Eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt could finally be ready to make his long awaited professional football debut on Friday with the Central Coast Mariners set to play a Select XI at the Central Coast Stadium.
Bolt was handed a trial by the Mariners earlier this month after previous unsuccessful stints with Borussia Dortmund, Mamelodi Sundowns and Norwegian club Stromsgodset.
The 100 metre world record holder will seemingly get a run with the A-League side before the new season starts in October but manager Mike Mulvey said that the former sprinter needs to work on his movement ahead of the new season.
“Usain has had a few individual sessions,” Mulvey told the club’s website.
“When you do track and field it’s virtually a straight line and a track coach will never ask you to decelerate or accelerate the way that we do, it’s multidirectional movement in football, so he has to get used to that. I’m quite pleased with the way he’s progressing, and he’ll be sore every night, because the sessions are quite gruelling, but he’s determined.
“For this Friday, it comes down to what the fitness coaches tell me with regards to how his body’s coping with the loading we’ve got at the moment. But I would imagine he’s going to be playing some part on Friday.
“Well you’ll see that [where he will play] on Friday, he can play in a number of positions, we’ll see what best suits the team on Friday.”
The 31-year-old claims that he does not know how his body is going to react but that he knows he is not going to have the perfect game.
“I expect to make mistakes. I also expect I’ll go and make myself proud, and to push myself. I know I’m not going to have the perfect game.
“The season doesn’t start until the end of October, so I have time. It’s just about being focused, taking my time, being smart and pushing myself to get to the level I need to get to be in the starting 11.
“It’s just time. I don’t know how my body is going to feel. I know when I get on the field, I’m always going to push myself to the limit.”
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