Usain Bolt Wants to Play Pro Soccer. Can He Make the Team?
Is there a second career in the cards for the world's fastest man?
By Jacob Meschke
NurPhotoGetty Images
After retiring from competitive sprinting—the sport in which he holds several world records—Usain Bolt is looking toward a second calling: soccer.
The 31-year-old former sprinter will soon begin a six-week trial with the Central Coast Mariners, an Australian professional soccer club. If Bolt impresses, he would earn a one-year contract for the club's upcoming 2018-19 season. His potential salary is unclear, but would be paid in part by the league itself.
Public opinion has been divided on Bolt's intro to soccer. Critics see it as a bald-faced use of an international celebrity to boost interest in the club, regardless of Bolt's playing ability. But others say that a contract isn't guaranteed, and if Bolt truly earns a spot on the team, it'll be a boost for the struggling league.
How can the A-League be taken seriously with publicity stunts such as the potential Usain Bolt recruitment? It's already struggling for legitimacy after an underwhelming season that you didn't even know was taking place unless you were hardcore fan. This is just farcical
— Ronny Lerner (@RonnyLerner) July 17, 2018
And it could be a boon for the team itself, too: The Mariners have been one of worst teams in Australia's Hyundai A-League in recent seasons, finishing either at the bottom or dead last over the past four seasons.
While it might seem like a big jump from sprinting to soccer, the news isn't completely unexpected. Especially in recent years, Bolt has hinted to the media about a potential soccer career. He's previously trained with several other professional clubs, including German giants Borussia Dortmund.
Usain Bolt​ is keen to impress Borussia Dortmund​, but is he really good enough to be a professional footballer? pic.twitter.com/uLPfbBKBZU
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) March 23, 2018
Plus, Bolt has often mentioned playing soccer in Jamaica before becoming a world-class sprinter. He's a well-known diehard Manchester United supporter, and has (half-jokingly) begged the club to add him to the squad (he's done the same with David Beckham's future Major League Soccer team in Miami). Most recently, he was in the crowd at the World Cup final last Sunday.
World Cup Finals #FRACRO #worldcup2018
A post shared by Usain St.Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) on Jul 15, 2018 at 6:49am PDT
Bolt clearly isn't as technically skilled as the players he's hoping to join, but he does have one clear advantage: speed. In 2016, Mexican club C.F. Pachuca released an analysis of the fastest professional soccer players, a list topped by Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale at 36.9 kilometers per hour.
Bolt's known to top 40 kilometers per hour, and the A-League's distinctly lower level of players means even at 31, he'll surely be able to blow past just about anyone. His prowess on the other parts of the game, however, is still to be determined.
Jacob Meschke Contributing Writer Jacob joined Runner's World and Bicycling as an editorial fellow after graduating from Northwestern University in 2018, where he studied journalism.
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