After establishing himself as the greatest sprinter of all time, Usain Bolt is now focused on becoming a successful soccer player. While that seemed like a long shot at first, the 32-year-old looks like he is on the right path in achieving that.
On Friday, Bolt made his first start for Australian A-League club Central Coast Mariners in a preseason friendly against South West Select and immediately made his mark by scoring two goals.
Bolt started the match as a central striker and scored his first goal in the 55th minute after managing to collect a through ball into the box with a strong sprint. He added the second one in the 68th minute when he took advantage of the mistake made by Central Coast Mariners’ defense.
“I‘ve been working, trying to get fit to the level that I can play for 45 minutes,” – Bolt told the club’s official website. “To me, I played well and happy with the progress I’m making. I was telling myself if I got the guy off my shoulders, set up myself and hit the target, that was the key thing.“
Despite scoring two goals, it was clear that Bolt still has to do a lot of adjusting if he wants to be a successful soccer player. He struggled to keep the possession of the ball early in the game and made some bad moves when he had a chance to score. But, according to the player himself, he will get better with more games played.
“The coach told me you will get chances, don’t get frustrated if you miss it’s a part of the game, you got to continue pushing till you get those chances.” – he added. “I need more games to get better and to know where to be. The coach will play me in different places, because of my speed, other strikers.“
After setting the world records in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4 × 100 meters relay, and winning eight Olympic gold medals, Usain Bolt decided to retire from athletics in late 2017 and pursue a career in soccer. He trained with several European clubs in 2018, but neither one gave him a contract. Bolt was then offered a trial in August 2018 by Central Coast Mariners and is now looking to get a full-time contract. If he continues to score, he might just get it.
