The Football Feast in Africa 等

The Football Feast in Africa

This is the first time the FIFA World Cup has been hosted by an African country. The local residents believe that it is a good opportunity for people to re-look at this continent.

Almost all of the world-class teams have got qualification for the tournament， such as the national teams of Brazil， Argentina， Germany， Italy， etc. There are also three Asian teams: Japan， South Korea and North Korea. We can appreciate the brilliant performances of those famous footballers like Kaka， C. Ronaldo， Messi and so on.

Besides， the World Cup has some new faces this time in South Africa—Slovakia and Serbia will make their debut independently for the first time. Before 1993， Slovakia was part of the former Czechoslovakia which had participated in the FIFA World Cup eight times overall. Serbia joined in the tournament as part of the former Yugoslavia in 1990s， and then it formed part of Serbia and Montenegro which took part in the 2006 World Cup.

Which team will finally lift the trophy? Who will win the Golden Boot? The World Cup will be an unforgettable football festival and let’s enjoy it!

★ The Trophy

The FIFA World Cup Trophy is a gold trophy which was made of 18 carat gold with a malachite base， and it describes two human figures holding up the Earth. The winner of the World Cup can keep it for 4 years until the next tournament opens.

★ The Official Mascot

The official mascot is a little leopard with green hair， called “Zakumi”. The name is a composition of “Za”， standing for South Africa， and “kumi” which translates into “10” in various languages across Africa.

★ The Match Ball

Each FIFA World Cup has a special match ball. The match ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is named “Jabulani”， which means “bringing joy to everyone” in the Zulu language.

★ The Theme Song

The official theme song is Wavin’ Flag sung by an African-Canadian. It is full of African amorous feelings and expresses the deep love for the poor but beautiful land.

★ Football Words

About the player—

coach 教練referee 裁判lineman 邊裁

captain 隊長forward / striker 前鋒midfielder 前衛

center back 中后衛 left back 左后衛right back 右后衛

goalkeeper 守門員

About the skill—

kick-off 開球pass 傳球 shoot 射門

header頭球penalty kick 點球 free kick 任意球

corner 角球 throw-in 擲界外球goal kick 球門球

stopping 停球chesting 胸部停球hat-trick 帽子戲法

About the match—

handball 手球own goal 烏龍球offside 越位

foul犯規 yellow card 黃牌red card 紅牌

goal 進球send a player off 判罰出場

half-time interval 中場休息injury time 傷停補時extra time 加時賽

elimination match 淘汰賽group round robin 小組賽

eighth-final 八分之一決賽quarter-final 四分之一決賽

semi-final 半決賽 final match 決賽

Sidelights on the FIFA World Cup

★ The Biggest Winner

The Brazil national team is the only team which has participated in every FIFA World Cup. It has won the championship totally five times (in 1958，

1962，1970，1994 and 2002). Italy ranks the second as has won four times in all (in 1934， 1938， 1982 and 2006).

★ The Best Scorer

Brazilian footballer Ronaldo has scored the most goals in the tournaments so far. In the 16th， 17th and 18th FIFA World Cup， he scored 15 goals altogether.

If the German footballer Klose could score another 5 goals this time in South Africa， he will share the record with Ronaldo.

★ The First Co-hosted World Cup

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was the first time the event had been hosted by two countries. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia. Brazil beat Germany with the score 2-0 in the final and won the trophy for the fifth time.

★ The Most Popular Theme Song

“Go， go， go! Ale， ale， ale ...” Are you familiar with this song? It is the most widely spread theme song named The Cup of Life sung by Ricky Martin in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.

★ The Saddest Team

It’s not the team which has been eliminated in the first round， or the team which missed the trophy. The saddest one should be the Serbia and Montenegro national football team in the 2006 World Cup， during which Montenegro declared independence. Thus， it became the last time that the newly independent states of Serbia and Montenegro competed under the same flag.

★ The Saddest Footballer

It must be Roberto Baggio. During the 1994 FIFA World Cup， he led the Italy national team to the final after a disappointing start. But in the final match against Brazil， which ended 0-0 after extra time， he missed a penalty kick so that the Brazilians won the title. The scene of his desperate figure and tearful blue eyes does move a lot of fans even now.

★ The Most Legendary Coach

Milutinovic is the only person who has coached five different teams in the World Cup: Mexico (1986)， Costa Rica (1990)， the United States (1994)， Nigeria (1998)， and China (2002). He is also the only coach to have taken four different teams beyond the first round， except for failing to do so with China.

★ The Most Impressive Way

to Celebrate Goals

In the 2002 World Cup， the German footballer Klose gave us a deep impression not only by his five headers but also by his flip for celebrating the goals. But the medical expert warns that people may get hurt by flipping if they’re not gymnasts.

★ The Most Popular Team

for Female Fans

Without doubt， the Italy national team appeals to the global female fans， not only for the sophisticated skills， but also for the players’ handsome appearances.

P.S. In 2002， the China national football team made its first appearance in the FIFA World Cup. Although they failed to score a goal and lost all the matches， just qualifying for the tournament is a great honor. At the beginning of 2010， China won the East Asian Football Championship. Come on， the China national football team!

閱讀中，你遇到“攔路虎”了嗎?請參考

feast 盛宴continent 大陸tournament 錦標賽

brilliant 出色的debut 初次亮相Slovakia 斯洛伐克

Serbia 塞爾維亞Czechoslovakia 捷克斯洛伐克

Yugoslavia 南斯拉夫Serbia and Montenegro 塞爾維亞和黑山

trophy 獎杯Golden Boot 金靴獎carat 克拉

malachite 孔雀石mascot 吉祥物leopard 豹

Zulu language 祖魯語African amorous feelings 非洲風情

sidelight 花絮Ronaldo 羅納爾多Klose 克洛澤

co-host 合作舉辦eliminate 淘汰

Roberto Baggio 羅伯特·巴喬legendary 傳奇的

Milutinovic米盧蒂諾維奇Costa Rica 哥斯達黎加Nigeria 尼日利亞

flip 空翻gymnast 體操運動員

appeal to 對……有吸引力sophisticated 老練的