Source: PUMA’S USAIN BOLT TRAINS WITH BORUSSIA
Usain Bolt is ‘officially’ retired from track & field. The fastest man in the world is now preparing for his next stage and it seems that he wants to shift into professional soccer. There is very little precedent for a shift from one sport into what many consider the toughest sport in the world to play. Soccer requires a certain amount of agility and stamina that does exist in track, but the technical aspects of a lifetime of conditioning brings to a professional footballer is extremely difficult to learn.
The most beneficial aspect of a relationship with Puma for Bolt is that their sponsorship of Borussia Dortmund allows their brightest star to work with one of the most legendary teams in futbol.
“It was a great experience to train and be part of the Borussia Dortmund team, everyone was so welcoming that I felt like I was home. Being able to receive professional advice, great training tips and play with some of the best players made it even more special,” said Usain Bolt. “Borussia Dortmund is a top international club known for developing some of the best young talent in the world, and I will use everything I learned to improve myself. Be sure that this is just the beginning of my football journey.”
Soccer is the biggest sport in the world. Bolt is a world class athlete, but we have rarely seen superstar athletes cross over into careers in another professional sport. Of course there has been Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders as well as Renaldo Nehemiah, but when I begin tick marking the successful transitions from one sport to another the list is very short. Bolt however is a special case. Speed kills in soccer and Bolt is a human Ferrari… if Puma begins to build a marketing scheme around this transition they could see an early 90s opportunity to have their own “Bo Knows” campaign and that would be explosive.
