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”。
In early 2010, the team was bought by Xu Jiayin, the boss of property developer Evergrande Real Estate Group and China's 13th richest man, according to Forbes。
2010年初，福布斯中国富人榜名列13的恒大地产集团老板许家印出手买下这支球队。
He paid 100 million yuan ($16.4 million) for the club, shocking many as the team had recently been relegated to the second division of China's league. In 2011, they won the Chinese Super League and claimed the league title for the third time this year。
他为俱乐部投入1亿人民币(合1千4百万美元)，这样的大手笔让许多人吃惊不小，因为这支球队当时刚被降级中甲。2011年，他们重返中超夺冠，并在今年第三次蝉联冠军。
Dong Jianzheng, an editor at the Chinese-language World Soccer Magazine, credits Xu's deep pockets as the main reason for the team's success。
《足球世界》杂志中文版编辑董建峥将该球队的成功归功于许家印的经济实力。
The club has spent at least 1.5 billion yuan ($250 million) in the past three years, according to The China Daily, recruiting domestic stars and foreign players like Brazilian striker Muriqui. The team is led by Marcello Lippi, who coached the Italian team that won the 2006 World Cup。
根据《中国日报》的报道，恒大在过去的3年里至少花掉15亿元人民币(合2亿5千万美元)，招募国内球星和巴西中锋穆里奇等外援。该队的主教练马尔切洛·里皮曾率意大利队问鼎2006年世界杯。
"The Evergrande model is similar to Chelsea and Manchester, where they win simply because they invest," Dong told CNN。
“恒大模式类似于切尔西和曼联，他们赢，只因为舍得下本钱投资，” 董先生接受CNN采访时说。
"They have a strong team and a large number of foreign players. They are good because they dare to throw in their money." But he said Evergrande's success doesn't represent the big picture。
“他们有实力强大的球队，有很多外援加盟。他们之所以出色，因为敢于砸钱投资。但是，他说恒大的成功并不代表大环境。
A bribery investigation that led to several players, referees and managers serving jail terms has left many fans disillusioned with the Chinese game。
中国足球贪污受贿案将一些球员、裁判和经理人送进监狱，导致许多粉丝不再对中国足球抱有幻想。
Rowan Simons, the author of "Bamboo Goalposts: One man's quest to teach the People's Republic of China to love football", says corruption reaches down to the sport's grassroots, which suffer from a lack of investment。
《足球无疆》的作者罗文·西蒙斯说，足球投资匮乏，腐败侵蚀到了足球运动的根基。
"Parents will bribe the coach to get (their child) into the team, teams will bribe the referee to win the game," said Simons, who has lived and played football in China for more than 20 years。
“父母向教练行贿，这样他们的孩子才能进球队，球队行贿裁判赢球，” 住在中国与中国足球打了20多年交道的西蒙斯说。
Hopes are high that Evergrande's arrival on the international soccer stage will give a much-needed boost to the country's football system。
恒大登上国际足球舞台将给予中国足球体制亟待的推动，人们对此寄予厚望。
The president of the Asian Football Confederation, which runs the region's premier tournament, said that Evergrande's win would infuse new life into Chinese football and spread the game to a wider audience。
亚洲足联主席表示，恒大的成功将为中国足球注入新活力，吸引更多的观众。亚足联主要负责举办地区性的重要足球赛事。
"I am confident that this will benefit not only the Chinese Super League but also the national team in a big way," said Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim。
“我相信，这一成功不仅对中超而且对国家队都极为有利，” 亚足联主席谢赫萨尔曼·本·易卜拉欣说。
But they will have a hard time convincing fans like Cui, an engineer, who spends his spare time glued to the English Premier League, Europe's UEFA Champions League and Spain's La Liga。
但是他们想拥有像崔工程师一样的球迷还有很长一段路要走，崔先生把业余时间都花在看英超联赛、欧冠比赛和西甲联赛上。
He says he won't make the effort to watch Evergrande's FIFA Club World Cup match against Egyptian side Al Ahly in December. "The time difference is a challenge, but I still choose foreign matches because they are much more professional," he told CNN。
他说，他对12月的俱乐部世界杯恒大对埃及阿赫利的比赛兴趣不大。“尽管时差是一大挑战，但是我仍然选择外国的球赛，因为他们专业得多，”他告诉CNN。
