The term "twelfth man" is used to refer to the fans of a football team. Each team in football has 11 players on the pitch¹, but if the fans are particularly loud in their support they can help their team, they can encourage them.

 

“第12名队员”用来统指足球队的球迷。足球队上场比赛的队员是11名，但是，如果现场球迷支持的呼声很高的话，他们支持的球队可能会更加斗志昂扬。

 

When this happens the fans are called the twelfth man – they have the effect of an extra player: the game is now 11 vs 12. Many teams refer to their fans as the 12th man, and fans themselves will also carry banners² calling themselves the 12th man.

 

在这种情况下，现场球迷就被称为“第12名队员”——他们的存在就相当于给球队增加了一名比赛队员，那么场上就是11人对12人了。很多球队都把自己的球迷称为“第12名队员”，球迷自己也会在比赛现场打出横幅，自称是“第12名队员”。

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