歐洲盃 UEFA European Championship

The King of Prediction

歐洲盃預測帝–“巫師豬”

Remember Paul, the legendary octopus who correctly predicted the outcome of the 2010 World Cup? Two years later in Kiev, a psychic pig takes over where Paul the Octopus has left off. Khryak is the latest addition to the Ukrainian squad to tip the winners of the Euro 2012 matches. Although not the most photogenic among the psychic, organizers say his telepathic abilities are real. Kiev Euro 2012 PR Director, Official Kiev Euro 2012 Fan Zone Pr Director Svitlana Bovkun, saying (Russian) “We checked over two weeks his ability to predict outcomes of local and international matches and well… he has a psychic ability, we would not have taken him otherwise. We’ll see how accurate he is in just a few days.” Khryak’s powers will be officially tested on June 8th when the European soccer championships kick off in Poland and Ukraine. And even if Khryak miss-sniffs the winner of a match, organizers promise that he’ll be safe from the butcher’s knife. Elly Park, Reuters.

你還記得傳奇章魚保羅正確預測2010年世界盃結果嗎？兩年後，在Kiev，一隻神算豬接管了保羅的任務。神算豬Khryak（赫里亞克）是烏克蘭隊最近引進來預測歐洲盃賽果的。儘管它不是最上鏡的，但組織者說他感應能力是真實的。2012年歐洲盃Kiev球迷區公關總監Bovkun Svitlana說：“我們對它預測當地及國際比賽的能力進行了兩個禮拜的核查，他有通靈的能力，否則我們也不會選它，再過幾天我們將看看它預測的準確性。Khryak的能力將在歐洲足球錦標賽波蘭與烏克的開場賽中進行官方測試。組織者承諾，即使Khryak未能準確預測比賽結果，它也不會成爲我們的盤中餐。在前六場比賽中，烏克蘭預言豬曾準確命中了4場，但在隨後的小組賽中神奇不再，逐漸跌下神壇；不過進入淘汰賽階段，預言豬雖然受到了騷擾，但是神奇再現。

The curse of the European champions

預測之路–歐洲盃冠軍的魔咒

Spain will begin UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying in high spirits as both reigning champions and FIFA World Cup holders, but if they are to triumph in Poland and Ukraine, they must perform an unprecedented feat.

作爲歐洲盃和世界盃的雙料冠軍，西班牙隊將充滿鬥志地投入到歐洲盃賽事中。若是他們想在本屆盃賽上奪冠，他們必將完成一項前無古人的壯舉。

While there has been a successful title defence in every other existing UEFA national-team championship – three for men, three for women plus one for futsal – no country has triumphed in the flagship tournament twice in succession. In fact, by the time the final is played in Kyiv on 1 July it will be 36 years since the previous occasion the holders even made it that far.

在歐足聯的各種級別的國家隊賽事（包括三項男足賽事，三項女足賽事和一項五人制足球比賽）中，有些球隊能實現衛冕。但是沒有一個國家能連續兩屆在歐洲盃這項最頂級的賽事上奪得冠軍。事實上，在今年7月1日在基輔進行的決賽前，整整36年不曾有衛冕球隊能在下一屆盃賽中打進決賽。

The first attempt to retain the European title was nearly a success. Having won the inaugural 1960 edition, the Soviet Union travelled to Spain four years later and reached the final, only to lose 2-1 to the hosts with a goal six minutes from time. As holders, Spain themselves and then Italy, the 1968 champions, missed out on the following four-team final tournament after suffering two-legged quarter-final defeats.

歐洲盃首屆冠軍嘗試衛冕的努力幾近成功。前蘇聯贏得了1960年的杯賽冠軍，四年後他們在西班牙打入了決賽，他們在開場6分鐘打入一個進球，最後僅僅以1-2負於東道主。而奪冠的西班牙隊和1968年的冠軍意大利隊在之後一屆盃賽中，在兩回合的1/4比賽中都失利，錯失進入四強的機會。

This is a uniquely European phenomenon with other senior continental competitions featuring at least one successful defence at some point – in fact the same team triumphed at the first two editions of the CONMEBOL Copa América (Uruguay), CAF Africa Cup of Nations (Egypt) and AFC Asia Cup (Korea Republic).

這是一個和奇特的歐洲盃現象。在其他的洲際大賽中，至少有一個冠軍能成功實現衛冕 —— 事實上，烏拉圭就在成功地連拿兩屆美洲盃（最早的兩屆），埃及衛冕過非洲杯，而韓國衛冕過亞洲盃。