Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior — known simply as Neymar — has been handed a task that has historically proved to be beyond his countrymen: leading Brazil’s footballers to an Olympic gold medal.

小内马尔•达席尔瓦•桑托斯(Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior)——简称内马尔——被赋予一项任务，一项有史以来从未有同胞完成的任务：带领巴西足球队摘取奥运金牌。

Despite winning five World Cups, the country has faced 116 years of failure at the Olympics, the only major international football tournament it has not won. Worse still, arch-rivals Uruguay and Argentina have each twice won gold.

尽管赢得了5次世界杯，但巴西在过去116年里从未拿到过奥运会足球金牌，这也是它唯一一个没有夺过冠的国际主要足球赛事。更糟糕的是，巴西队的宿敌乌拉圭队和阿根廷队各赢得过两次奥运金牌。

The wait for the Olympic title has become a national obsession — football is not only Brazil’s most popular sport but also one of the few Olympic events at which it competes at the top level. And as the games begin in Rio de Janeiro this week, with Brazil playing its first football match on Thursday, there is little attempt to disguise the team’s reliance on Neymar, its captain and one of the world’s best footballers.

对奥运会足球金牌的期盼成了巴西全民的执念——足球不仅是巴西人最喜欢的运动，也是该国能展现顶级竞技水平的少数奥运项目之一。奥运会将于本周在里约热内卢拉开帷幕，巴西队的首场足球比赛安排在周四。巴西毫不掩饰整个球队对内马尔的倚仗。内马尔是巴西足球队的队长，也是全世界最出色的足球运动员之一。

“They say it’s not good to be dependent on Neymar, but I do not agree,” said Rogerio Micale, Brazil’s coach for the Olympics. “I would always have a Neymar in my team.”

“他们说倚仗内马尔不好，但我不同意这种说法，”巴西奥运男足主教练罗热里奥•米卡利(Rogerio Micale)称，“我愿我的队中永远都有一个内马尔。”

Yet in a country that is in the midst of a political crisis, a deep recession and a corruption scandal, Neymar is also burdened with ending an on-field slump that has come to symbolise a sense of national decline.

不过，在这样一个正处于政治危机、深度衰退和腐败丑闻之中的国家，内马尔还肩负着带领队员一洗巴西队在绿茵场上的消沉之重任。巴西足球队的低迷已经成了国家衰落的象征。

Brazilians are still in shock over the country’s humiliating 7-1 defeat against Germany in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup, which was also hosted by the Latin American country. The drubbing was described as the “the worst blackout in Brazil’s history” by commentator Galvao Bueno, the voice of football in the country.

在2014年巴西世界杯半决赛中，作为东道主的巴西队以1:7的耻辱比分负于德国队，巴西人至今仍处于震惊之中。那次惨败被巴西足球评论员加尔旺•布埃诺(Galvao Bueno)形容为“巴西史上最糟的黑暗”。

“If we face Germany again people will be very tense,” said Rafael Martinez Pires, a 24-year-old advertising executive, adding that many were pinning their hopes on Neymar. “He’s a great player but he’s still very young — only 24 — and it’s a lot of responsibility, a lot of pressure on him.”

“如果我们再次面对德国队，人们会非常紧张，”24岁的广告专员拉斐尔•马丁内斯•皮雷斯(Rafael Martinez Pires)称。他还说很多人都寄希望于内马尔，“他是一个伟大的球员，但他还太年轻——只有24岁——他责任重大，背负着很大压力。”

In Brazil and beyond, Neymar’s talents on the pitch have won him superstar status. He is Brazil’s highest-earning sportsperson and one of world football’s most marketable names.

在巴西乃至全球，内马尔在绿茵场上的才能为他赢得了足球巨星的地位。他是巴西收入最高的运动员，也是世界足坛最具市场影响力的明星之一。

According to Forbes, Neymar earned $37.5m over the past year. While he enjoyed a salary of $14.5m from his club side, FC Barcelona, the majority of his earnings come from endorsing brands including Nike, Red Bull, Panasonic and Gillette.

据《福布斯》(Forbes)报道，内马尔过去一年的收入为3750万美元。他从俱乐部方面——西班牙巴塞罗纳俱乐部(Barcelona FC)——拿到的薪水是1450万美元，但他大部分收入来自于耐克(Nike)、红牛(Red Bull)、松下(Panasonic)和吉列(Gillette)等赞助商。

While a devout evangelical Christian, he is known for his partying.

