‘Usain I Couldn’t Play For United?’ – Olympic Sprint Colossus Bolt Angles For Man Utd Run-Out… Again

Alan Duffy

7th, August 2012

11 Comments

By Alan Duffy

Hot on the heels of his explosive 100m victory at London 2012, Jamaican megastar Usain Bolt has reiterated his desire to play for his beloved Man Utd.

The sprinter visited Sir Alex and co back in 2009, when he floated the idea of having a trial with the club. And now, three years later, the 6’5″ sporting icon is once again on the lookout for a shot at footballing glory. He said:

“People think I am joking. But if Alex Ferguson called me up and said, ‘OK let’s do this, come and have a trial’, it would be impossible for me to say No.”

“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. I definitely want to see what I could do. I think I could step up to the Rooneys.”

This ain’t the first time Usain’s angled for a United run-out: See here and here for details. He’d certainly add a bit of pace (and height – just ask Colin Jackson!) to the United attack and some would argue that Theo Walcott has already made a successful footballing career out of having pace but little else (sorry Arsenal fans).

American footballers often straddle both track and field and the gridiron, but could a top sprinter really ever make it at a professional level in association football? I think not. Although quite a few good cricketers have made the grade at good old footie, from the Compton brothers, Denis and Leslie, to the likes of Andy Goram (played cricket for Scotland) and Joe Hart (Shrewsbury Cricket Club), so you never know!

Post Script – Thanks to Francis for flagging up the glaring omission of one Adam Gemili – Junior sprint champion and former Dagenham & Redbridge defender!

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11 Comments

  1. Francis says:

    You just missed a glaring chance with that article…Adam Gemili, anyone?

  2. plops says:

    Knock it and run.

    Didn’t Daley Thompson play for a lower league club when he retired? Maybe non-league. Or maybe I’ve just had some strange dreams lately.

  3. Alan Duffy says:

    @Francis – Thank you sir – your fine contribution has been added now!

  4. Jamie says:

    Speaking of cricketers, Ian Botham was a professional footballer

  5. James says:

    Daley Thompson played for Mansfield Town and Stevenage Borough… He was also fitness coach at Wimbledon according to Wiki.

  6. Mike says:

    Daley Thompson played for an even lower league club than that – Stamford Town AFC, we were also graced by the great David Speedie

  7. Toz says:

    Djibril Cisse was a perfect example of an athlete pretending to be a footballer. I doubt Bolt knows how to pace his runs though. He’s a supporter of Manchester United, so he’s undoubtedly a complete idiot.

  8. Davy says:

    Was Phil Neville not a mint cricketer too?

  9. JayJay says:

    I think we should’ve enterd Theo along with Gemili for the 100m this year. You never know aye!….Look at that Sonny Bill Williams All Black playing Rugby and being a Boxer. Any other cross sports people apart from the ones already mentioned?

  10. JayJay says:

    Loving the Colin Jackson reference.’The BIG MAN’, ‘The BIG Man’, haha….great to see the excitement though.

  11. plops says:

    And Lucas Radebe now plays professional bowls.

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