STEWART DOWNING is a man on a mission – three years after fearing his chance of playing for Liverpool FC had gone for good.
缘分是上天早已注定的，有些东西，是你的，终究会是你的，不是你的强求也没用。三年了，安菲尔德一直让唐宁魂牵梦萦，现在他终于美梦成真了。
In the summer of 2008 the winger was heavily linked with a move to Anfield but in the end Rafa Benitez opted to sign Albert Riera from Espanyol for £8million instead.
2008年的夏天，唐宁曾经是那么的接近于加盟红军，可是落花有意，流水无情，命运捉弄了唐宁，当时的主帅贝尼特斯最后选择了800万买进西班牙人队的里埃拉。
Downing remained at Middlesbrough and suffered relegation with his home town club before making a £12million switch to Aston Villa a year later.
唐宁最终留在了米德尔斯堡，并和母队一起经历了降级的厄运，一年后，他以1200万英镑的身价加盟了阿斯顿维拉。
Two seasons in the Midlands saw his stock rise considerably and when Liverpool returned with a firm offer last month Downing belatedly joined the Reds.
在维拉的两个赛季，唐宁的身价暴增，这个夏天，红军在花费了巨额的代价后才终于成就了这段迟来的姻缘。
“There was a bit of interest a few years back but they decided to take other options in the end with Riera and those type of people,” Downing said.
唐宁说“几年前，红军曾经对我感兴趣，可是最后他们选择了里埃拉。”
“That’s fair enough – that was the manager’s choice. I was obviously disappointed at the time because Liverpool is a tremendous football club and someone you would always want to play for.
“最后教练的选择决定了我的命运，这很公平，当然，我当时像刚失恋一样沮丧，利物浦是一个伟大的俱乐部，是我一生梦寐以求加盟的俱乐部”
“I’m just so glad this opportunity came back around. As soon as I heard there was interest I wanted to come here, especially with Kenny Dalglish being manager.”
“幸好，上天又给了我一次机会，当我听到红军对我有意的消息，我欣喜若狂，我迫不急待的希望加盟安菲尔德，尤其时希望能在国王的指导下踢球。”
Downing spoke with England team-mate Steven Gerrard before the deal was completed but his mind was already made up.
在正式签约前，唐宁曾经和他的国家队队友杰拉德有过一次谈话，可是早在那次谈话之前，他早就决心已定，此生非安菲尔德不去。
“Nobody needed to sell the club to me,” he said.
“不需要任何人向我推荐这家俱乐部。”他说。
“It’s Liverpool Football Club – there’s a great pull.
“这是利物浦，仅仅是这个名字就很有诱惑力。”
“Steven said there had been troubles in the past with the old owners but now you can see investment coming into the team. He told me about the place and what Kenny is like to work with.
“杰拉德跟我说起吉列特、希克斯时代利物浦的那些悲惨往事，但现在利物浦有了一位世界上最美的老板娘，情况就完全不一样了，俱乐部拥有重塑辉煌的决心，你可以看到他们为俱乐部注入的大量资金。杰拉德还向我介绍了利物浦的风土人情，告诉我国王是如何的和蔼可亲。”
“I’ve found out for myself in the last few weeks that he’s brilliant to work with. Training has been really good.
“通过几周的接触，我发现和国王相处的感觉很美妙，而俱乐部的训练也很好。”
“He wants players to respect this football club and do well for it. He has invested heavily to bring me here and I want to do well for him.
“他希望球员能尊重俱乐部，为俱乐部而战。他花费重金将我带到这里，我必须尽我所能报答他。”
“There’s a great squad here and I’m looking forward to getting started
“这是一个伟大的团队，我希望能迎来一个完美的全新开始。”
Downing, who is set to line up against Valencia today, arrived at Anfield on the back of the best season of his professional career.
在维拉，唐宁度过了他职业生涯中的最完美的一个赛季，接着他来到了安菲尔德，今天他将在对瓦伦西亚的比赛中出场
He was Villa’s standout performer as he plundered eight goals and contributed nine assists.
上个赛季，他是维拉的最佳球员，他整个赛季打进8球，助攻9次。
“When I went to Aston Villa I missed a big chunk of the first season due to injury,” he said.
唐宁说。“在维拉的首个赛季，我因伤错过了太多的比赛。”
“People didn’t see a lot of me so I knew last season was a big one for me. I needed to hit the ground running and play consistently well.
“球迷们没有看到我有太多的表现，所以我知道上赛季我必须表现好。我在场上积极奔跑，保持良好状态。”
“It was difficult at times with the situation we were in but I just tried to get my head down and get on with it. It went quite well for me personally.”
“有段时间，我们在降级区附近徘徊，感觉糟透了，而我惟一能做的是埋头苦练，积极表现，我觉得自己的表现还不错。”
At the end of last season Downing claimed his career was at a “crossroads” and revealed his ambition of playing Champions League football.
上个赛季行将结束时，唐宁又一次站在了人生的十字路口，他渴望能踢上欧冠联赛。
That’s something Liverpool aren’t able to offer this season but he’s confident he will grace Europe’s top club competition in a Reds shirt.
