Peter Crouch
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Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English former professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...
who played as a striker. He was capped 42 times by the England national team between 2005 and 2010, scoring 22 goals for his country during that time, and appearing at two
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
tournaments. He is one of 33 players to have scored 100 or more Premier League goals, and holds the record for the most headed goals in Premier League history. Crouch began his career as a trainee with
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
. He failed to make an appearance for Spurs and after loan spells at
Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. Th ...
and Swedish club
IFK Hässleholm IFK Hässleholm is a Swedish football club from Hässleholm that was established in 1905. The team is currently playing in Division 2 Östra Götaland. Several well known players have played at the club including England international strike ...
he joined
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
. After QPR were relegated at the end of the 2000–01 season,
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
acquired him in a transfer deal worth £1.5 million. He had a strong first season at
Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect Ar ...
, and after scoring 19 goals for the club, he joined
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, ...
in March 2002 for £5 million. He had a relatively poor spell at Villa, however, and was loaned out to
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
in 2003 before making a move to
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, where he regained his form, which would ultimately prompt his joining
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
in July 2005. At Liverpool he enjoyed considerable success, winning the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
and
FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA C ...
in 2006, and also gaining a runners-up medal in the
2007 UEFA Champions League Final The 2007 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool of England and Milan of Italy at the Olympic Stad ...
. After scoring 42 goals in three seasons at
Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 ...
,
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
re-acquired Crouch for £11 million, where he forged an effective partnership with fellow England international
Jermain Defoe Jermain Colin Defoe (born 7 October 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He also played for the England national team. Defoe began his career with Charlton Athletic, joining their youth team aged 14, be ...
. He spent just one season in his second spell at Portsmouth and left for Tottenham Hotspur, where he again linked up with Defoe and
Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In h ...
. He scored a vital goal for Tottenham against
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
which earned the club a place in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
. He scored seven goals in ten European matches for Spurs in 2010–11, but was unable to replicate this form in the Premier League. He joined
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
in August 2011, for a club record fee of £10 million. In his first season with Stoke, he scored 14 goals and won the club's
Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...
award. He scored eight in 2012–13 and ten in both the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons. Crouch spent seven and a half years with Stoke, scoring 62 goals before joining Burnley in January 2019. He retired in July 2019 after the end of his contract.


Early life

Crouch was born in
Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its eas ...
, Cheshire, but his family moved to Singapore when he was one year old. The move came about when his father Bruce, originally from
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...
, took up a job offer to work at a Singaporean advertising agency. The Crouch family spent three years living in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
, and moved back to England after Bruce rejected the chance to work in Australia. They then spent time living at a
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
in
Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...
before settling in
Harrow on the Hill Harrow on the Hill is a locality and historic village in the borough of Harrow in Greater London, England. The name refers to Harrow Hill, ,Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) and is located some half a mile south of the mod ...
. Crouch attended Roxeth Primary and North Ealing Primary and began to play football with Northolt Hotspurs. He was then invited to join the
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings wh ...
Centre of Excellence in 1991 and he also played for the boys club West Middlesex Colts whilst attending Drayton Manor High School. Crouch turned down contract offers from
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
and
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
and instead joined
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
in the summer of 1994. He did not stay at QPR for long, however, for in November 1994, the coaching staff at
Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...
moved to
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
, including its youth team manager Des Bulpin, who offered Crouch a contract at Spurs. Crouch's family were Chelsea supporters, and he became a
ball boy Ball boys and ball girls, also known as ball kids are individuals, usually human youths but sometimes dogs, who retrieve and supply balls for players or officials in sports such as association football, American football, bandy, cricket, tenn ...
at Stamford Bridge at the age of ten. As a child, he attended some Chelsea matches. Later, he told the Liverpool official website that despite this, he and his friends at the time were fans of QPR.


