Ronaldo's magic hat-trick

正当美洲杯在秘鲁如火如荼地进行的时候, 一群巴西学生坐了48小时的飞机, 从地球的另一端来到厦大学习针灸. 作为巴西人, 足球是他们生活中不可分割的一部分; 作为针灸学生, 这根银针散发的魅力令他们沉醉不已.

To Brazilians, football is a part of their everyday life. They cannot imagine life without this round rubber ball. So, even after their 48-hour flight to China, some of them still having jet lag, this group of Brazilian students could not resist it anymore. Last Sunday morning, they had a friendly match with the teaching staff team of Xiamen University.

The match began at 8 o'clock. For the first 15 minutes, both teams played with great caution since it was their debut in Xiamen University. Both sides created few opportunities and the players just missed it. Everybody was concentrating on defense. However, as the match went on, the gap between the two sides began unveiling. Although the teaching staff team regularly trains and often plays matches together, they did not show their proficiency at first. Midfields often lost their positions and everybody seemed to be chasing the ball all around the field.

Then, the Brazilians began showing their talent of soccer playing.

The first opportunity came at 17 minutes, when the teaching staff team's defense was caught off-guard for the first time, allowing Ronaldo a shot with great ease that broke the deadlock. 1:0. This was only the start of his performance. 8 minutes later, with the defender out of position, Ronaldo got his second goal. His last goal came with great amusement at 30 minutes, when the ball hit his body and bounced(反弹) into the net. Everybody jumped up and cheered for him. Nobody thought he would have a hat-trick, after all, he is more than 50 years old. 0:3, in merely 30 minutes, the teaching staff team was shocked. They began to pick up their pace. Their efforts were rewarded at 35 minutes, when No.9, Zhang Jianmin, their top striker scored with a long-distance shot. 1:3. This result was held on until the end of the first half.

After a 15-minute short break, the second half began. Although it was still 9 o'clock in the morning, the weather was terribly hot. Everybody's T-shirt was soaked but there was no sign of tiredness. The Brazilian side wanted to keep the result 3:1 to the end of the match, so they tried hard to reinforce the defense, leaving Ronaldo as the only striker. However, the change weakened the team in the midfield. In this way, the teaching staff team could pass the ball to its striker with more ease. At 49 minutes, Zhang Jianmin squandered(浪费) an opportunity inside the 6-yard box. At 53 minutes, it was Xiaofeng's (No. 18) turn to miss a chance. At 55 minutes, the Brazilian side succumbed to the rival's pressure and conceded a second goal. Left-back Hu Gangrong(No. 10) supplied a corner kick for Xiaozheng to score a headshot. Then, 3 minutes later, Xiaofeng doubled his score with a fantastic free kick(任意球). 3:3, perfect result! It seemed that this match was going to end with this result.

But don't forget there was a Ronaldo. Although he was the only striker and could rarely reach the ball during the second half, he was still a great threat to the teaching staff team. At 65 minutes, he passed a good ball to Antonio, who easily scored and changed the result to 4:3. This score enraged the teaching staff team, they put almost all their strength to reinforce the attack, and 5 minutes before the referee ended this match, they finally scored the last shot to end the match in a draw with 4:4.

Man of the match:
Ronaldo



I am overwhelmed; I can't believe I made a hat-trick. The teaching staff team has very good players; they are very strong and fast. Anyway, this final result is not important. Although China and Brazil are the most distanced countries in the world, we are much closer after this friendly match.

Captain of the teaching staff team:
Zhang Jian'an



At first, we did not take them seriously; we thought we'd defeat them with great ease. Anyway, we made a mistake. Brazilians seem born with some sort of soccer talent, we hope we can have more matches with them and understand more about each other.

 

 

Football & Acupuncture



Antonio Ricardo Madeira Zamprouio is from Marilia city, Sao Paulo state( 圣保罗州)

Q: Hi, Antonio, is this the first time you have come to China?
A: Yes, this is my first time in China and of course in Xiamen. It's amazing that we took a 48-hour flight and finally arrived in this beautiful place.