这是本赛季的红军无法满足的，但唐宁对未来充满了希望，他深信，他可以身穿红军战袍重返欧冠联赛。
“I was asked if I thought I could play in the Champions League and I said if the opportunity came I would like to,” he said.
“有人问我是否渴望踢欧冠比赛，我说如果有机会我当然愿意。”
“I think I can make that step up and achieve that with Liverpool.
“我想我可以与利物浦一起完成重塑辉煌的梦想。”
“There’s a buzz back around the place. The manager has invested in the team and the owners are backing him all the way.
“现在球队里众志成城，球队老板给予国王足够的支持，球队投入了大量的资金改善阵容。”
“There’s a good mix of foreign lads and British players and a great atmosphere around the place.
“在俱乐部里，无论是本土球员还是外国球员都相处得很好，气氛很融洽。”
“The people I’ve met around the city have been great. Everywhere you go fans want to know what’s happening. I’m still living in a hotel at the moment but I feel settled already.
“这个城市的足球氛围无以伦比，无论你身在哪里，球迷们都关注你的一举一动，虽然我现在仍然住在酒店里，可是我感觉我已经完全融入了这里。”
“I really feel this club is on the way up. I’m really happy and want to have success here.”
“我能感觉到俱乐部正在重新崛起，我很开心，希望我能在这里获得成功。”
The 27-year-old has been bought to provide the kind of quality from wide areas which the Reds have sorely lacked in recent years.
近几年，红军在边路一直疲软，利物浦引进27岁的他，也是希望能提高球队的边路质量
Downing is relishing the prospect of linking up with strike duo Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez.
唐宁很憧憬与锋线双子星卡罗尔和苏亚雷斯的合作。
“Kenny has not really spoken to me about what position I’m going to play,” he said.
“国王还没有明确告诉我我在场上的位置。”
“But I can play on the left or the right and I can fit in whether we go wide or play narrow.
“我可以胜任左右两个边路，无论是边路还是满场飞奔我都能胜任。
“Liverpool haven’t had that many wingers recently but the club was renowned for their wingers back in the day and hopefully I can do well here and provide.
“近些年，利物浦缺乏好的边锋，而过去，红军的边路人才辈出，希望我可以在这里获得成功，能给球队提供帮助。”
“I know Andy quite well having played a few games with him for England and in pre-season here.
“通过在英格兰国家队以及几场季前赛，我现在对卡罗尔已经很了解。”
“We know his strengths and if we can get the ball in the box then nine times out of 10 he will get on the end of it. He’s a big target.
“我们都知道他很强壮，很有实力，如果我们能把球送入禁区十次，他能抢到九次，在禁区里，他是一个很显眼的目标。”
“I’ve not played with Luis but I watched him in the Copa America and he’s a top player.
“我还没有机会和苏亚雷斯一起合作过，当我看了他在美洲杯的比赛，他真是一个顶级球员。”
“Those two suit each other and we’ve also got Dirk Kuyt who can play up top.
“他们俩会是一对完美的组合，当然，我们还有库伊特可以胜任前锋的位置。”
“I think if we all work at it we can strike up good partnerships.”
“我想，如果我们能同心协力，那么我们将成为一个伟大的团队。”
Liverpool may have paid out £20million to secure his service but Downing doesn’t expect the transfer fee to guarantee him a starting spot.
利物浦花费了大约2000万镑引进，但唐宁知道高昂的身价并不能保障他能获得首发位置
Dalglish has a glut of midfield options and the new boy says that will spur everyone on.
国王在中场有很多选择，唐宁觉得存在竞争只能刺激所有人去努力表现出自己的实力
“You do wonder what team Kenny is going to select when the league starts because there are a lot of good players here,” he said. “It’s difficult to pick a starting XI.
“人们总在猜测国王将在新赛季如何选择首发阵容，这里优秀的球员太多了，”他说，“要选择首发11人是很难的。”
“My first challenge is to get in the side. The money that was paid for me won’t mean anything to Kenny.
“我要做的是首先努力进入大名单，国王不会因为我的高昂身价而保障我的首发位置。”
“He will just see a player he wants in that position and I don’t think he will be bothered about the price. His job is to get the best out of his players and if you don’t perform you won’t be in the team – it’s as simple as that.
“他会根据战术需要来选择上场球员，我不认为身价会是他确定首发名单时的考虑因素，他的工作就是挑选状态最好的球员上场，如果你不努力表现，你就不会得到上场机会，事实就这么简单。”
“I’m certainly not relying on my price tag to get me into the team. I haven’t even thought about the fee.
“我不希望自己依赖自己的高身价来进入球队出场名单，足球场上是需要实力说话的，我不会被自己的身价所困扰。”
“I’m just excited to come here and play and I just want to carry on my form from Villa."
“能来到这里我很开心，我希望能在这里延续在维拉的良好状态。”
发表于 5-8-2011 01:57 AM
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