 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，車輛把每個城市和鄉村的大街小巷堵得水泄不通。 到處都成了藍色和白色的海洋——那是希臘國旗的顏色。司機們一個勁的摁喇叭，發出刺耳的聲音，人們在露臺上大聲叫喊，燃放的煙花爆竹使一些地方看上去就像戰區一樣。 滿懷自豪和愛國激情的希臘人舉行聚會，慶祝他們的國家隊在周日的決賽中以1：0的成績驚人地戰勝了東道主葡萄牙隊。對于這個為準備下個月即將舉行的奧運會而殫精竭力、耗資不菲的國家來說，它迫切需要這次勝利。 牧羊人在山頂上鳴槍，紅色的火焰從豪華的游艇上呼嘯著沖向天空，已經為奧運會展開全面巡邏的警察們也暫時放松了戒備，互相擁抱并跳起舞來。
“這簡直讓人難以置信！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上奔跑穿梭。一群群的學生身披希臘國旗在一起跳舞。 當希臘的納稅人正在為奧運會的巨額開支抱怨，負責安全的官員們正在為消除國際社會的擔憂而面臨無休止的壓力時，這次強烈的、全國范圍的熱情高漲適時而來。 奧運會組織者們希望這次足球熱能夠一直延續到8月13日至29日的奧運會。在雅典，門票的銷售情況低迷，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期頭痛的事，而不是光榮的“（奧運）回家”。 包括奧運會組委會的首腦在內的幾乎所有的希臘高級官員，都去葡萄牙觀看了決賽，并宣稱這次勝利將會激發新的奧運精神。 當安格洛斯·查里斯蒂亞斯在第57分鐘時接開出的角球，以一記頭球得分后，希臘總理科斯塔斯·卡拉曼尼斯在看臺上跳躍不已。 在某種程度上，這種榮譽對于希臘人來說是一種久違的滋味，他們已經厭倦了自己國家無組織無紀律的名聲。 希臘隊后衛特拉亞諾斯·德拉斯說：“最重要的是我們贏得了別人的尊敬。”在周四對捷克的半決賽中，他在加時賽上半場結束前幾秒鐘進球得分。
在這次有16支國家隊參加的錦標賽開始時，希臘看上去甚至不太可能在第一輪中勝出。然而在開幕賽中他們以2：1重創葡萄牙，并在第二場比賽中與西班牙隊打成1：1平。希臘隊僅在最后一場小組賽中負于俄羅斯，但他們憑借進球數多于對手而進級（八強）。 在接下來的比賽中，希臘勢不可擋。他們沒有讓對手進一球，便戰勝了強大的法國隊、捷克隊和葡萄牙隊。 一些報紙把希臘隊稱之為“希臘眾神”。許多專用包機將球迷們送往葡萄牙去親眼目睹這一“夢想”——正如許多希臘人開始這樣稱呼這一勝利一樣。 hamlet：村落，小村
war zone：交戰地帶，戰區
grueling：累人的
whiz：發出呼嘯聲
patrol：巡邏
drape：(隨便地)披上，裝飾
spill over：溢出，發展成
a corner kick：角球
defender：（球賽中的）防守隊員
powerhouse：強國，發電站
dub：授予稱號 （中國日報網站譯）
|
Updated: 2004-07-07 01:00
