Petr Cech, Usain Bolt and the famous athletes who switched sport codes

Diego Forlan is the latest high-profile athlete to switch it up and try his hand at another sport after the former Manchester United forward made his professional tennis debut at the recent Uruguay Open.

Sadly, the 45-year-old and his partner Federico Coria were thrashed 6-1 6-2 by Bolivian duo Boris Arias and Federico Zeballos in just 47 minutes.

Whether or not the 2010 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot winner is planning on persisting with a tennis career is unclear, but it is certainly a testament to his character that he is willing to step so far out of his comfort zone.

In this article, Sports News Blitz writer Jon Shea takes a look at five famous sports stars who, for better or worse, attempted a change of career.

Paolo Maldini – Football to tennis

Paolo Maldini spent 25 illustrious years at AC Milan — winning seven Serie A titles, five European Cups, and countless individual awards — before retiring in 2009 at the ripe old age of 41. During that time, he also made 126 appearances for his beloved Italy.

Widely regarded as one of the finest defenders to ever grace the game, Maldini gave just about everything he could to the cause, with Milan even retiring the number three shirt in his honour.

In 2017, however, Maldini turned his attention to another sport: tennis.

On the day of his 49th birthday, he played a doubles match alongside his coach Stefano Landonio in Milan at the Aspria Tennis Cup. Unfortunately, the pair were soundly beaten 6-1 6-1 by Tomasz Bednarek and David Pel, a former top 50-ranked doubles pairing, in the first round.

With the bout lasting just 41 minutes, Maldini declared that it would be his only match as a professional tennis player and brilliantly described the experience as “like writing a poem after studying years of maths”.

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Gerwyn Price – Rugby union to darts

Gerwyn Price is one of the most recognisable faces in the world of darts.

Although nicknamed ‘The Iceman’, the 2021 World Darts Championship winner and former world number one is no stranger to getting himself in hot water, whether that be for riling up Gary Anderson in one of the most controversial darts matches in history or for infamously wearing boo-cancelling headphones at the Ally Pally.

Simply put, Price is the Marmite character of the darts world.

Interestingly, the Welshman made his name in rugby union, playing at hooker for Welsh Premier Division sides Neath and Cross Keys. He even scored a winning try in the 2012 WRU Challenge Cup final for the latter.

For a while, Price played darts and rugby simultaneously. In the end though, this proved unworkable and he decided to fully commit to darts ahead of the 2015 World Darts Championships, telling the BBC at the time: “I’ve really got a decent future ahead of me in darts instead of rugby”. The rest, as they say, is history.

Petr Cech – Football to ice hockey

When people think of Petr Cech, they think of the brilliant Chelsea side of the mid-to-late 2000s and, of course, the cap.

A four-time Premier League winner, five-time FA Cup winner, and one-time Champions League winner, Cech holds the record for the most clean sheets in Premier League history with an astonishing 202 and is moreover the most-capped Czech footballer.

Following his retirement from football in 2019, he kept his goalkeeping instincts alive by shifting over to ice hockey, initially signing for Guildford Phoenix in the fourth division of the British hockey pyramid.

After winning a treble with the Phoenix in the 2021-22 season, he has become a bit of a journeyman, playing for the likes of Chelmsford Chieftains, Oxford City Stars, and now Belfast Giants. At the end of the day, it is fair to say that whichever net Cech is in, he is a success.

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Usain Bolt – Sprinting to football

Usain Bolt is the fastest man in history having set world records in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay. In addition, he is the only man to win a gold medal in each of those events at three different Olympic games.

At just 31 years of age, the legendary Jamaican retired after suffering an injury during the 2017 London World Championships, admitting that he had achieved everything he wanted and was no longer motivated to continue.

A year later, Bolt — a self-described Manchester United superfan — decided to try his hand at football.

Short-lived trials at German giants Borussia Dortmund and Norwegian side Stromsgodset followed, but it was in Australia with the Central Coast Mariners that he came closest. However, despite scoring a double in a friendly, Bolt was not rewarded with a professional contract.

Stating that “it was fun while it lasted”, the sprint icon decided to call it a day and has since limited himself to guest appearances at UNICEF charity matches where he occasionally nets a goal or two.

Louis Rees-Zammit – Rugby union to American football

Welshman Louis Rees-Zammit started out as a talented rugby union player, playing at the top level with Premiership side Gloucester for four years. In the 2019-20 season, he became the youngest-ever player for the Cherry and Whites at just 18 years and 70 days.

Rees-Zammit was then included in Warren Gatland’s squad for the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa and went on to make 32 caps for Wales.

Following a shock retirement from rugby earlier this year, Rees-Zammit moved to the United States in order to pursue a dream career in American football, initially training through the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.

Subsequently drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs as a running back in March, Rees-Zammit has since moved to the Jacksonville Jaguars where he currently plays in a wide receiver role.

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