Bolt must prove himself like any other player, say Mariners

MELBOURNE: Usain Bolt will be granted all the time he needs to prove himself worthy of a contract at the Central Coast Mariners but the retired athletics superstar will have to prove himself like any other player, officials at the struggling Australian football club have said.

The Mariners confirmed on Tuesday the Olympic sprint champion would train “indefinitely” with the club, which finished bottom of the 10-team A-League last season and operate in one of the country’s smallest football markets.

The open-ended arrangement has proved polarising in Australia, with critics dismissing it as a publicity stunt to boost the profile of a team that have failed to make the playoffs for the last four seasons.

The Mariners, however, defended the move yesterday, saying they had the potential to reap huge longterm benefits should Bolt make the grade.

“This may take three weeks, this may take three months, this may take six months. It may take longer, who knows?” club CEO Shaun Mielekamp told reporters at their home base in Gosford.

“Only time will tell but it’s exciting to see what this will do for our region.”

Jamaican Bolt, who won eight Olympic golds before retiring at the world championships in London last year, has trained with Germany’s Borussia Dortmund, South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns and Norway’s Stromsgodset.

Scepticism abounds as to whether 31-year-old can make it Down Under.

Mariners coach Mike Mulvey admitted he had not seen footage of Bolt’s stints at other clubs but expected him to give “a good account of himself ”.

The sprinter would not be treated any differently to any other player trying out, however.

“It just happens to be that this is Usain Bolt,” Mulvey said.

“I’ve spoken to him once. His attitude towards this was deadly serious.” — Reuters