The Second Coming of Usain Bolt
When racism was at its peak in football, Arsene Wenger called one of his scouts with an assignment. He was told to begin a special search that might not be easy. Wenger had made a personal decision to "look around for a black boy a to give a chance".
After that, whenever they would talk there was a discussion on how the search was going and what progress, if any, had been made. Out of that process a candidate emerged, but Wenger was not fully convinced. The young attacker seemed "fat and clumsy". Not to be deterred however, Wenger, who was a "good runner back then", would run with his young charge after work until gradually his speed and consistency improved.
Watching from the sidelines, Wenger started noticing something else. In plays where defenders seemed to have the upper hand, and would win the ball easily; suddenly there was his 'little' guy, ahead of him with the ball, closing in on the keeper. The goals didn't take long to come after that, piling up in game after game. The player was George Weah; later to become a Ballon d'Or winner, and one of the greatest footballers of all time. I hesitate to draw too many parallels, because Weah was already known as a talented dribbler when Wenger got him. Bolt is already a legend as well, moreover, in a sport where he had to prove the world wrong again and again. He is also no longer the young 'failure' that Mills decided to train, soon becoming a second father to an athlete that would one day be compared to Ali.
Still, there are similarities. Mills essentially knew what Wenger knew. Speed is in the bones, and once there is character, talent can be honed. Personally I can't beleive there are people questioning whether Bolt has the altheticism to play football. There are athletes, and then there is the kind of muscle and twitch fiber strength it takes for someone his height to match the sprint performance of much shorter athletes in an olympic final. Even Mills was afraid to allow him to compete in the 100m until he had mastered the 200. Bolt shocked the sporting world and turned track and field biomechanics on its head. His athleticism and power is one in a billion, and he has never put on the kind of bulk that can kill a sporting career in your 30's. With careful training and disciplined nutrition, Bolt could have years of competitive football ahead of him at the highest level. He has other assets as well. The crowd loves him, and he doesn't panic. He feeds off the kind of atmosphere where 80,000 screaming fans can melt most lesser strikers in front of goal.
His second career is still not a certainty however. While many of us would love to see him marauding down the field regardless of the contract, he seems to think that playing 'just to play' has not worked well for him. It will depend on two things. Whether he can find a compromise in time that he can live with, and whether or not a certain type of football coach still exists in the modern game.
-RG
In response to:
Bolt not done yet
After that, whenever they would talk there was a discussion on how the search was going and what progress, if any, had been made. Out of that process a candidate emerged, but Wenger was not fully convinced. The young attacker seemed "fat and clumsy". Not to be deterred however, Wenger, who was a "good runner back then", would run with his young charge after work until gradually his speed and consistency improved.
Watching from the sidelines, Wenger started noticing something else. In plays where defenders seemed to have the upper hand, and would win the ball easily; suddenly there was his 'little' guy, ahead of him with the ball, closing in on the keeper. The goals didn't take long to come after that, piling up in game after game. The player was George Weah; later to become a Ballon d'Or winner, and one of the greatest footballers of all time. I hesitate to draw too many parallels, because Weah was already known as a talented dribbler when Wenger got him. Bolt is already a legend as well, moreover, in a sport where he had to prove the world wrong again and again. He is also no longer the young 'failure' that Mills decided to train, soon becoming a second father to an athlete that would one day be compared to Ali.
Still, there are similarities. Mills essentially knew what Wenger knew. Speed is in the bones, and once there is character, talent can be honed. Personally I can't beleive there are people questioning whether Bolt has the altheticism to play football. There are athletes, and then there is the kind of muscle and twitch fiber strength it takes for someone his height to match the sprint performance of much shorter athletes in an olympic final. Even Mills was afraid to allow him to compete in the 100m until he had mastered the 200. Bolt shocked the sporting world and turned track and field biomechanics on its head. His athleticism and power is one in a billion, and he has never put on the kind of bulk that can kill a sporting career in your 30's. With careful training and disciplined nutrition, Bolt could have years of competitive football ahead of him at the highest level. He has other assets as well. The crowd loves him, and he doesn't panic. He feeds off the kind of atmosphere where 80,000 screaming fans can melt most lesser strikers in front of goal.
His second career is still not a certainty however. While many of us would love to see him marauding down the field regardless of the contract, he seems to think that playing 'just to play' has not worked well for him. It will depend on two things. Whether he can find a compromise in time that he can live with, and whether or not a certain type of football coach still exists in the modern game.
-RG
In response to:
Bolt not done yet
Comments
Post a Comment