Q: What do you think about the city?
A: I never heard about Xiamen before but when I got here I found that it's a very beautiful city with blue sea and golden beach. It's a cozy(温馨的) city that makes me feel at home. The campus here is gorgeous, too!

Q: Xiamen is a famous tourism city in China, have you been around the city?
A: Nope, but we had a bus tour yesterday and went to the downtown of the city, like Zhongshan Road. Fabulous! And we had some Chinese food, which was very delicious. I like it so much.

Q: I heard that you have already studied at an acupuncture(针灸)school in Brazil. How long have you been learning this?
A: Actually, I have been learning acupuncture for some time. Let me see, 3 years.

Q: Is the needle therapy(针灸) popular among Brazilians?
A: Well, in the past, frankly to say, needle therapy was not so convincing to Brazilians. But things changed a lot in the past few years, especially after more and more people have been cured by this method. So nowadays, more Brazilians are turning to this needle therapy to relieve their pain and cure diseases.
Besides, to some extent Brazilians are similar to Chinese people; they are very spiritual. We tend to believe that something cannot be explained by science, like acupuncture. That may be another reason why needle therapy is gaining vast popularity in Brazil nowadays.

Q: So, acupuncture must have a very bright future in Brazil?
A: Yeah, you can say that again. That's the reason why I chose to learn needle therapy 3 years ago. I'm quite sure I made the right decision.

Q: What's your plan after you graduate from the school?
A: To be a doctor of acupuncture, of course. This is a very good job. After I go back to Brazil, I'll do my best to let more people know about acupuncture.

Q: Ok, let's turn to football. You must be a football fan? Hah, which team do you like most?
A: Well, Brazilians are born footballers, haw-haw. I like football, but I am a bad player (Antonio lowered his voice). Hah. I'd always play like a goalkeeper(守门员). Santos(桑托斯队), of course, is my favorite team.

Q: I heard that there are a lot of boys playing soccer on the street in Brazil. Have you been one of them?
A: Hah, of course, almost every Brazilian has played soccer on the street. In fact, not only boys, but girls are playing football whenever they can.

Q: Kind of cool. So who is your favorite football star?
A: Ronaldo, he is the best. I mean , the one in Real Madrid(皇家马德里), not in my team, hah (Antonio lowered his voice again). Besides, Romario(罗马里奥)and Ronaldinho(小罗纳尔多). They are all my heroes.

Q: Copa America is being held in Peru these days, what's your expectation about the Brazil national team?
A: Champion, of course! Brazil national team is the strongest. Although we only fixed to the World Cup, paying less attention to the Copa America(美洲杯), and didn't send our best players to this tournament, we are still the best.

Q: China national team had matches with Brazil national team twice, once in the 2002 World Cup, and another one in Guangzhou last year. Did you watch these two games? What do you think about the China team?
A: Well, I can't remember very clearly about these two matches. But I do have some ideas about the Chinese players. They are very strong and fast. Although there is still a long way before the China soccer team can reach the top, I have a strong belief that China represents the future, not only in economy, but also in football. I'm sure.

Q: Thanks a lot, Antonio, I hope you enjoy your stay in Xiamen.
A: Thank you.

 

 

Matches of Copa America

7/15 08:45
Group C
Brazil - Paraguay
7/18 06:00
Quarter-finals(I)
A2-B2
7/18 08:00
Quarter-finals(III)
A1-2nd Best 3rd
7/19 04:00
Quarter-finals(VI)
C1-Best 3rd
7/19 09:00
Quarter-finals(II)
B1-C2
7/21 08:45
Semifinals(V)
Winner of Match I-Winner of Match III
7/22 08:45
Semifinals(VI)
Winner of Match II-Winner of Match IV
7/25 08:45
Third place match
Loser of Match V -Loser of Match VI
7/26 04:00
Final　　Winner of Match
V-Winner of Match VI