There is nothing like a great underdog sports story to rally a nation's spirits. And in Japan, where sumo and baseball had reigned king for so long, soccer is becoming the new sports darling on the horizon.

　　沒有什么能比體育比賽中弱隊(duì)反敗為勝的故事更能凝聚一個(gè)民族的精神。在長(zhǎng)期以來相撲和棒球一直占據(jù)主導(dǎo)地位的日本，足球很有可能成為運(yùn)動(dòng)新寵。

　　Nadeshiko Japan's win at the Women's World Cup on Sunday night came at a crucial time in Japan as political strife continues to hobble reconstruction efforts. The March 11 disasters have further strained the country's economic woes and exacerbated the need to instill reform measures to combat the rapidly aging population.

　　周日晚上，日本隊(duì)贏得女足世界杯的冠軍。此時(shí)的日本正處于關(guān)鍵時(shí)刻，政治紛爭(zhēng)仍在阻撓震后重建工作。3月11日的天災(zāi)進(jìn)一步加深了日本的經(jīng)濟(jì)困境，使得推出改革舉措以對(duì)抗人口迅速老齡化的狀況成為了當(dāng)務(wù)之急。

　　While Japan grapples with all of these headaches, soccer has emerged as the unlikely bright spot, triggered by the men's surprising run last summer at the World Cup in South Africa. The Samurai Blue defeated heavyweights Cameroon and Denmark for a slot in the round of 16 before being knocked out by a penalty shot against Paraguay just over a year ago.

　　Reuters球迷在東京慶祝勝利。雖然日本還在努力解決所有這些令人頭痛的問題，但日本女足卻成為人們意料之外的亮點(diǎn)。這或許是受了去年夏天日本男足在南非世界杯上的驚人表現(xiàn)的推動(dòng)。一年多以前的南非世界杯上，日本男足接連擊敗喀麥隆和丹麥兩支勁旅，躋身16強(qiáng)，最終在和巴拉圭隊(duì)的點(diǎn)球大戰(zhàn)中一球惜敗，未能挺進(jìn)八強(qiáng)。

　　In late January, under the new manager Alberto Zaccheroni, the boys in blue grabbed their record fourth Asian Cup championship, edging past the favored Australians.

　　今年1月下旬，日本隊(duì)在新任主帥扎切羅尼（Alberto Zaccheroni）的帶領(lǐng)下，以1比0的比分小勝奪冠熱門澳大利亞隊(duì)，創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄地第四次奪得亞洲杯冠軍。

　　At a period when Japan has been increasingly ceding its dominance to China outside the sporting arena, Nadeshiko Japan beat their neighbor in the regional qualifying round during the Asia Cup playoffs in May of 2010. The defeat denied China a berth in the Women's World Cup finals for the first time ever.

　　在競(jìng)技體育的賽場(chǎng)之外，日本逐漸向中國(guó)讓出了霸主地位。但2010年5月在爭(zhēng)奪今年德國(guó)女足世界杯入場(chǎng)券的女足亞洲杯季軍爭(zhēng)奪賽上，日本隊(duì)擊敗了中國(guó)。那次失利令中國(guó)女足有史以來第一次未能闖入世界杯。

　　But, perhaps most poignantly, was the way that organized soccer rallied in an impressive show of solidarity in the immediate weeks following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. More than 40,000 fans piled into a sports stadium in Osaka in late March with painted faces, wigs and giant flags -- enthusiastic accessories reminiscent of the Samurai Blue's surging run in the World Cup in South Africa last summer. They were there attend a charity match between Japan's all-star players and national soccer team.

　　但或許最令人難忘的還是3月11日的地震和海嘯之后的幾周，日本足球界集結(jié)在一起，展示出的團(tuán)結(jié)精神給人留下深刻的印象。3月底，4萬多球迷涌入大阪的一個(gè)體育場(chǎng)，他們的臉上涂著油彩，頭戴假發(fā)，共同揮舞著巨型國(guó)旗。這些激情澎湃的“裝備”令人想起去年夏天南非世界杯上日本隊(duì)不斷向前沖的戰(zhàn)績(jī)。這些球迷觀看的是日本全明星隊(duì)和國(guó)家隊(duì)之間的一場(chǎng)慈善賽。

　　A big draw was the return of all the European-based players. Defender Yuto Nagatomo, who plays his club soccer for Inter Milan in Italy, was one of 12 overseas-based players to return to Japan for the match. CKSA Moscow player Keisuke Honda, who was Japan's MVP at last summer's World Cup in South Africa, also stood on the Osaka pitch.