Club career


Tottenham Hotspur

Crouch signed a professional contract with Tottenham Hotspur on 2 July 1998, after having played for their youth team. However, he did not make any appearances for their first team and was loaned out to other clubs, having brief spells at
Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. Th ...
in the
Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 t ...
Premier Division and, in the summer of 2000,
IFK Hässleholm IFK Hässleholm is a Swedish football club from Hässleholm that was established in 1905. The team is currently playing in Division 2 Östra Götaland. Several well known players have played at the club including England international strike ...
in Sweden, where he played in the country's third tier. His move to Sweden came about when IFK Hässleholm sold
Jon Jönsson Jon Martin Olof Jönsson (born 8 July 1983) is a Swedish former footballer who played as a defender. Career Jönsson made his first team debut in IFK Hässleholm aged 15, and his talent was recognised by Tottenham Hotspur who brought him to Lo ...
to Tottenham for £70,000 and also agreed two loan deals for the Swedish club, that of Crouch and Alton Thelwell.


QPR and Portsmouth

On 28 July 2000, Tottenham sold Crouch to First Division club Queens Park Rangers for £60,000. He made an immediate impression with QPR, scoring ten league goals in the 2000–01 season, but it was not enough to prevent the team's relegation to the
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
. Relegation meant that QPR had to sell many of their best players to support their diminished finances, and
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
bought Crouch for £1.5 million. Crouch scored 18
league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
goals in 37 starts for Portsmouth during the 2001–02 season and was tipped by manager Graham Rix to have a big future in the game.


Aston Villa

In March 2002,
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, ...
made a successful £5 million bid for Crouch. He scored on his home debut for Villa, the equalising goal against
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...
, and went on to score twice in seven appearances. Crouch, however, failed to hold down a regular place in the Aston Villa team in the following 2002–03 season making 18 appearances without scoring. Looking for first team football, he was loaned to
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
from September to December 2003. Crouch played 15 times for the Canaries in 2003–04, scoring four goals helping the team gain promotion. Crouch was sent off for retaliation during Norwich's 3–1 win at
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...
, but nonetheless his spell at Norwich renewed interest in his abilities from other clubs. At the end of the three-month loan, he returned to Aston Villa, and scored a brace against
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
, a late winner at
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...
and the opener at
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pik ...
. Villa sold Crouch in July 2004 to
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
for a fee of £2.5 million.


Southampton

Despite initially being back-up to first choice strikers James Beattie and Kevin Phillips, Crouch became the main attacking focus of the Southampton team upon the arrival of
Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In h ...
and the sale of Beattie. He scored many key goals in Southampton's relegation battle, including memorable goals against
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
in a 2–0 home win,
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
in a 1–1 home draw and two away to Middlesbrough in a 3–1 victory. He also scored a late winning penalty to knock former club and Saints' arch-rival Portsmouth out of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
. His form for the Saints eventually resulted in him receiving his first
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
call-up. After scoring 16 goals in 33 appearances during the 2004–05 season, his future was cast into doubt when Southampton were relegated from the Premier League. On 19 July 2005, Southampton agreed to sell Crouch for £7 million to Liverpool on a four-year contract.


