As a commentator on international politics, it is naturally tempting to draw some trite geopolitical lesson from the World Cup. There are those who believe that the unexpected early elimination of France and Italy at this year's tournament is a parable of the decline of Europe. A commentator in El País, a Spanish paper, claims that England's loss to Germany over the weekend reflects Thatcherism's demoralising effects on the English proletariat. (And there was I thinking that it had something to do with lumbering centre-backs and a disallowed goal.)
作為國際政治評論員，我自然會(huì)忍不住想從世界杯中總結(jié)一些老套的地緣政治教訓(xùn)。有些人認(rèn)為，法國和意大利隊(duì)在今年的世界杯上出人意料地早早被淘汰，象征著歐洲的衰落。西班牙報(bào)紙《國家報(bào)》(El País)的評論員宣稱，英格蘭敗給德國，反映了撒切爾主義消磨英國工人階級意志的不利影響。（而我看來，行動(dòng)遲緩的中后衛(wèi)和那粒無效進(jìn)球要負(fù)一定責(zé)任。）