　　這場(chǎng)球賽的最大看點(diǎn)是所有常駐歐洲的日本球員都回國(guó)參加了比賽。效力于意大利國(guó)際米蘭隊(duì)的后衛(wèi)長(zhǎng)友佑都（Yuto Nagatomo）就是回國(guó)參加比賽的12名常駐海外的球員之一。效力于莫斯科中央陸軍隊(duì)（CKSA Moscow）的本田圭佑（Keisuke Honda）也參加了大阪的比賽。他是去年夏天南非世界杯日本隊(duì)最有價(jià)值球員。

　　The unity exhibited by Japanese soccer contrasted sharply with other sports. Japanese baseball leagues bickered for days about whether to delay the season and hold night games amid calls from the government to conserve energy. Sumo has remained enmeshed in scandal.

　　日本足球表現(xiàn)出的團(tuán)結(jié)精神和其它體育項(xiàng)目形成了鮮明對(duì)比。由于政府呼吁節(jié)約能源，日本棒球聯(lián)賽連日來一直在為是否推遲本賽季以及舉辦夜場(chǎng)比賽爭(zhēng)得不可開交。相撲運(yùn)動(dòng)也深陷丑聞之中。

　　Such actions have led to an explosion of soccer support recently. Since South Africa, the Japanese players have become attractive recruits in Europe. Some have landed sweet sponsorship deals. Mr. Honda is the face of casual-clothing chain Uniqlo and sports drink Aquarius. Mr. Nagatomo was recently selected to be the pitch man for Mazda's updated Demio sub-compact car.

　　這導(dǎo)致足球運(yùn)動(dòng)近來受到爆炸性的支持。自南非世界杯以來，日本球員已經(jīng)成了歐洲俱樂部爭(zhēng)相招募的對(duì)象。有些球員簽下了豐厚的贊助合同。本田圭佑成為休閑服裝連鎖店優(yōu)衣庫（Uniqlo）和運(yùn)動(dòng)飲料Aquarius的代言人。長(zhǎng)友佑都最近被選中成為馬自達(dá)Demio微型轎車的推廣大使。

　　Japanese fans are hoping the Nadeshiko women will come into similar fortunes upon their return home.

　　日本球迷希望日本女足回國(guó)后也能有類似的好運(yùn)。

　　“To think that Japanese women would become this good at soccer was unthinkable several years ago,” said Yoshikio Yamaguchi, a 54-year-old sushi chef, while watching the championship game at a sports bar in Tokyo. While women have excelled at other sports like softball and judo, Mr. Yamaguchi said women's soccer lacked funding compared to bigger rivals like the U.S. and European countries. 'It is amazing they have come become No. 1 in the world with so little financial support,' he said bemoaning the low salaries of the women.

　　54歲的壽司大廚山口佳樹（Yoshikio Yamaguchi，音）在東京的一家體育酒吧觀看冠亞軍決賽時(shí)說，幾年前不敢想象日本女足能有這樣的成績(jī)。雖然日本女隊(duì)在壘球和柔道等其它體育項(xiàng)目上表現(xiàn)出色，山口佳樹說和美國(guó)及歐洲國(guó)家等強(qiáng)勁對(duì)手相比，日本女足缺乏資金；在嚴(yán)重缺乏資金支持的情況下日本女足還能奪冠真是令人驚訝，但他也感嘆女性的工資較低。

　　The women's league is stuck in the semi-professional club stage that Mr. Yamaguchi, an avid follower, says makes it difficult to make a living on. The victory on the international stage gives him hope women's soccer will gain more financial traction, allowing Nadeshiko to defend the title in 2015.

　　女足聯(lián)賽停留在半職業(yè)化俱樂部的階段，狂熱支持女足的山口佳樹說這使得女足球員很難以此維生。此次奪冠點(diǎn)燃了山口佳樹的希望，即女足會(huì)得到更多的財(cái)政支持，讓日本女足能夠在2015年衛(wèi)冕。