Liverpool

Crouch underwent intense media scrutiny because of a goal drought during his first months at Liverpool. For 19 matches—the span of four months—he was unable to score. Crouch was praised for other facets of his game, such as his touch on the ball, but his first goal for the club evaded him. The fact that Crouch possessed "good touch for a big man" became something of a media
cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...
during this time. Early in his Liverpool career, the supporters composed a new chant: "He's big, he's red, his feet stick out the bed, Peter Crouch, Peter Crouch." The drought finally ended on 3 December 2005 when he scored against
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...
. Although this first goal was originally given as an
own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...
, it was later awarded to Crouch on appeal; he went on to score a second goal in the same match. Before these goals, Crouch had played over 24 hours of football for Liverpool without scoring. In addition to this, he also had to deal with unpleasant taunts from crowds at matches, as he had throughout his footballing career, who often chanted "
freak A freak is a person who is physically deformed or transformed due to an extraordinary medical condition or body modification. This definition was first attested with this meaning in the 1880s as a shorter form of the phrase "freak of nature" ...
" at him due to his unusual height. He went on to score several goals that season, including the only goal in the fifth round of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
against
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
, Liverpool's first victory over them in the FA Cup post-Second World War. On 13 May, he helped Liverpool to win the
2006 FA Cup Final The 2006 FA Cup Final was a football match played between Liverpool and West Ham United on 13 May 2006 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2005–06 FA Cup, the 125th season of the world's oldest football knockou ...
against
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, providing an assist for
Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, ...
to score the second Liverpool goal. Three months later, in the curtain-raiser to the 2006–07 season, he headed the winning goal for Liverpool in the club's 2–1 victory over Chelsea in the
FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA C ...
. In their
2006–07 UEFA Champions League The 2006–07 UEFA Champions League was the 15th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since it was rebranded from the European Cup, and the 52nd season overall. The final was contested by Milan ...
campaign, he scored his first goals in European club competition against
Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...
. Crouch sustained a broken nose when playing against
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
in February 2007. Although he played in some subsequent matches, on 9 March 2007, it was announced that he would undergo surgery on the injury that would keep him out of football for a month. On 31 March, he returned to action after the operation and scored the first
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...
of his club career, coming against Arsenal in a 4–1 victory. This was also a so-called " perfect hat-trick," consisting of goals scored from his right foot, left foot and head. He later participated in the
2007 UEFA Champions League Final The 2007 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool of England and Milan of Italy at the Olympic Stad ...
, coming on as a substitute for
Javier Mascherano Javier Alejandro Mascherano (born 8 June 1984) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Argentina national under-20 team. As a player, he played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder, most not ...
as Liverpool were defeated by
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
in Athens. He ended the 2006–07 season as Liverpool's top goalscorer in all competitions, with eighteen goals. At the start of the 2007–08 season, he had restricted opportunities to play for Liverpool due to the arrival of other strikers, including
Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, ...
, but nonetheless scored against
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...
in a Champions League qualifying win in August, his eighth goal in his past ten appearances in that competition, and then also scoring the first and last goals of an 8–0 win over
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, ...
in the first round of the Champions League in November. On 19 December, Crouch was sent off in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, receiving a straight red card for a foul on Chelsea's
Mikel John Obi Mikel John Obi (born John Michael Nchekwube Obinna; 22 April 1987) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Mikel began his career with local club Plateau United, before joining Norwegian club Lyn at th ...
as Liverpool exited the tournament. In April, he scored a vital goal in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal, helping Liverpool secure fourth spot ahead of local rivals Everton.


Return to Portsmouth

On 7 July 2008, it was announced that Crouch had verbally agreed to join former club and FA Cup holders Portsmouth in a deal worth up to £11 million. Crouch passed his medical the following day, and, on 11 July, Crouch's transfer was officially unveiled at a Portsmouth news conference. Crouch scored his first goal on his return to Portsmouth in a 3–0 win against Everton at
Goodison Park Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...
on 30 August 2008. Crouch then went on to net his first goal at Portsmouth's
Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect Ar ...
home ground in the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur on 28 September. On 2 October 2008, Crouch scored twice in extra time in a
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
match away to Portuguese team Vitória de Guimarães to help Portsmouth reach the group stages of the competition. He went on to score twice against
Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...
in a 3–0 victory at Fratton Park, however Portsmouth failed to make it out of the group stages. Crouch played 46 times for Pompey in 2008–09, scoring 16 goals as the side finished in 14th position.


