Usain Bolt makes his professional football debut

Usain Bolt made his much-awaited professional football debut on 31^st August 2018 when he came off the bench in the 71^st minute for the Central Coast Mariners. With shirt number 95 dedicated to his 100m world record time, the Jamaican played a pre-season friendly against Central Coast Football, with the match ending 6-1 in favour of his team.

The sprint king has eight Olympic goal medals to his name. Ever since he retired from professional sprinting, the 32-year-old has looked at football as an alternate practice. He has also trained with the Borussia Dortmund first team and expressed his desire to play for Manchester United someday.

Bolt couldn't get on the scoresheet though. He started in the left-wing spot and didn't have the best of first touches. He tried to drift infield but the through ball played to his path hit his knee. His best touch came ten minutes later, when he skipped away from a challenge and laid the ball off with his left foot.

Speaking to Fox Sports after the match, he said, 'It was good. It was what I expected. The crowd gave me plenty of motivation.”

Bolt had earlier claimed that he wasn’t fully fit. However, he did confirm that he is feeling much better physically.  'I think my fitness is much better, that the first week since I came here. I'm grateful to the Mariners for giving me the chance.'

Most certainly, Bolt has a good amount of work to do on and off the football ground to establish himself as a footballing personality. Even for the best in the business, it takes some learning. It’s good signs for him now though, as he has finally made his first professional showing after having tried at various other clubs.

A few months of hard work, fitness sessions and a significant amount of game time should see him perform much better on the football pitch in the forthcoming A-League season.