尽管他是一名虔诚的福音派基督徒，但他也以热爱派对而闻名。

“I’m not a perfect guy but I like going out and having fun with my friends . . . I can and I will go to nightclubs,” he said during a press conference last week after losing his temper with a reporter. “If you were 24, and you had everything that I’ve earned and everything I have, wouldn’t you be the same?”

“我不完美，但我喜欢外出，和朋友们一起玩……我会去夜店，”在上周一个新闻发布会上、他向一名记者发火后表示，“如果你24岁，并且拥有我所挣得和拥有的一切，难道你不会做同样的事吗？”

Neymar has also been dogged by allegations related to tax evasion. In February this year, a Brazilian judge ordered the seizure of his private jet, a luxury yacht and other goods worth R$192.8m (US$59m) after he was accused of using shell companies to avoid taxes, mostly relating to his career at the Brazilian team Santos between 2011 and 2013.

内马尔还被有关逃税的指控缠身。在他被控利用空壳公司逃税（主要与2011年至2013年期间他在巴西足球俱乐部桑托斯(Santos)踢球有关）后，一名巴西法官于今年2月命令扣押他的私人飞机、豪华游艇和其他一些物品，总价值1.928亿雷亚尔（合5900万美元）。

He was also at the centre of a separate case in Spain over alleged irregularities related to his transfer from Santos to Barcelona.

他在西班牙也卷入一起案件，与他从桑托斯转会到巴萨涉嫌违规有关。

Neymar is contesting the Brazilian case, while Barcelona agreed to pay a Euro5.5m fine to settle the Spanish tax dispute.

内马尔目前正在就巴西一案提出异议，同时巴萨同意支付550万欧元罚款了结西班牙的税收争议。

Still, the forward’s presence at the games is a boon for the International Olympic Committee, the governing body for the games, for which football is an important money-spinner through ticket sales. Unlike other Olympic sports, matches are played around the country instead of being fixed within the host city, meaning they are able to attract a wider audience.

不过，这位前锋出战奥运会对于该赛事的管理机构国际奥委会(International Olympic Committee)来说是一大利好，因为奥运会足球赛是通过门票销售获取收益的一棵重要摇钱树。与其他奥运赛事不同，足球比赛在东道主全国各地进行、而非固定在主办城市内，这意味着可以吸引更多观众。

Yet last season it was unclear if Neymar would be included in the Brazilian squad as he found himself at the centre of a club-versus-country controversy. He made it to the games only after Barcelona agreed that he could participate in the Olympics if he missed the Copa America, a tournament between North and South American teams.

不过，在上赛季，内马尔发现自己深陷于“俱乐部与国家队”二选一的矛盾之中，他是否会进入巴西队大名单在那时尚不明确。在巴萨同意如果他不参加美洲杯(Copa America)便可以参加奥运会后，内马尔才得以出征奥运会。美洲杯是南北美洲球队竞技的足球赛事。

Few of the world’s other top players will appear at Olympics, with the football tournament deemed a sideshow to the rest of the games.

世界其他顶级球员几乎都不会现身奥运会，相比其他足球赛事，奥运会被认为是次要赛事。

Although the women’s competition features full-strength teams, the men’s event mainly involves players aged under 23. Even a measure that allows nations to select three “over-aged” players — a fudge created to allow countries to pick some of their best footballers — is being undermined because clubs refuse to release players.

尽管各国女足会派全部主力出征奥运会比赛，但踢奥运男足比赛的主要是23岁以下球员。虽然规定允许各国选择3名“超龄”球员——这是为了让各国挑选部分最出色球员参赛的折中方案——但因为俱乐部拒绝放人，该措施没有得到有效执行。

Not that Brazilians will care about the lack of competition should the team grab the elusive title.

如果巴西队一举夺得奥运冠军，巴西人是不会在意比赛缺乏竞争的。

“Losing never crosses my mind,” Neymar said. “I want to bring that gold medal for Brazil that has been so difficult.”

“我从未想过输球，”内马尔称，“我想为巴西摘得一直以来如此难以摘得的金牌。”