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.
澳大利亚堪培拉——对于中国球迷来说，刚刚开始的2015年已经是不同寻常的一年。在对国家足球队多年的沮丧、失望和怀疑之后，2015年的亚洲杯上捷报频传，中国队赢得了迄今为止的全部三场比赛，以B组第一名的成绩晋级。
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年的亚洲杯首轮就被淘汰，而且在2002年以后的三届世界杯(World Cup)预选赛中，成绩都远不足以取得参赛资格，这让中国国家足球队在球迷心中几乎成了笑柄。
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，中国队还是2015年亚洲杯预选赛中表现最糟糕的队伍，作为成绩最好的小组第三名球队晋级决赛圈，这让球迷们更加郁闷了。

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月结束的预选赛的最后一战，中国队以1比3不敌伊拉克队。这是阿兰·佩兰(Alain Perrin)担任主教练之后的首场比赛。他被任命几乎没有引起任何轰动或是兴奋的情绪，许多人当时希望2006年世界杯中，带领队伍夺冠的马尔切洛·里皮(Marcello Lippi)担任国足主帅。这名意大利教练曾带领中国足球超级联赛俱乐部广州恒大在国内和亚洲的冠军杯联赛中取得冠军。
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.
不过，在一个看起来实力强劲的小组胜出之后，佩兰正在为周四晚上在布里斯班举行的亚洲杯四分之一决赛做准备，届时中国队将对阵东道主澳大利亚队。中国队目前已经战胜了沙特阿拉伯队、乌兹别克斯坦队和朝鲜队。
“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.”
“在三场艰难的比赛之后，我们为中国足球创造了新的纪录，”佩兰说。这名58岁的法国人曾经执教过法国两个最大的俱乐部，里昂和马赛。“在小组赛之后，我们已经得了9分，不过现在，我们要向前看。我们必须继续努力，我们现在就是这么做的。我们有很好的团队精神，我们相互信任、为了彼此而奋力拼搏，我们想要尽可能做到最好。”
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.
刚走上这次比赛的赛场时，人们的期望很低。不过或许正是因为没有压力，才提升了中国队在场上的表现。但如今，在有了不错的成绩之后，已经习惯了输球和失望的中国球迷，正在学着享受国足的比赛。
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.
周日在澳大利亚的首都，激动的球迷身穿红色T恤衫，前来观看中国队与朝鲜队的最后一场小组赛，可以容纳2.5万人的体育场几乎坐满了观众。他们在开赛45秒后，就得到了一粒进球的回馈，中国队上半场表现出色。下半场，中国队感受到了朝鲜队的巨大压力，但仍然以2比1取胜。
“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，球迷们很开心，很享受比赛，”官方媒体新华社报道亚洲杯的记者徐海静说。“在中国也是一样的，人们开始支持球员和教练了。多年来，人们第一次感觉观看这支球队的比赛是一种享受。要想打败澳大利亚真的很难，但球迷们都颇为期待。不会有什么损失，也没有压力，因为这支球队已经成功了。”
Australia, one of the tournament favorites, beat Kuwait, 4-1, and Oman, 4-0, before losing to South Korea, 1-0.
澳大利亚队是本届比赛的夺冠热门之一，先后以4比1和4比0的比分击败了科威特和阿曼，后来0比1负于韩国。
“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.”
“澳大利亚队是一支实力非常强的队伍，”迄今为止已在本届比赛中踢进了三粒球的边锋孙可用汉语说。“澳大利亚队也是主场，这会使下一场比赛非常艰难。但如果我们能专注于比赛，尽全力做好准备，注意力非常集中，那我们就能昂着头离开球场。”
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.
实际上这一点已经做到了。现在的中国队比过去的队伍更坚定，也不会刚一遭受挫折就消沉。在第二场比赛中，尽管落后于评价颇高的乌兹别克斯坦队，中国队还是保持冷静，并以2比1反超，整场比赛几乎没有出现什么问题，走出了过去的挫折。
“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.
“教练很信任球员，如果能遵照他的指导，抓住机会，保持注意力集中，我们就能取得好成绩，”孙可接着说。
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.
中国队甚至还借此机会赢得了一些人的喜爱。在小组赛期间，当沙特队获罚点球时，中国队门将王大雷问球门后的澳大利亚球童斯蒂芬·怀特(Stephen White)，自己应该往哪一边扑。“王大雷转过身，问我他应该往左边还是右边跳，我说左边，于是他扑向左边，扑出了点球，”怀特对当地媒体说。“他和队友庆祝扑救成功，不过比赛最后，他走过来和我拥抱。”之后中国以1比0获胜，而怀特也变得小有名气。
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.
这一切都有帮助。足球可能是中国最受欢迎的运动，但尽管人口远超韩国和日本，在球场上中国却落后于这两个国家。说服家长允许孩子踢足球一直是一个重大挑战。正面的新闻报道、好的成绩，以及一支让球迷引以为豪的国家队，都有助于说服家长。
“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.”
“国家队需要有力的国际竞争，中国队在小组赛中获胜就已经超出预期了，”就如何让足球走进校园，为中国教育部提供咨询的足球顾问汤姆·拜尔(Tom Byer)在电子邮件中说。“中国政府已经制定了一项政策，要求足球成为学校的必修课。相信我们即将在中国看到期待已久的足球热潮。这项政策以及出色的比赛结果，都可能成为可以燎原的星星之火。”