外國足球運(yùn)動員放棄護(hù)照成為中國人

外國足球運(yùn)動員放棄護(hù)照成為中國人

In January 2019, Nico Yennaris gave back his British passport, moved to Beijing and became a naturalized Chinese citizen. Aged 26, he adopted a new name.

2019年1月，尼克耶納里斯歸還了他的英國護(hù)照，搬到了北京，成為了中國公民。26歲時(shí)，他取了一個新名字。

From now on, he would be called Li Ke.

從現(xiàn)在起，他將被稱為李科。

Growing up in east London, Yennaris had perhaps the most British of boyhood dreams: he wanted to become a famous soccer star. Born in David Beckham's stomping ground of Leytonstone to a Cypriot father and a Chinese mother.

耶納里斯在倫敦東部長大，他的童年夢想可能是最具英國特色的:他想成為一名著名的足球明星。耶納里斯出生在大衛(wèi)•貝克漢姆的家鄉(xiāng)萊頓斯通，父親是塞浦路斯人，母親是中國人。

Aged 7, he joined the Arsenal FC Youth Academy, and went on to play for the England national side at youth level. But after a series of injuries cost him a prestigious scholarship, Yennaris opted for another route to stardom.

7歲時(shí)，他加入了阿森納足球俱樂部青年學(xué)院，之后他為英格蘭國家青年隊(duì)效力。但是在一系列的傷病讓他失去了一份享有聲望的獎學(xué)金，并被降級到低級聯(lián)賽的更衣室之后，耶納里斯選擇了另一條通往明星之路。

He looked to China.

他瞄準(zhǔn)了中國。

Earlier this year, Yennaris signed with Beijing Sinobo Guoan FC, a club that is now worth more than Italy's AC Milan. Within months, he became the first naturalized player to score in the Chinese Super League (CSL) and to play for China's national side, in a game against the Philippines.

今年早些時(shí)候，耶納里斯與北京國安足球俱樂部簽約，這家俱樂部現(xiàn)在的價(jià)值已經(jīng)超過了意大利米蘭的AC俱樂部。幾個月后，他成為中國超級聯(lián)賽首位入籍球員，并在對陣菲律賓的比賽中為中國國家隊(duì)效力。

Yennaris is not alone. In January, John Hou Saeter, who also has a Chinese mother, renounced his Norwegian passport to become Chinese and join Beijing Guoan. And they could soon be joined by other foreign-born players . Two Brazilians and one Portuguese transfers are tipped to join the Chinese national squad in time for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Players who are not ethnically Chinese can play for the Chinese side under FIFA eligibility rules after five years of residency in that country.

耶納里斯并不是一個人。今年1月，同樣有一位中國母親的侯澤特放棄了挪威護(hù)照，加入了北京國安。而且他們很快就會有其他外國出生的球員加入。兩名巴西人和一名葡萄牙人有望在2022年卡塔爾世界杯之前加入中國國家隊(duì)。根據(jù)國際足聯(lián)(FIFA)的參賽資格規(guī)定，非華裔球員可以在中國國家隊(duì)效力5年。

Their decision says as much about the rising power of a Chinese passport as it does about the nation's monied sporting landscape. Perhaps more importantly, though, for a country in the grip of a Han nationalist movement, it also raises important questions around identity.

他們的決定既反映了中國護(hù)照實(shí)力的不斷增強(qiáng)，也反映了中國輝煌的體育前景。不過，或許更重要的是，對于一個處于漢族民族主義運(yùn)動控制下的國家來說，這也引發(fā)了有關(guān)身份認(rèn)同的重要問題。

The first Swedish footballer in China

首位在中國踢球的瑞典球員

In the 1990s, the Swedish game was full of part-time professionals, the pay was bad and Blohm says he was yearning for adventure. Professional football was only in its third year in China when Blohm began playing in the Jia-A season, but Blohm says the stadiums often attracted 35,000 fans, although that was short of their 55,000 capacity.

在20世紀(jì)90年代，瑞典的足球運(yùn)動充斥著兼職專業(yè)人士，工資很低，布盧姆說他渴望冒險(xiǎn)。職業(yè)足球進(jìn)入中國才第三個年頭，布洛姆就開始參加中國足球甲級聯(lián)賽(Jia-A season)，但布洛姆表示，體育場經(jīng)常吸引3.5萬名球迷，盡管他們的容量不足5.5萬人。

By the summer of 2008, Beijing was dropping an astonishing $40 billion on the most expensive Olympic Games ever held. Its athletes won 51 gold medals at the Games, the most of any nation in the competition. And China was now the world's third-largest economy, behind Japan and the United States.

到2008年夏天，北京投入了驚人的400億美元，舉辦了有史以來最昂貴的奧運(yùn)會。中國運(yùn)動員在奧運(yùn)會上獲得51枚金牌，是所有參賽國家中獲得金牌最多的。中國現(xiàn)在是世界第三大經(jīng)濟(jì)體，僅次于日本和美國。