美国人入主英超球队

American Chairs English Football Champions

美国人入主英超球队

 

When Russian oil magnate Roman Abramovich took over English Premier¹ League team Chelsea in 2004, very little was known about his allegiance to the southwest London club. But the American man he appointed to be the club's chairman had long been an enthusiastic supporter of the team. 59 years old New York native Bruce Buck², has been a season ticket holder³ at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge Stadium since 1990. Now the high-powered lawyer gets to play a big role in leading the team he loves.

 

Bruce Buck: In terms of Chelsea management, I'm probably the only one that is actually historically a Chelsea supporter.

 

For the second consecutive⁴ year, Buck has brought his team to his home country for a series of exhibition games. On Sunday, the English Premier champions beat Italian powers AC Milan 1-0 at Gillette Stadium outside Boston, Massachusetts. On Thursday, Chelsea will play Major League Soccer (MLS) champions DC United outside Washington. This coming Sunday, Chelsea will face Milan again, this time at Giants Stadium outside New York City.

 

Buck's trip across the Atlantic has given him the chance to assess the state of American soccer. His biggest criticism of MLS is its salary structure, which restricts each team's payroll⁵ to approximately $1.8 million dollars. That has prevented teams from signing the higher caliber⁶ of players that flock to the big European leagues.

 

Bruce Buck: The salary cap, generally speaking, is a good idea because it saves the owners from each other, if that's the right way of phrasing it. But it does prevent you from getting the best players, and there's got to be some balance between the salary cap and getting the right players.

 

The salary cap is very much a creation of American sports, and while Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck might not like it, he has brought many other American sports principles to England with him. Chief among them have been methods of promoting a team's brand and image, especially through merchandise.

 

Bruce Buck: Americans, we're very good at promoting. We're very good at the glitz and glamour⁷ of sports.

 

But Buck adds that as important as promoting a team is, results on the field are always more important.

 

Bruce Buck: Football is first. No matter how great your promotional people are, and how beautiful your replica⁸ shirts look, you're not going to sell any of them if your team is last in the league.

 

Buck also gave his opinion on another American who is trying to have an impact on English football, Malcolm Glazer⁹. The owner of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers has bought a controlling stake in one of Chelsea's biggest rivals, Manchester United. But the purchase has sparked controversy¹⁰ because Glazer and his family are not perceived to have the same passion for the team as its many fans worldwide.

 

Buck said, however, that the Glazers need to be given a fair shake.

 

Bruce Buck: Let's give them a chance. Let's wait and see. They are a very wealthy family. They've been very successful in business, they've been very successful in sports, and I would very well expect that their interests and the interests of the fans of Manchester United will be consistent with each other.

 

Buck added that he thinks the fans' hostility¹¹ towards the Glazers has nothing to do with their nationality.

 

Bruce Buck: I don't think the resistance to the Glazers is an anti-American thing. I'm not even sure it's an anti-foreigner thing. But what the fans seem most concerned about is that it's an unknown quantity and they've put a substantial amount of debt on the club.

 

Buck also defended his boss, who faced similar criticisms when he took over Chelsea last year.

 

Bruce Buck: Roman Abramovich and Chelsea Football Club is not a passing fancy. He is a very dedicated¹² supporter of Chelsea. This past season we had 65 or 66 matches all over Europe and the UK, and if he missed three I'd be surprised -- but he probably missed two.

 

If things continue to go well on and off the field for Chelsea, the team will have many more fans as dedicated as its American chairman Bruce Buck in the years to come.

 

Jonathan Tannenwald, VOA Sports, Washington.

 

注释：

magnate [5mA^neit] n. 巨头，富豪

Chelsea [5tFelsi] n. 切尔西，这里指英国著名足球俱乐部

allegiance [E5li:dVEns] n. 忠贞，效忠

enthusiastic [in7Wju:zi5Astik] adj. 热心的

consecutive [kEn5sekjutiv] adj. 连续的，联贯的

payroll [5peirEul] n. 薪水册

caliber [5kAlibE(r)] n. 才干，能力

merchandise [5mE:tFEndaiz] v. 商业交易

glitz [glits] n. 闪光，炫目

glamour [5^lAmE] n. 魔力，魅力

replica [5replikE] n. 复制品，印制品

rival [5raivEl] n. 竞争者，对手

controversy [5kCntrEvE:si] n. 争论，辩论

hostility [hCs5tiliti] n. 敌意

substantial [sEb5stAnFEl] adj. 实质的，真实的

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

3 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

4 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

5 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

6 caliber   

n.能力；水准

参考例句：

• They ought to win with players of such high caliber.他们选手的能力这样高,应该获胜。
• We are always trying to improve the caliber of our schools.我们一直在想方设法提高我们学校的水平。

7 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

8 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

9 glazer   

n.上釉工人，加光工人

参考例句：

• There's no set figure from the Glazer family [for transfers]. 格拉泽家族没有设置限制。 来自互联网
• The Glazer family have insisted that Manchester United are not for sale. 格雷泽家族已经强调曼彻斯特联是非卖品。 来自互联网

10 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

11 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

12 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。