Usain Bolt says he could ‘make a difference’ at Manchester United
Aug 7, 2012, 2:43 PM EDT
AP Usain Bolt wants to play for Manchester United. He’s dead serious, he insists. Once the Olympics are over, he wants the chance to break into one of the world’s three biggest clubs, and a key member of that team is set to help. Being the world’s fastest man has its privileges.
Bolt, fresh off an Olympic record 9.68 100 meters dash, started the ball rolling, adding some soccer bonafides to his more prominent talent while making his case to play for Manchester United:
“I would not take up the challenge if I didn’t think I was good enough. I am a very accomplished player and know I could make a difference.
“I would be the fastest player in the team – but I can play as well. I am in Britain for a few more days. If Alex Ferguson wants to give me a call he knows where I am.”
It seemed little more than a baited hook cast into a barren pond. Then, a big fish bit. Rio Ferdinand did what he does second-best (tweet) and got in touch with Bolt, offering his help:
United’s Rio Ferdinand tweeted Bolt: “If you want that trial at Man Utd shout me, I’ll speak to the boss!! Well done in 100m.”
Tweet is no longer available.
Bolt’s response (thankfully, still available)?
On BBC radio, Bolt claimed the plan is moving forward. ”Rio’s going to set the meeting up and I’m going to talk to [Sir Alex],” he told BBC 5 Live.
Could this actually work? Soccer is one of the world’s simplest game (in terms of its mechanics), but it’s also one that requires one of the greatest levels of specialization. Usain Bolt makes his living with his feet, but not like this.
This isn’t Renaldo Nehemiah going from dominating the Olympic hurdles to a contract with the San Francisco 49ers. Without some legitimate soccer skills, Bolt would have to add too many facets to his athlete’s repertoire to keep any decent goalkeeper from making him look silly. Or perhaps he envisions himself as a fullback with great recovery speed, only to be exploited in one-on-one situations.
You can make parallels between having to beat a cornerback, run a precise route, and catch a football while trying to avoid being blown up by a free safety, all of which may take more physical skill. But it doesn’t mean it’s easier to accomplish.
Unless Usain Bolt has some background in finance we’re unaware of, he’s unlikely to help Manchester United. Not that it wouldn’t be fun to see him try.
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- dfstell - Aug 7, 2012 at 3:48 PM
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This will be fun to watch and it’ll be a nice little bit of publicity, but…..I’m not too optimistic that much will come of this. As someone who didn’t play soccer growing up, but is very fast, all that speed does is hurt your team. I’m always the first one to the ball, but then I quickly kick it somewhere inappropriate because I don’t have any soccer skills.
Good luck to him. He seems like a nice guy and I wish him the best…..
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- dbick - Aug 7, 2012 at 4:04 PM
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This will be cool to watch like it was when Ochocinco tried out for Sporting KC…likely will end with the same result though.
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- billobrienschindimple - Aug 7, 2012 at 6:19 PM
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” Tweet is no longer unavailable.”
Soccer is said to be a thinking mans game. You guys are better than this. Please don’t devolve into the nonsensical grammatical errors that plague PFT and the basketball talk sites. If it weren’t for you and PHT this app would be off my phone.
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- ndnut - Aug 7, 2012 at 6:42 PM
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I wouldnt doubt seeing him on an MLS or Australian roster, but I don’t think he could cut it in the EPL.
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- lunasceiling - Aug 7, 2012 at 8:45 PM
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Another aspect he’d have to work on woudl be his fitness. Sure, he’s in astonishing shape, and his fitness would be far higher than an average persons, and probably even way up there for an athlete. But he’s spent many, many years training for sprinting. That’s a very, very different training regimen from someone who trains for an endurance sport (which soccer is). I’m a former bicycle match sprinter (velodrome), and the way I trained would have been all wrong for stage racing or even criteriums.
I don’t doubt Usain could make that adjustment to his training, though. Obviously he has the dedication and competitiveness. Besides, if he were used as a second-half substitute, it would be less of an issue. The big question would be does he have the talent to develop the skills.
