When we translate something, we have to translate it into what it means, and not just into the nearest appropriate, or appropriate-seeming word or phrase. Here's an example that could be put into pictures, as well as words. In America, when we say "football", we mean football--the guys with helmets and the football- shaped ball. When we read about a "football" game in many other countries, we need to know that "football" doesn't mean the game we think of as "football". "Football" means what we call "soccer", and has to be translated as "soccer". Then we understand the game being played as the readers in the original language--French, Italian, Spanish--understand it--a game with a round ball you're not allowed to carry, a goalkeeper or goalie, and shorts for uniforms.
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