Wei Guoqiang has been following Chinese football for more than 20 years but reasons to celebrate have been few and far between.

　　20年来，魏国强（音译）的目光一直没有离开过中国足球，但值得庆祝的理由却是少之又少。



　　"It's like the Chinese saying; 'you always think your children are the most beautiful no matter how ugly they are,'" the 30-year-old education specialist told CNN in Beijing.

　　“中国有句俗话：‘母不嫌子丑，狗不嫌家贫，’ 我对中国足球也是这样的心情。” 这位30岁的教育专家在北京接受CNN采访时说。

　　Dogged by poor performances on the pitch and corruption scandals off it, the Chinese game has been far from beautiful.

　　绿茵场上球员的欠佳表现和一些贪腐丑闻，中国足球一直不被看好。

　　But die-hard soccer fans like Wei finally have something to cheer about.

　　但是像魏先生这样的死忠球迷终于等到了这样一个欢呼雀跃的时刻。

　　Guangzhou Evergrande, a soccer team based in the southern city of Guangzhou, became Asian champions on Saturday, beating South Korea's FC Seoul to claim China's first continental title in 23 years in a stadium packed to capacity with fans wearing the team's blood-red colors.

　　11月9日星期六，来自南方城市广州的俱乐部球队广州恒大，在坐无虚席、尽是恒大鲜红球迷的主场击败韩国首尔FC，荣获亚冠联赛冠军，这也是中国足球在23年以来夺得第一个亚洲冠军。

　　"They are persistent and never surrender," said Wei, who watched the match on television at home.

　　“他们坚持不懈，从不言弃，” 魏先生说，他在家中的电视机前观看了比赛直播。

　　Evergrande will now play in the FIFA Club World Cup in December, pitting the team against the likes of German giants and reigning European champions Bayern Munich. Previous winners of the tournament include Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona.

　　今年12月恒大还将出征国际足联世界俱乐部杯，有机会与欧冠强队、德国劲旅拜仁慕尼黑场上较量。世俱杯之前的冠军得主有切尔西、曼联和巴塞罗那等。

　　China last tasted international success at club level in 1990 when Liaoning lifted the trophy of the now expired Asian Club Championship. Its national team has also punched below the country's weight.

　　中国最近一次品尝国际俱乐部级的成功是在1990年，辽宁队举起了亚洲足球俱乐部冠军联赛（现已停办）的奖杯。国家队一直没有令人瞩目的表现。

　　Despite being one of the country's most popular sports -- President Xi Jinping is said to be a big fan -- China failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup and did not enter the running for the 2018 tournament.

　　尽管足球是中国最受欢迎的体育项目之一——据说国家主席习近平也是足球迷——但中国没有打入2014世界杯，也没有入围2018年世界杯承办权的角逐。

　　Evergrande's rise to the top of Asian football has been fast and furious and some say it could be Asia's first "superclub."

　　恒大以迅雷不及掩耳之势跃居亚洲足球之冠，有人说，它可能成为亚洲第一家“超级俱乐部”。