巴西渴望摘得該國史上首枚奧運足球金牌
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.
小內馬爾•達席爾瓦•桑托斯(Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior)——簡稱內馬爾——被賦予一項任務，一項有史以來從未有同胞完成的任務：帶領巴西足球隊摘取奧運金牌。
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.
儘管贏得了5次世界盃，但巴西在過去116年裏從未拿到過奧運會足球金牌，這也是它唯一一個沒有奪過冠的國際主要足球賽事。更糟糕的是，巴西隊的宿敵烏拉圭隊和阿根廷隊各贏得過兩次奧運金牌。
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.
對奧運會足球金牌的期盼成了巴西全民的執念——足球不僅是巴西人最喜歡的運動，也是該國能展現頂級競技水平的少數奧運項目之一。奧運會將於本週在里約熱內盧拉開帷幕，巴西隊的首場足球比賽安排在週四。巴西毫不掩飾整個球隊對內馬爾的倚仗。內馬爾是巴西足球隊的隊長，也是全世界最出色的足球運動員之一。
“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.”
“他們說倚仗內馬爾不好，但我不同意這種說法，”巴西奧運男足主教練羅熱里奧•米卡利(Rogerio Micale)稱，“我願我的隊中永遠都有一個內馬爾。”
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.
不過，在這樣一個正處於政治危機、深度衰退和腐敗醜聞之中的國家，內馬爾還肩負着帶領隊員一洗巴西隊在綠茵場上的消沉之重任。巴西足球隊的低迷已經成了國家衰落的象徵。
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年巴西世界盃半決賽中，作爲東道主的巴西隊以1:7的恥辱比分負於德國隊，巴西人至今仍處於震驚之中。那次慘敗被巴西足球評論員加爾旺•布埃諾(Galvao Bueno)形容爲“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.”
“如果我們再次面對德國隊，人們會非常緊張，”24歲的廣告專員拉斐爾•馬丁內斯•皮雷斯(Rafael Martinez Pires)稱。他還說很多人都寄希望於內馬爾，“他是一個偉大的球員，但他還太年輕——只有24歲——他責任重大，揹負着很大壓力。”
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，內馬爾在綠茵場上的才能爲他贏得了足球巨星的地位。他是巴西收入最高的運動員，也是世界足壇最具市場影響力的明星之一。
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.
據《福布斯》(Forbes)報道，內馬爾過去一年的收入爲3750萬美元。他從俱樂部方面——西班牙巴塞羅納俱樂部(Barcelona FC)——拿到的薪水是1450萬美元，但他大部分收入來自於耐克(Nike)、紅牛(Red Bull)、松下(Panasonic)和吉列(Gillette)等贊助商。
While a devout evangelical Christian, he is known for his partying.
儘管他是一名虔誠的福音派基督徒，但他也以熱愛派對而聞名。
“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，但我喜歡外出，和朋友們一起玩……我會去夜店，”在上週一個新聞發佈會上、他向一名記者發火後表示，“如果你24歲，並且擁有我所掙得和擁有的一切，難道你不會做同樣的事嗎？”
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.
內馬爾還被有關逃稅的指控纏身。在他被控利用空殼公司逃稅（主要與2011年至2013年期間他在巴西足球俱樂部桑托斯(Santos)踢球有關）後，一名巴西法官於今年2月命令扣押他的私人飛機、豪華遊艇和其他一些物品，總價值1.928億雷亞爾（合5900萬美元）。
He was also at the centre of a separate case in Spain over alleged irregularities related to his transfer from Santos to Barcelona.
他在西班牙也捲入一起案件，與他從桑托斯轉會到巴薩涉嫌違規有關。
Neymar is contesting the Brazilian case, while Barcelona agreed to pay a Euro5.5m fine to settle the Spanish tax dispute.
內馬爾目前正在就巴西一案提出異議，同時巴薩同意支付550萬歐元罰款了結西班牙的稅收爭議。
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.
不過，這位前鋒出戰奧運會對於該賽事的管理機構國際奧委會(International Olympic Committee)來說是一大利好，因爲奧運會足球賽是通過門票銷售獲取收益的一棵重要搖錢樹。與其他奧運賽事不同，足球比賽在東道主全國各地進行、而非固定在主辦城市內，這意味着可以吸引更多觀衆。
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.
不過，在上賽季，內馬爾發現自己深陷於“俱樂部與國家隊”二選一的矛盾之中，他是否會進入巴西隊大名單在那時尚不明確。在巴薩同意如果他不參加美洲盃(Copa America)便可以參加奧運會後，內馬爾才得以出征奧運會。美洲盃是南北美洲球隊競技的足球賽事。
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.
世界其他頂級球員幾乎都不會現身奧運會，相比其他足球賽事，奧運會被認爲是次要賽事。
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.
儘管各國女足會派全部主力出征奧運會比賽，但踢奧運男足比賽的主要是23歲以下球員。雖然規定允許各國選擇3名“超齡”球員——這是爲了讓各國挑選部分最出色球員參賽的折中方案——但因爲俱樂部拒絕放人，該措施沒有得到有效執行。
Not that Brazilians will care about the lack of competition should the team grab the elusive title.
如果巴西隊一舉奪得奧運冠軍，巴西人是不會在意比賽缺乏競爭的。
“Losing never crosses my mind,” Neymar said. “I want to bring that gold medal for Brazil that has been so difficult.”
“我從未想過輸球，”內馬爾稱，“我想爲巴西摘得一直以來如此難以摘得的金牌。”