Return to Tottenham Hotspur

On 27 July 2009, Tottenham Hotspur signed Crouch from Portsmouth for a fee of £10 million, on a five-year contract. Crouch made his debut for Spurs in a pre-season friendly against
Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a numbe ...
, and came on as a substitute in Tottenham's season opening win over Liverpool, making his full Premier League debut for the club in the process. He scored his first goal for Tottenham in the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
tie against
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
in a 5–1 win on 26 August 2009. He scored again in his next match, opening his league account with Spurs with a goal in a 2–1 home win against
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
. On 23 September, Crouch scored his first hat-trick for Spurs in a 5–1 win over
Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
in the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
. In May, his late goal against
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
in what was being dubbed as the "£15 million game" put Spurs in a position to claim their first-ever Champions League berth. After having hit the post and missed a Benoît Assou-Ekotto cross, Crouch scored a header after goalkeeper
Márton Fülöp Márton Fülöp (; 3 May 1983 – 12 November 2015) was a Hungarian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. After playing in Hungary for MTK Budapest, BKV Előre SC and BFC Siófok, he signed for English club Tottenham Hotspur, who ...
could only parry the ball into his path. On 25 August 2010, Crouch scored a hat-trick at
White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...
against Young Boys to help Tottenham to reach the
group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
of the 2010–11 Champions League. On 15 February 2011, Crouch scored what turned out to be the winning goal in the Champions League second round, first leg match against Milan at the
San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums ...
, sweeping home
Aaron Lennon Aaron Justin Lennon (; born 16 April 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. Lennon began his career at hometown club Leeds United, making his first-team debut in 2003 and becoming the youngest player to play ...
's cut-back after a counter-attack. Three weeks later, Spurs progressed to the quarter-finals after the reverse fixture at White Hart Lane ended 0–0. On 5 April, he was sent off in the 14th minute after receiving two yellow cards in the quarter-finals against
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
. He scored an own goal against Manchester City, which consequently confirmed City into the Champions League for the 2011–12 season with Tottenham finishing fifth.


