Usain Bolt eyes 'serious' play at Borussia Dortmund
March 23, 2018
Jamaican Olympic champion Usain Bolt on Friday trained with German football club Borussia Dortmund (BVB).
Nearly 1,500 spectators gathered at the Dortmund industrial district of Brackel to watch Bolt train with the Bundesliga team.
Bolt, an eight-time Olympics champion dubbed the world's fastest person, scored a header and a penalty during the training session.
"It was good," Bolt said. "I had fun with the guys. They were very welcoming."
'Talented' on the pitch
After the training session, BVB coach Peter Stöger said he was satisfied with Bolt's performance on the field.
"Usain is an incredibly laid back guy, totally down to earth. I think it was fun for him," Stöger said. "He got to a stage that he had dreamed about."
But the BVB coach, who used to play for the Austrian national team, said Bolt shouldn't get his hopes too high.
"He is at an age where I say he is no longer so incredibly capable of development," Stöger said. "You can see that he understands the game. He's talented. What's he's missing is the team work."
'Serious' about BVB
Bolt retired from sprinting last year after the 2017 world championships, where he picked up a bronze medal.
But the Olympic champion has signaled his desire to come out of retirement to play for one of Germany's best football teams.
"I've talked to the club and I told them that I'm really serious about this," Bolt told BVB Total, according to goal.com. "They said I should come back for a longer period, do some more training and then they can assess me and tell me what level I can play at."
ls/kl (dpa, AP)