EVERY time Germany wins football's World Cup, some pundits assert, the country takes a turn for the better. Thus 1954 saw the start of the economic miracle, 1974 the birth of modern Germany and 1990 unification. The causality seems implausible, although some economists are talking up the 2006 tournament, which starts this weekend, and is being staged (like 1974's) in Germany. A clearer link exists between the country and its football association (DFB), since they display similar strengths and weaknesses.

　　权威人士断言，每逢德国赢得世界杯足球赛冠军，这个国家的状况就会好转，例如，1954年开始的经济奇迹，1974年现代化德国的诞生以及1990年实现统一。某些经济学家现在正大肆宣扬本周末将在德国举行（与1974年一样）的2006年世界杯（译者按：talk up意为“to make something appear more important, interesting, successful etc than it really is”，即“大加吹捧，大肆宣扬”），但这里面的因果联系看似并不可信，倒是该国与其足协（DFB）之间存在一种较为明显的联系，因为它们有着相似的优缺点。