Usain Bolt might be an eight-time Olympic champion but he isn’t football-fit, according to his coach at A-League club Central Coast Mariners.
Both Usain Bolt and his coach Mike Mulvey agree on one thing.
He isn’t fit enough to play in the A-League.
But that’s not to say he can’t get there, with two months before the season kick-off.
Central Coast gave Bolt 20 minutes of action in a hyped pre-season run on Friday night in Gosford.
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The 32-year-old played on the left wing. He didn’t look out of place but didn’t impress.
The eight-times Olympic champion is in the unenviable position of having a microscope over his every move as he tries to adjust to a second sporting career.
Mulvey said judgements on his Bolt’s ability would need to come after a fitness program.
“In all seriousness he’s not fit,” Mulvey told the Nine Network.
“No athletics coach will actually get you to accelerate, decelerate and with multi-directional movement like there is in football.
“He struggles with that right now.”
Having handed the Jamaican a trial, the Mariners are committed to giving Bolt every chance to make it in the league.
Even if they are forced to make the tough call to cut their high-profile recruit, they say Bolt’s time on the Central Coast has been a success.
“He’s absolutely determined, we’re loving him being here on the coast and he’s loving being a part of a team environment,” Mulvey said.
“The positive aspects so much outweigh the negatives.”
The Mariners commence their A-League campaign on October 21 against Brisbane Roar.