The Men’s Ballon d’Or(金球奖，足球界最高个人荣誉) is the most prestigious(享有盛誉的) individual prize in world football. This year’s ceremony was held in London to mark 70 years since Stanley Matthews, an Englishman from Stoke, won the very first Ballon d’Or in 1956.(今年的颁奖典礼在伦敦举行，以纪念1956年来自斯托克的英格兰人斯坦利·马修斯赢得首届金球奖70周年。) Few Britons have followed his example. It is 25 years since Michael Owen became the sixth British player to do so. On October 26th Harry Kane, England’s captain, became the seventh (and, excluding Scotland’s Denis Law and Northern Ireland’s George Best, the fifth Englishman).(10月26日，英格兰队长哈里·凯恩成为第七位（若排除苏格兰的丹尼斯·劳和北爱尔兰的乔治·贝斯特，则是第五位英格兰人）。)
男子金球奖是世界足坛最负盛名的个人奖项。今年的颁奖典礼在伦敦举行，以纪念1956年来自斯托克的英格兰人斯坦利·马修斯赢得首届金球奖70周年。此后很少有英国人能追随他的脚步。距离迈克尔·欧文成为第六位获此殊荣的英国球员，已经过去了25年。10月26日，英格兰队长哈里·凯恩成为第七位（若排除苏格兰的丹尼斯·劳和北爱尔兰的乔治·贝斯特，则是第五位英格兰人）。
The prize is well-deserved(当之无愧的). Mr Kane stands out even among the superstars at Bayern Munich(拜仁慕尼黑，德国足球豪门), a German club that have won their domestic league in nine of the last ten seasons. Watch him play and you will notice that he is much more than a goalscorer. But he is a goal machine. Mr Kane scored 61 goals for Bayern last season—19 more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues and the highest tally anyone has managed since the 2014-15 campaign.(凯恩上赛季为拜仁打入61球，比欧洲五大联赛任何其他球员都多19球，也是自2014-15赛季以来无人能及的最高纪录。) Add the six he scored to become England’s all-time top World Cup goalscorer, and (with all due respect(恕我直言，尽管我尊重) to Kylian Mbappé of Real Madrid and Lamine Yamal of Barcelona) it would have been a robbery had he not won the prize.
这个奖项他当之无愧。即便在拜仁慕尼黑这样的超级球星云集的德甲豪门——过去十个赛季九夺国内联赛冠军——凯恩依然脱颖而出。看他踢球，你会发现他远不止是一名射手。但他确实是一台进球机器。凯恩上赛季为拜仁打入61球，比欧洲五大联赛任何其他球员都多19球，也是自2014-15赛季以来无人能及的最高纪录。再加上他为英格兰队打入的6球，成为世界杯历史最佳射手，那么（恕我对皇家马德里的基利安·姆巴佩和巴塞罗那的拉明·亚马尔不敬）如果他没获奖，那简直就是抢劫。
But Mr Kane’s brilliance(卓越，才华) is not new. In 2017, playing for Tottenham Hotspur, he became the first player in seven years to outscore Lionel Messi (a record-holding eight-time Ballon d’Or winner) and Cristiano Ronaldo (a five-time winner) over a calendar year.(2017年，效力于托特纳姆热刺的他成为七年来首位在自然年进球数超过梅西（八次金球奖得主，保持纪录）和C罗（五次得主）的球员。) He scored 56 goals in 52 games for club and country, an astonishing(惊人的) record. Yet he came just tenth in the vote for the Ballon d’Or. Why?
但凯恩的卓越表现并非新鲜事。2017年，效力于托特纳姆热刺的他成为七年来首位在自然年进球数超过梅西（八次金球奖得主，保持纪录）和C罗（五次得主）的球员。他为俱乐部和国家队出战52场，打入56球，成绩惊人。然而，他在金球奖投票中仅列第十。为什么？