Sprint king and eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt said he will prove people wrong after the Central Coast Mariners trialist trained for the first time on Tuesday in his bid to earn a football contract.
Bolt dominated the athletics track and the Jamaican great is now trying to fulfil his dream of becoming a professional footballer having linked up with A-League outfit the Mariners for an indefinite trial.
The Australian public got their first glimpse of Bolt training in Gosford, where the 32-year-old who previously spent time with Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, Mamelodi Sundowns and Stromsgodset after retiring from athletics in 2017 took part in a brief session.
After touching down in Australia on Saturday, Bolt wearing gloves and a jumper under the New South Wales sun did some light stretching and jogging before a 15-minute passing drill under the eyes of Mariners head coach Mike Mulvey.
., the footballer Don’t think limits.
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners)
Speaking to the media afterwards, Bolt who revealed he turned down offers from Spain and France due to the language barrier told reporters: It s just like track and field, the first day of training s always the roughest one … but it felt OK.
I m not setting myself any targets … I m just going to put in the work. I don t know what to expect so I m just here to push myself, learn as much as possible. For me it s a blank slate. I m here to learn and get better, that s my focus.
Today was good, we re taking it a step at a time, working on fitness, level by level, day by day, he added. As long as you get fit in football it s relatively easy. That s how I look at it, I don t know yet.
I ve seen as long as you are fit it s relatively easy with the running. As long as I get my body in shape and get some mileage [into my legs] I should be fine.
. is in the house
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners)
I m very cool under pressure, that s one thing, Bolt said. My ability to understand very quickly and learn the game is very good.
I ve expressed that I m okay on the wing, I m good at centre forward but at the end of the day he [the coach] will tell me what formation and where I ll play.
I don t want to be treated as the world s first man, I want to be treated as a footballer because that’s what I want to be. People will say a lot of things about me, but I ll prove them wrong.
. s training with is underway!
Follow coverage from the session here:
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague)
Mulvey added: We don t have to make a decision tomorrow or the next day. We re absolutely delighted he has chosen our club, this great community in Central Coast, to further his ambition.
If it takes 12 months, I m happy for him to be here. He has already brought the biggest media throng to this area. The highlight and spotlight is on Central Coast. It s fantastic and fine with me. Maybe on the 31st, we have a game here, he will be ready for that.