Stoke City

On 31 August 2011,
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
signed Crouch from Tottenham for a then club record fee of £10 million, that would rise to £12 million, on a four-year contract. Speaking after sealing his move to the
Britannia Stadium The Bet365 Stadium (stylised as ''bet365 Stadium'') is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was ...
, Crouch revealed that his former Tottenham teammate
Jonathan Woodgate Jonathan Simon Woodgate (born 22 January 1980) is an English football manager and former player who is currently the First Team Coach at EFL Championship club, Middlesbrough. Woodgate began his career at Middlesbrough but moved to Leeds Uni ...
was a major influence upon his decision to join Stoke. Crouch made his debut for Stoke City in a 1–0 win against former club Liverpool on 10 September 2011. He scored his first goal for the Potters in a 1–1 draw against Manchester United, making Stoke the sixth Premier League club he has scored for. He scored his second goal in the following match against Beşiktaş in the
2011–12 UEFA Europa League The 2011–12 UEFA Europa League was the third season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 41st edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 30 June 2011 with t ...
campaign. Crouch went on to score against Arsenal,
Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
,
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
and
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club' ...
before missing out on the Christmas period matches after suffering from a virus. On 2 January 2012, against Blackburn, Crouch scored both goals in a 2–1 victory. It was a landmark achievement for Crouch as he surpassed 100 league goals. On 24 March 2012, Crouch scored a stunning long-distance volley against Manchester City in a 1–1 draw at the Britannia Stadium. After the match, Crouch stated that it was the best goal of his career. He scored the winning goal for Stoke against their Midlands rivals Wolves on 7 April to take his goal tally to 13 and was backed by manager
Tony Pulis Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him on ...
to earn a recall to the England squad for
UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
. At the end of season awards dinner, Crouch won the club's
Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...
and Goal of the Season awards. Crouch began the 2012–13 season well, scoring five goals in seven matches, against
Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
, Wigan Athletic, Manchester City and a brace against
Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...
. He lost several teeth after being accidentally kicked in the mouth by
Fabricio Coloccini Fabricio Coloccini (; ; born 22 January 1982) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Coloccini began his club career at Boca Juniors in his native Argentina attracting the attention of A.C. Milan. He failed ...
in a match against Newcastle United on 28 November 2012 and as a result had to undergo corrective surgery. He then went three months without a goal before scoring against Wigan on 29 January 2013. Crouch again went through a three-month barren spell in front of goal before scoring against former club Queens Park Rangers on 20 April 2013 in a 2–0 victory. He scored on the final day of the season against Southampton as he ended the 2012–13 season with eight goals, with Stoke finishing 13th in the league.
Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...
replaced Tony Pulis as manager in May 2013 and despite starting the first two matches of the 2013–14 season, Hughes dropped Crouch to the bench. He returned to the starting line up on 26 October 2013 and scored in a 3–2 defeat against Manchester United. Crouch retained his place in the team for the remainder of the 2013–14 season, where he finished as top scorer with ten goals in 38 appearances as Stoke finished in ninth place. Crouch scored his first goals of 2014–15 in September 2014 against QPR and Newcastle. In October 2014, Crouch stated that he would like to remain at the Britannia Stadium with Stoke for the remainder of his career. On 29 October 2014, Crouch came on as a substitute in Stoke's League Cup defeat to Southampton; 15 minutes later, he was sent off for two yellow cards in the space of two minutes. On 6 December, he scored after 19 seconds against Arsenal in an eventual 3–2 victory. A week later, in his 600th match in English football, Crouch scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw at
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
. Crouch signed a two-year contract extension in January 2015. On 28 February 2015, Crouch scored the winning goal in Stoke's 1–0 win over
Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
, equaling
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premi ...
's record of 46 headed goals in the Premier League. He surpassed this on 24 May with a header five minutes after coming on as a substitute to conclude a 6–1 home win over Liverpool in Stoke's final match of the season. In total, Crouch matched the previous season's goal tally of ten goals in 38 appearances as Stoke finished in ninth position for the second consecutive season. Following the end of the season, Crouch underwent groin surgery. Crouch struggled for game time in 2015–16 making 18 appearances of which nine were as a substitute. He scored just twice, which came against lower league
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...
and Doncaster Rovers in cup competitions. Crouch scored a hat-trick away to
Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Steven ...
in the
EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by t ...
, on 23 August 2016 in a 4–0 win. On 9 January 2017, Crouch signed a new contract with Stoke in a deal lasting until the summer of 2018. Crouch scored four goals in five games at the turn of the year including his 100th Premier League goal, the oldest player to hit the landmark. Crouch made 29 appearances in 2016–17, scoring ten goals, as Stoke finished in 13th position. After the season ended Crouch stated that he wants to continue playing until he is 40. Crouch set a record for the most appearances as substitute in the Premier League, on 20 November 2017 when he came off the bench for the 143rd time against
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
, breaking the record held by
Shola Ameobi Foluwashola Ameobi (born 12 October 1981) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent 14 years at Newcastle United, making 397 official appearances and scoring 79 goals, and received a winner's medal when the ...
. He also became Stoke City's leading Premier League goalscorer of all time during the same season, reaching 45 goals and overtaking the 43 scored by
Jonathan Walters Jonathan Ronald Walters (born 20 September 1983) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Walters started his career at Blackburn Rovers but failed to break into the first team and joined Bolton Wanderers. He then went ou ...
. Crouch signed another one-year contract extension with the Potters in November 2017. Crouch played 34 times in 2017–18, scoring six goals as Stoke were relegated to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
.


Burnley

Crouch signed for Premier League club
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...
on 31 January 2019 on a contract until the end of the 2018–19 season in a player-exchange deal with
Sam Vokes Samuel Michael Vokes (born 21 October 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL League One club Wycombe Wanderers and the Wales national team. Vokes began his professional career at AFC Bournemouth in League One, makin ...
. Crouch made his debut for
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...
on 2 February, coming on as a 76th minute substitute in a 1–1 draw against
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
; he made an immediate impact, as he was instrumental in Burnley being awarded their first penalty for a season-and-a-half. He was released at the end of the season and announced his retirement from professional football on 12 July 2019 at the age of 38.


International career


Youth international

Crouch was capped for the England under-20 team at the
1999 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Nigeria between 3 and 24 April 1999. This was the 12th edition of the tournament. Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. :1.Teams that ...
, with teammates including Stuart Taylor,
Ashley Cole Ashley Cole (born 20 December 1980) is an English football coach and former player who is currently a first-team coach at Premier League club Everton. As a player, he played as a left-back, most notably for Arsenal and Chelsea. Cole is cons ...
,
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a De ...
and Matthew Etherington. However, the team finished bottom at the group stage, with three losses and having scored no goals. He was later a part of David Platt's England under-21 team, which went to the finals of the European Under-21 Championship in Switzerland in May 2002, where he scored once against
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.


