After becoming one of the most important athletes of all time, Usain has decided to follow one of his greatest dreams: To be a soccer player!

There are peope who were born to transcend and mark with indelible ink their passage through the planet. Usain Bolt, after building his legendary history in athletics with eight Olympic gold medals, is one of them. However, it seems that the Jamaican "lightning" wants to transform his legacy IGNORE INTO something much bigger, because since his retirement from the tracks in 2017, the former 32-year-old sprinter is still committed to playing professional soccer.

Leer en español: El legendario Usain Bolt logró su sueño: ¡Ya es futbolista!

This is a goal that begins to fulfill despite having been rejected by several teams, such as Borussia Dortmund, Stromsgodset and Mamelodi Sundowns. Today he remains firm in his purpose, training and looking for a contract with the Central Coast Mariners, first division club of the Australian League, with which he debuted recently in a friendly match against Central Coast Selection.

But does the Jamaican who "runs as fast as lightning" have real chances of playing first level soccer?

Longevity for soccer?

On the one hand, nowadays no player debuts as a professional soccer player after turning 30 years old. He himself has confessed, according to a publication of El Periódico of España, that he has suffered because he is slow. "I am completely out of my comfort zone, but that is precisely why I am here. Also on the athletics track the first day of training is always the hardest. Everything is going well. I like being under pressure," said the now left-back of the Central Coast Mariners.

Influence of marketing

On the other hand, there are those who think, and this is highlighted by As, that his debut as a soccer player has little to do with his passion for soccer. The same media indicates that rather it is due to marketing movements that pretension to erect him as a reference in that discipline.

This was evident when he arrived at Borussia Dortmund, after a whole campaign was mounted around him, the team and the Puma brand that dresses both; and then, more recently, with the videogame Pro Evolution Soccer, which for its latest version built the character of the athlete and of course increased its sales based on it.

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Undeniable conviction

What we should not deny in this story is that the Olympic record holder is a different man, who gave himself the pout to become, based on his achievements and charisma, in one of the most emblematic athletes of all time, and that is something worth admiring.

As newspaper assures that during the last 365 days this has been Bolt's biggest goal in life, who instead of taking advantage of these times to enjoy his retirement, is still obsessed with being a soccer player. "This is very serious, since I left athletics I have decided to play soccer, I know what I am capable of and what I can do," said the athlete.

Some background

According to El Periódico, this is not something unprecedented today, and the most iconic case in history is that of Michael Jordan, for many the best basketball player on the planet and who, at the end of his time with the NBA, tried to break IGNORE INTO baseball in the big leagues. This was an adventure that was not very successful, so much so that he decided to return to basketball again.

As well as Jordan there are also other similar cases, some good and others not so much, including Jerry Rice of American football to golf, Danny Ainge of baseball to basketball, Bo Jackson of American football to basketball. The latter is a great reference, since he was All Star in both sports.

More recently, to talk about Latin American cases, you can name the Colombian Mariana Pajon, who although did not change the sport going from BMX to track cycling, if it is a totally different discipline.

LatinAmerican Post | Freddy Gonzalez

Translated from "El legendario velocista olímpico Usain Bolt logró su sueño: ¡Ya es futbolista!"