The King of Prediction
欧洲杯预测帝–“巫师猪”

Remember Paul, the legendary octopus who correctly predicted the outcome of the 2010 World Cup? Two years later in Kiev, a psychic pig takes over where Paul the Octopus has left off. Khryak is the latest addition to the Ukrainian squad to tip the winners of the Euro 2012 matches. Although not the most photogenic among the psychic, organizers say his telepathic abilities are real. Kiev Euro 2012 PR Director, Official Kiev Euro 2012 Fan Zone Pr Director Svitlana Bovkun, saying (Russian) “We checked over two weeks his ability to predict outcomes of local and international matches and well… he has a psychic ability, we would not have taken him otherwise. We’ll see how accurate he is in just a few days.” Khryak’s powers will be officially tested on June 8th when the European soccer championships kick off in Poland and Ukraine. And even if Khryak miss-sniffs the winner of a match, organizers promise that he’ll be safe from the butcher’s knife. Elly Park, Reuters.
你还记得传奇章鱼保罗正确预测2010年世界杯结果吗？两年后，在Kiev，一只神算猪接管了保罗的任务。神算猪Khryak（赫里亚克）是乌克兰队最近引进来预测欧洲杯赛果的。尽管它不是最上镜的，但组织者说他感应能力是真实的。2012年欧洲杯Kiev球迷区公关总监Bovkun Svitlana说：“我们对它预测当地及国际比赛的能力进行了两个礼拜的核查，他有通灵的能力，否则我们也不会选它，再过几天我们将看看它预测的准确性。Khryak的能力将在欧洲足球锦标赛波兰与乌克的开场赛中进行官方测试。组织者承诺，即使Khryak未能准确预测比赛结果，它也不会成为我们的盘中餐。在前六场比赛中，乌克兰预言猪曾准确命中了4场，但在随后的小组赛中神奇不再，逐渐跌下神坛；不过进入淘汰赛阶段，预言猪虽然受到了骚扰，但是神奇再现。

The curse of the European champions
预测之路–欧洲杯冠军的魔咒

Spain will begin UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying in high spirits as both reigning champions and FIFA World Cup holders, but if they are to triumph in Poland and Ukraine, they must perform an unprecedented feat.
作为欧洲杯和世界杯的双料冠军，西班牙队将充满斗志地投入到欧洲杯赛事中。若是他们想在本届杯赛上夺冠，他们必将完成一项前无古人的壮举。

While there has been a successful title defence in every other existing UEFA national-team championship – three for men, three for women plus one for futsal – no country has triumphed in the flagship tournament twice in succession. In fact, by the time the final is played in Kyiv on 1 July it will be 36 years since the previous occasion the holders even made it that far.
在欧足联的各种级别的国家队赛事（包括三项男足赛事，三项女足赛事和一项五人制足球比赛）中，有些球队能实现卫冕。但是没有一个国家能连续两届在欧洲杯这项最顶级的赛事上夺得冠军。事实上，在今年7月1日在基辅进行的决赛前，整整36年不曾有卫冕球队能在下一届杯赛中打进决赛。

The first attempt to retain the European title was nearly a success. Having won the inaugural 1960 edition, the Soviet Union travelled to Spain four years later and reached the final, only to lose 2-1 to the hosts with a goal six minutes from time. As holders, Spain themselves and then Italy, the 1968 champions, missed out on the following four-team final tournament after suffering two-legged quarter-final defeats.
欧洲杯首届冠军尝试卫冕的努力几近成功。前苏联赢得了1960年的杯赛冠军，四年后他们在西班牙打入了决赛，他们在开场6分钟打入一个进球，最后仅仅以1-2负于东道主。而夺冠的西班牙队和1968年的冠军意大利队在之后一届杯赛中，在两回合的1/4比赛中都失利，错失进入四强的机会。

This is a uniquely European phenomenon with other senior continental competitions featuring at least one successful defence at some point – in fact the same team triumphed at the first two editions of the CONMEBOL Copa América (Uruguay), CAF Africa Cup of Nations (Egypt) and AFC Asia Cup (Korea Republic).
这是一个和奇特的欧洲杯现象。在其他的洲际大赛中，至少有一个冠军能成功实现卫冕 —— 事实上，乌拉圭就在成功地连拿两届美洲杯（最早的两届），埃及卫冕过非洲杯，而韩国卫冕过亚洲杯。