Breakthrough into senior team

In May 2005 he was handed his first call-up to the England senior squad by manager
Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...
for the team's tour of the United States, making his debut against
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
. He went on to make two appearances during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign for England: starting against
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
in a 1–0 victory and coming on as a substitute against
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
in a 2–1 win. In the latter appearance, Crouch's introduction as a second-half substitute was booed by England's own supporters. On 1 March 2006, he scored his first goal for England, with the equaliser in a 2–1 friendly win over
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. He did this whilst bizarrely wearing two different squad numbers on his shirt – No. 21 on the front (his designated squad number for the match), and the incorrect No. 12 on the back. In May 2006, Crouch was included in the 23-man England squad for the
2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
, and was expected to be a significant figure in the team due to
Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while ...
's foot injury. On 30 May, he played in a pre-
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
friendly against
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
, scoring the third goal in England's 3–1 win. He followed his goal with his iconic robotic dancing
goal celebration In sports, a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration is normally performed by the goalscorer, and may involve their teammates, the manager or coaching staff or the supporters of the team. Whilst r ...
. On 3 June, he scored a hat-trick in a 6–0 pre-World Cup friendly victory against
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
where he again performed his robotic celebration.


2006 World Cup

After his displays in England's friendlies, Crouch partnered with
Michael Owen Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...
in attack for England's opening 2006 World Cup match against
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...
on 10 June 2006. England won the match 1–0 and Crouch kept his place in the starting line-up for the following match against
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
, against whom he scored his first competitive international goal. The goal provoked some controversy as replays showed Crouch to be pulling on Brent Sancho's long hair, holding the defender down, to gain an advantage. Crouch was rested for England's third group match against
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
as Rooney returned from injury to join the starting line-up. However, Owen suffered a serious knee injury in the opening minute of the match and Crouch replaced him, playing the remainder of the match. In England's 1–0 second round victory against
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, Crouch remained an unused substitute as Eriksson switched the team to a new formation with Wayne Rooney as a lone striker. After Rooney's dismissal for a foul in England's quarter-final against
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
, Crouch came on as a substitute for
Joe Cole Joseph John Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger in the Premier League, Ligue 1, League One and United Soccer League. He is regarded as on ...
, as England went on to get knocked out on penalties. On 5 September 2007, retired English referee Graham Poll claimed that
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
had specifically warned referees at the event to pay close attention to Crouch, claiming that "he's a real pain and he's getting away with too much."


Euro 2008 qualifying

Crouch remained a part of the England set-up under Eriksson's successor as manager,
Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club. McClaren began his coaching caree ...
, and started McClaren's first match in charge, a friendly against
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
in August 2006. He scored twice in England's 4–0 victory. Two further goals followed in England's next match, a 5–0 win over
Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
in their opening qualifying match for
UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...
on 2 September 2006. Contemporary reports suggested that Crouch was the first player ever to reach ten goals for England within a single calendar year. In fact, this had happened several times pre-Second World War, most recently by
Dixie Dean William Ralph "Dixie" Dean (22 January 1907 – 1 March 1980) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest centre-forwards of all time and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in ...
(12 goals in 1927) and
George Camsell George Henry Camsell (27 November 1902 – 7 March 1966) was an English footballer who scored a club record 325 league goals in 419 games for Middlesbrough, and 18 goals in nine appearances for England. His 59 goals in one season (1926–27) fo ...
(11 goals in 1929). An operation needed for a nose injury he sustained playing for Liverpool prevented him from playing in England's two qualifying matches in March 2007. He returned to the England squad for their matches against
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
in late May and early June 2007, scoring in the qualifying match against the latter. Crouch was England's top scorer in the qualifying campaign with five goals, but this did not prevent England finishing only third in their group and failing to progress to the finals of the competition.


