Borussia Dortmund CEO confirms Usain Bolt will train with club

[Muhammad10]

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has confirmed Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt will train with the club.

Bolt, 30, revealed the news in an interview on Saturday in which he also reiterated his hope to play for Manchester United, the team he supports.

"We've decided this some time ago," Watzke told Sport Bild. "Puma CEO Bjorn Gulden, who is a member of our board, has told us that Usain is highly interested in practising with us. For us that's no problem. Our coach Thomas Tuchel likes the idea as well.

"Of course he won't visit us in an important week with Champions League matches, but maybe in the preseason. We are delighted and take this as an honour."

Bolt is a nine-time Olympic gold medallist having competed in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 games, winning the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4x100m relay in each.

http://www.espnfc.com/borussia-dort...-ceo-confirms-usain-bolt-will-train-with-club

 

[Haroon786]

Other than for sponsorship links, I don't see how this is a serious endeavour because Bolt is well past his best as an athlete now and IMO this will be done just as a promotion gimmick for Puma.

 

[Muhammad10]

Other than for sponsorship links, I don't see how this is a serious endeavour because Bolt is well past his best as an athlete now and IMO this will be done just as a promotion gimmick for Puma.

That may be, but I reckon he'd easily be the fastest footballer in the world. An undoubtedly handy attribute, although his success at the top level will depend more on whether he has the adequate level of skill.

At any rate, I'm sure he'll be good enough to succeed in some gimmicky MLS, ISL or Chinese League type of environment, considering their standards are fairly low anyway.

 

[Rana]

That may be, but I reckon he'd easily be the fastest footballer in the world. An undoubtedly handy attribute, although his success at the top level will depend more on whether he has the adequate level of skill.

At any rate, I'm sure he'll be good enough to succeed in some gimmicky MLS, ISL or Chinese League type of environment, considering their standards are fairly low anyway.

Its easy to run fast knowing slide tackles are not going to come flying in. Professional football is a completely different venture compared to Athletics.

 

[Muhammad10]

Its easy to run fast knowing slide tackles are not going to come flying in. Professional football is a completely different venture compared to Athletics.

Of course, his success at the top level will largely depend on how much skill he has in terms of footballing ability.

 

[Abdullah719]

I thought he was going to Manchester United?

 

[Haroon786]

That may be, but I reckon he'd easily be the fastest footballer in the world. An undoubtedly handy attribute, although his success at the top level will depend more on whether he has the adequate level of skill.

At any rate, I'm sure he'll be good enough to succeed in some gimmicky MLS, ISL or Chinese League type of environment, considering their standards are fairly low anyway.

He won't be because in football, the majority of sprints that players do are between 10-30 metres and we all know how Bolt wasn't the best of starters when he was at his peak but know that he is a bit over the hill, he won't have the same reaction time as he did even 3 years back let alone around 2007-2012 pace.

I don't know, world class sprinter doesn't necessarily translate into decent footballer, it's not like there is much transferability between the two sports so I'm not sure how he would fare even in leagues like MLS or China where the wages paid are ridiculous but usually to players who have previously had decorated careers.

 

[Muhammad10]

He won't be because in football, the majority of sprints that players do are between 10-30 metres and we all know how Bolt wasn't the best of starters when he was at his peak but know that he is a bit over the hill, he won't have the same reaction time as he did even 3 years back let alone around 2007-2012 pace.

I don't know, world class sprinter doesn't necessarily translate into decent footballer, it's not like there is much transferability between the two sports so I'm not sure how he would fare even in leagues like MLS or China where the wages paid are ridiculous but usually to players who have previously had decorated careers.

He's the biggest name in sport. I'm sure they'd write a blank cheque to get him on board if needed.

 

[Haroon786]

He's the biggest name in sport. I'm sure they'd write a blank cheque to get him on board if needed.

I disagree with that, Federer, Messi, Ronaldo etc. are all bigger than Bolt.

I agree most clubs would probably want to do a promotion campaign with Bolt because of his global popularity and brand value, but that doesn't automatically translate into being a decent footballer IMO especially when he's already 30 IIRC.

 

[WC-Passion]

Bolt will be pretty useless, even so, it's interesting nonetheless.

Running in a straight line, no matter how fast won't get you far in football's top division.

