dòng)我的其實(shí)是有56000名中國(guó)人現(xiàn)場(chǎng)觀看了這次比賽。其中相當(dāng)一部分活潑的孩童與青少年在父母的陪伴下前來(lái)，同時(shí)有許多二十出頭的年輕人，在現(xiàn)場(chǎng)看球的女性幾乎與男性一樣多。這遠(yuǎn)比切爾西的無(wú)效進(jìn)球更讓我高興。

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Why, you may ask. They are making their own nostalgia. The kids at that match will talk about it for years to come. Many will want to replicate what they saw in the playground, (not hopefully the Chelsea tendency to roll and writhe on the pitch after a legitimate Arsenal tackle!).

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你可能會(huì)問(wèn)為什么。因?yàn)樗麄冋趧?chuàng)造自己的懷舊情結(jié)?？催^(guò)這場(chǎng)比賽的孩子將會(huì)在今后談?wù)撍?。許多人會(huì)想要復(fù)制他們?cè)谧闱驁?chǎng)上所看到的一切（但愿不包括切爾西球員總是傾向于在阿森納球員正當(dāng)鏟球后假摔翻滾。）

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At least some of the couples in their twenties will have their own children and talk to them of football and persuade, bribe, entice them to support Arsenal. And the women, as in all walks of life, are vital to any endeavor’s success. And in this case the endeavor is an appreciation of football, its nuances, intricacies, tactics and its ability to engender memories as we negotiate stairs in later life. Less than a year to the next World Cup. Plaques celebrate what went, memories can help recreate.

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其中一些二十出頭的情侶們將會(huì)有自己的孩子，他們將和孩子談?wù)撟闱虿⑶艺f(shuō)服、收買、慫恿其支持阿森納。而來(lái)自各行各業(yè)的女性們，她們對(duì)于任何事業(yè)上的成功都是至關(guān)重要的。而在此所指的事業(yè)是對(duì)于足球運(yùn)動(dòng)細(xì)微之處、錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜、戰(zhàn)術(shù)策略等的欣賞，以及當(dāng)我們?nèi)蘸笮⌒囊硪砼罉翘輹r(shí)足球能給我們帶來(lái)的美好回憶。距離下一屆世界杯已經(jīng)不滿一年了。紀(jì)念碑紀(jì)念往事，回憶可再創(chuàng)未來(lái)。