Just seconds after Greece won an improbable European Championship, church bells rang and cars clogged the streets of every city andhamlet.
Everywhere was a sea of blue and white - the colors of the Greek flag. Drivers blared horns. People yelled from balconies. Fireworks made some places seem likewar zones. Greeks filled with pride and patriotism partied, celebrating their national team's surprising 1-0 win over host Portugal in the finals Sunday. It was a much-needed triumph for a nation dealing with thegruelingand costly preparations for next month's Olympics. Shepherds fired guns from mountaintops. Red flareswhizzedskyward from luxury yachts. Police - already on full Olympicpatrols- let down their guard for a moment and hugged and danced. "It's unbelievable! It's amazing! It's glorious!" yelled people running through Athens' main Omonia Square. Bands of school children danced togetherdrapedin the Greek flag. The powerful national high comes at a time when Greek taxpayers are grumbling about huge Olympic bills and security officials are facing nonstop pressure to satisfy international concerns. Olympic organizers hope the soccer fervor wouldspill overto the Aug. 13-29 Games. Ticket sales have been sluggish and the blitz of work in Athens has made many people see the games more as a long headache rather than a glorious homecoming. Nearly every top official in Greece - including the head of the Olympic organizing committee - traveled to Portugal to watch the final match and proclaim that the success would unleash newfound Olympic spirit. Premier Costas Caramanlis jumped up and down in the stands after Angelos Charisteas scored in the 57th minute, heading ina corner kick. For some, it was an unfamiliar taste of the honor for Greeks tired of the country's reputation as unruly and disorganized. "The most important trophy is that we won the respect of others," said GreekdefenderTraianos Dellas, who scored seconds from the end of the first overtime in the semifinal against the Czech Republic on Thursday. Greece seemed unlikely to even get out of the first round when the 16-nation championship began.Then it stunned Portugal 2-1 in the opening game and held Spain to a 1-1 draw in the next match. The Greeks' only loss came in the final opening round match to Russia, but they managed to advance on goal differential. In the next round, Greece was unstoppable. They didn't allow a goal in wins overpowerhouseFrance, the Czech Republic and Portugal. Newspapersdubbedthe team the "Greek gods." Dozens of special charter flights took fans to Portugal to witness "the dream" - as many Greeks have started calling the victory. (agencies) | 就在希臘隊(duì)不可思議地奪得歐洲杯冠軍之后的一剎那,教堂的鐘聲響起,車(chē)輛把每個(gè)城市和鄉(xiāng)村的大街小巷堵得水泄不通。 到處都成了藍(lán)色和白色的海洋——那是希臘國(guó)旗的顏色。司機(jī)們一個(gè)勁的摁喇叭,發(fā)出刺耳的聲音,人們?cè)诼杜_(tái)上大聲叫喊,燃放的煙花爆竹使一些地方看上去就像戰(zhàn)區(qū)一樣。 滿懷自豪和愛(ài)國(guó)激情的希臘人舉行聚會(huì),慶祝他們的國(guó)家隊(duì)在周日的決賽中以1:0的成績(jī)驚人地戰(zhàn)勝了東道主葡萄牙隊(duì)。對(duì)于這個(gè)為準(zhǔn)備下個(gè)月即將舉行的奧運(yùn)會(huì)而殫精竭力、耗資不菲的國(guó)家來(lái)說(shuō),它迫切需要這次勝利。 牧羊人在山頂上鳴槍?zhuān)t色的火焰從豪華的游艇上呼嘯著沖向天空,已經(jīng)為奧運(yùn)會(huì)展開(kāi)全面巡邏的警察們也暫時(shí)放松了戒備,互相擁抱并跳起舞來(lái)。
“這簡(jiǎn)直讓人難以置信!多么了不起啊!多么光榮啊!”人們歡呼著在雅典的歐摩尼亞中心廣場(chǎng)上奔跑穿梭。一群群的學(xué)生身披希臘國(guó)旗在一起跳舞。 當(dāng)希臘的納稅人正在為奧運(yùn)會(huì)的巨額開(kāi)支抱怨,負(fù)責(zé)安全的官員們正在為消除國(guó)際社會(huì)的擔(dān)憂而面臨無(wú)休止的壓力時(shí),這次強(qiáng)烈的、全國(guó)范圍的熱情高漲適時(shí)而來(lái)。 奧運(yùn)會(huì)組織者們希望這次足球熱能夠一直延續(xù)到8月13日至29日的奧運(yùn)會(huì)。在雅典,門(mén)票的銷(xiāo)售情況低迷,而閃電式的工作使很多人更多地把這次賽事看作是件令人長(zhǎng)期頭痛的事,而不是光榮的“(奧運(yùn))回家”。 包括奧運(yùn)會(huì)組委會(huì)的首腦在內(nèi)的幾乎所有的希臘高級(jí)官員,都去葡萄牙觀看了決賽,并宣稱(chēng)這次勝利將會(huì)激發(fā)新的奧運(yùn)精神。 當(dāng)安格洛斯·查里斯蒂亞斯在第57分鐘時(shí)接開(kāi)出的角球,以一記頭球得分后,希臘總理科斯塔斯·卡拉曼尼斯在看臺(tái)上跳躍不已。 在某種程度上,這種榮譽(yù)對(duì)于希臘人來(lái)說(shuō)是一種久違的滋味,他們已經(jīng)厭倦了自己國(guó)家無(wú)組織無(wú)紀(jì)律的名聲。 希臘隊(duì)后衛(wèi)特拉亞諾斯·德拉斯說(shuō):“最重要的是我們贏得了別人的尊敬。”在周四對(duì)捷克的半決賽中,他在加時(shí)賽上半場(chǎng)結(jié)束前幾秒鐘進(jìn)球得分。
在這次有16支國(guó)家隊(duì)參加的錦標(biāo)賽開(kāi)始時(shí),希臘看上去甚至不太可能在第一輪中勝出。然而在開(kāi)幕賽中他們以2:1重創(chuàng)葡萄牙,并在第二場(chǎng)比賽中與西班牙隊(duì)打成1:1平。希臘隊(duì)僅在最后一場(chǎng)小組賽中負(fù)于俄羅斯,但他們憑借進(jìn)球數(shù)多于對(duì)手而進(jìn)級(jí)(八強(qiáng))。 在接下來(lái)的比賽中,希臘勢(shì)不可擋。他們沒(méi)有讓對(duì)手進(jìn)一球,便戰(zhàn)勝了強(qiáng)大的法國(guó)隊(duì)、捷克隊(duì)和葡萄牙隊(duì)。 一些報(bào)紙把希臘隊(duì)稱(chēng)之為“希臘眾神”。許多專(zhuān)用包機(jī)將球迷們送往葡萄牙去親眼目睹這一“夢(mèng)想”——正如許多希臘人開(kāi)始這樣稱(chēng)呼這一勝利一樣。 hamlet:村落,小村 war zone:交戰(zhàn)地帶,戰(zhàn)區(qū) grueling:累人的 whiz:發(fā)出呼嘯聲 patrol:巡邏 drape:(隨便地)披上,裝飾 spill over:溢出,發(fā)展成 a corner kick:角球 defender:(球賽中的)防守隊(duì)員 powerhouse:強(qiáng)國(guó),發(fā)電站 dub:授予稱(chēng)號(hào) (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯)
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