Bolt reflects on regrets in football career
Published:Monday | December 14, 2020 | 12:13 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
When sprinting legend Usain Bolt retired from athletics, he pursued his long-standing passion for football in Australia in 2018. Looking back at his experience, the 34-year-old says that he made an error in how he chased his dream of being a professional player.
Bolt was speaking recently at the Digicel Business Masterclass Series, which offers perspectives and insight from the country’s business leaders, as well as sharing personal stories of their path to success.
He participated in a two-day training stint with German club Borussia Dortmund in March 2018, and played in the annual Soccer Aid charity football match in England that June. Eventually, he travelled to Australia in August 2018 to join A-League side Central Coast Mariners for a trial. While his goal was to get away from the attention being drawn to him over his footballing pursuits, Bolt said that he wished that he had started in Europe instead.
“I said to people the mistake that I made when I was transitioning to football is the fact that I went so far, which was in Australia,” he said. “I should have stayed in Europe; in England or France, because I got a lot of offers from different places. I was trying to get away from the media because if I stayed in Europe, they were always going to be on top of me. So, I was trying to avoid [them].”
long-time goal
He said that he felt the Mariners coaches and players were initially intimidated when he arrived, but reinforced his commitment to his long-time goal and also to learn as much as he could from the experience.
“They were like, ‘Why are you doing this?’ But for me, it was a dream,” he said. “It’s something that I wanted to do for years. I was like, ‘You know what, let me try.’
“The first thing I said to the coach [was], ‘As far as you are concerned, I don’t know anything. I’m ready to learn and to understand this game.’”
Bolt played in two trial matches during his three-month stint, highlighted by him scoring a brace against Macarthur South West United on October 12. His time in Australia ended in November 2018 after he reportedly turned down a contract offer with the team. Central Coast Mariners Chairman Mike Charlesworth said that the club was pleased that they were able to facilitate Bolt as he “pursued his desire to become a professional football player”.