 

[Haroon786]

Bolt will be pretty useless, even so, it's interesting nonetheless.

Running in a straight line, no matter how fast won't get you far in football's top division.

Bundesliga is football's best division ?

 

[Rayyman]

Bundesliga is football's best division ?

Yeah. It's the top division in Germany and the 3rd best in the world after PL and La Liga.

 

[kingusama92]

Bring him onto the team, let him play for five minutes per match, and rake in millions.

Any club would do it.

With decent football skills, he'd be unstoppable with his top speed. Just push the ball ahead and chase it, no one would catch him.

 

[Muhammad10]

Bring him onto the team, let him play for five minutes per match, and rake in millions.

Any club would do it.

With decent football skills, he'd be unstoppable with his top speed. Just push the ball ahead and chase it, no one would catch him.

Imagine setting an offside trap for this fellow. )
Scary to imagine him up against snail-paced defenders like Cahill.

 

[WC-Passion]

Bundesliga is football's best division ?

It's the best in Germany and arguably the best in the world, it's overlooked when compared to leagues like PL and La Liga.

Sad how Serie A has dropped off the radar, everyone wanted to watch that before, now it's known for bad pitches and slow, defensive football.

 

[Haroon786]

Yeah. It's the top division in Germany and the 3rd best in the world after PL and La Liga.

Best in German football does not necessarily equal to best football across the world which is what my question implied and you agree with me, it isn't rated as so.

 

[MenInG]

Usain Bolt's football debut for the Central Coast Mariners lasted about 20 minutes against an amateur local team and with almost 10,000 people in the crowd.

The eight-time Olympic gold medalist is trying to become a professional football player and has been given a tryout with the Australian A-League club based in Gosford, north of Sydney.

The crowd for Friday's exhibition game was about four times bigger than the average home attendance the Mariners attracted last season.

The Australian Associated Press reported that the exhibition game was broadcast in 60 countries.

Bolt started on the left wing and had a clumsy first touch, but settled in and found himself in scoring positions a couple of times before having a stoppage-time shot blocked.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1430150/usain-bolt-makes-football-debut-for-central-coast-mariners

 

[MenInG]

Usain Bolt says he isn’t fazed by potential criticism from opposing supporters or the media, after a cameo appearance off the bench for Central Coast Mariners.

The Jamaican track legend played just over 20 minutes for the Mariners in a 6-1 win over a Central Coast select side in Gosford on Friday.


All eyes on Usain Bolt as he makes debut as footballer
Read more
Admitting to some early nerves, Bolt said he enjoyed every minute. It was something of a mixed cameo from the former eight-time Olympic and 11-time world sprint champion.

Both Bolt and Mariners’ coach Mike Mulvey rated his performance as OK, though pundits such as former Socceroo Mark Bosnich stressed the former athlete still had a lot of work to do.

Playing as a winger and striker, he got a few touches, came close to scoring in stoppage time and was confident enough to run at opposing defenders. But Bolt was clearly short of peak fitness and sometimes lost possession and didn’t always read where his teammates passes were going.

Bolt said fitness apart, his movement off the ball was the aspect he most needed to improve. “Knowing and understanding where I should be when the ball is played to the wing or inside and on defence, it’s all about the movement,” he said.

While he received a rapturous reception from the crowd of just under 10,000, Bolt recognised he could get a rougher ride elsewhere in a country where sledging is an art from and a staple at sporting venues.


'I'm cool under pressure': Usain Bolt takes A-League training bow
Read more
“Home games I don’t have to worry about that, I think maybe away games will be a little bit different,” he said. “But for me I’m used to stuff like that, also from competitors and the media.”

Although he has switched to football at the relatively late age of 32, Bolt stressed running hadn’t taken as great a toll of his body, as playing a contact sport would have done.

“We don’t have the contact [in football], so I don’t think it’s hard on my body, so I’m good for five years,” Bolt said with a chuckle. “I’m in good shape and feeling young.”

Bolt expected to be at his best in around four months and was confident of signing a contract with the Mariners by that point.

Mulvey said: “The comments I made on the very first press conference [after Bolt arrived] was that I’ll give him 12 months if required, and I’ve already heard that he’s said ‘give me four months to get fit,’ so we’ll see.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...-with-central-coast-mariners?CMP=share_btn_tw