Peter Crouch was always told he had good control despite his height – but did he take it as a compliment or an insult?
(Image credit: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Former England international Peter Crouch has opened up on how his team-mates were shocked he had such a good touch for a player as tall as the striker was.
At 6 ft 7, Crouch became well-known for his unique look on the pitch, but over the years went on to forge a successful career for himself, scoring over 100 Premier League goals and representing his country 42 times at senior level.
“Because of what people thought of me, I had to be extra good on the ball,” Crouch says. “I’d walk onto a pitch and people would think, you know, just lump it up to him. So I prided myself on my touch and it was a constant battle every week to show how good I was: basically to stop them laughing at me over how I looked.”
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“People always say to me, ‘That must have got on your nerves’, although in a roundabout way, it’s a compliment,” he reasons.
“I worked so hard to get the touch I had, but it was amazing how constantly surprised people were. Even in training if I went to a new club, the players were all like, ‘Oh god, you’re better than I thought!’”
Peter Crouch was lauded for his control – with fans often surprised by how good he was with his feet (Image credit: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Crouch went on to score some incredible goals over his career, using the skills he’d honed as a youngster to pull out the spectacular, such as several overhead kicks as well as his stunning touch and volley from the edge of the box against Manchester City while a Stoke City player.
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The forward went on to win the FA Cup with Liverpool and played in the 2007 Champions League final across what became a very successful career for the former forward.
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