It has been quite a dramatic last 10 days. Indeed! After the American Election (Excuse the pun), football has also chosen the demented route, as Jamaican sprint legend, Usain Bolt, yeah you read it, its USAIN BOLT is set to train with the Borussia Dortmund team for a few days.
Well, now the big question for each and every football fan would be – how the hell? – yeah right. What is he in there for anyway? Let us figure out.
Before getting any further, we should all be aware of Puma in this whole thing. Puma, the sports manufacturers, rooted in Herzogenaurach, Germany. One of the leading Sports brands in the world, acts like a left hand for Usain Bolt, advertising per excellence – a box office hit! Usain Bolt holds as much importance to Puma, as Cristiano Ronaldo does to Nike or Lionel Messi for Adidas. Not to say, Puma is also the kit sponsor for Borussia Dortmund.
For a long time, the nine-time Olympic Gold medalist was so inclined to start his own footballing career, preferably for Manchester United as the Jamaican is a huge fan of the Red Devils and also a good friend of former coach Sir Alex Ferguson. So much that the Scot had put his biggest bet for Usain Bolt in the 2012 Olympics!!
However, since the Red Devils have a signed a huge contract with rivals Adidas and annually collects a stunning value of 95 million euros, Puma’s addition of bringing in Usain Bolt to Manchester United doesn’t really fit into the system. Which brings Borussia Dortmund into play, the Herzogenaurach manufacturers have a good relationship with the Black and Yellows and might as well be a perfect place for Bolt’s fantasy.
According to the British newspaper, Guardian, the sprint legend indeed wants to put a stop to his athletics career and his next wish is to become a professional footballer, with an appearance in Dortmund’s training ground mooted. According to Bolt, he was already in contact with Borussia Dortmund head coach Thomas Tuchel and will be training with the rest of the team for a few days “then we’ll see what happens next” – he said.
Even so, BVB CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has also made it clear that the 30-year old will indeed join high profile names such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Marco Reus.
“It is not a joke that Bolt will train with us at some point,” Watzke told Kicker.
“This decision was made a while ago. Puma chief Bjorn Gulden, who is also part of our board of directors, told me some time ago that Usain had asked him if he could train with us sometime.
“I immediately said that was not a problem and the coach [Thomas Tuchel] is okay with it as well.
“It will obviously not happen when we have two games in one week, but probably when things are a bit more quiet. The team will like it as well.
Bolt will however, have little hope of securing a permanent deal with the club as Watzke refused to talk about a possible contract.
“We do not have to talk about us offering him a contract,” he added. “But we feel flattered that he wants to train with us. It is an honour.”
Sure it will be an honour for Borussia Dortmund, but the fact that whether or not it is being played as a marketing tool will be the huge question. Even though Watzke dismisses such rumors but in any case, Bolt’s involvement in the Dortmund training ground will be a big boon and a real treat for the fans. It remains to see, whether it will prove to a much bigger impression than we initially thought it would.