Capello era

On 1 April 2009, Crouch made his first start under McClaren's successor,
Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career whi ...
, in a 2010 World Cup qualifier against
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
. He scored England's first goal in their 2–1 victory. Crouch was re-called to the England squad for the friendly against
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
and the
World Cup qualifier The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...
versus
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
, following his fine form for Tottenham. Crouch also got an early first half goal against
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
in the final 2010 World Cup qualifier, which he then followed up with a second goal in the 76th minute. This took Crouch's tally for England up to 18 goals in just 17 starts. Crouch scored a brace after coming on as a substitute against
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
in a friendly on 3 March 2010 to take his overall international goal tally to 20. He also scored the second goal for England against
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
on 24 May 2010.


2010 World Cup

Crouch was named in Capello's final 23-man squad for the
2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
and was given the number 9 shirt. He came on as a substitute for Emile Heskey in England's opening match against the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and also came off the bench for
Gareth Barry Gareth Barry (born 23 February 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made 653 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton and West Bromwich Albion, the highest number of ap ...
in the following match against
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
. Crouch did not take part in the final group stage match with Slovenia or the 4–1 loss to
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
in the last-16.


Post-2010 World Cup

Crouch came on as a substitute in the home friendly against France for the injured Steven Gerrard on 17 November 2010. He scored quickly from an Ashley Young corner to make the score 1–2 with an angled side-footed volley. It was his second touch of the ball. After not making an appearance for England for almost a year, Crouch stated in October 2011 that he "does not carry much hope" of receiving a call-up. Crouch was not part of the England squad for
UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
. After the tournament it was reported that Crouch refused to be in it unless he was part of the original squad, according to manager
Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is a former English football manager and player. He managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to ...
, which drew criticism directed at him. However, Crouch afterwards said that this was not the case and that he would "never" not want to play for England. During a run of good form in September 2017, Crouch said in a television interview that he was not officially retired from international football.


Player profile


Style of play

A tall forward, with a slender physique, Crouch was known for possessing a good first touch, despite his stature, as well as an eye for goal; however, he was also known for his lack of significant pace, strength, power, and athleticism, while his movement occasionally came under criticism in the media. He usually played as a ''target man'' in a
centre-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
role throughout his career, or as a striker, due to his ability to hold up the ball with his back to goal and link-up with his teammates. Although he was criticised in his youth for his limited ability in the air, despite his height, and for his inability to out–jump other players, he holds the record for the most headed goals in Premier League history. He was also known for his longevity, and had a penchant for scoring acrobatic goals from
bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...
s. Crouch has attributed his success as a footballer to his own hard work and determination.


Personality as a footballer


Nicknames

Although generally known as "Crouchy," other nicknames he has been given by fans and the media in England have included "RoboCrouch" and "Crouchinho" (an ironic use of the "- inho" suffix, meaning "little" in Portuguese and used by many Brazilian footballers). He has been also referred to as "
Mr. Roboto "Mr. Roboto" is a song by American rock band Styx, released as the lead single from their eleventh studio album, '' Kilroy Was Here'' (1983). It was written by band member Dennis DeYoung. In Canada, it went to #1 on the ''RPM'' national singles ...
" by
Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and include ...
's commentators and as "Pantera Rosa" ("
Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film ''The Pi ...
") by
Fox Sports en Español Fox Deportes (formerly Fox Sports en Español and stylized in all caps as FOX Deportes) is an American pay television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming in Spanish, aimed at the Hispanic population in the United States ...
commentators.


Robotic dancing

In the summer of 2006, Crouch adopted a robotic dancing
goal celebration In sports, a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration is normally performed by the goalscorer, and may involve their teammates, the manager or coaching staff or the supporters of the team. Whilst r ...
. A parody of a dance he had been seen performing on a television programme covering a party held at England teammate
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending ...
's house, he first performed it after his goal for England against Hungary on 30 May. He again performed the dance after both of his first two goals against Jamaica on 3 June. The ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its Masthead (British publishing), masthead was simpl ...
'' newspaper wrote that the dance was inspired by the lyrics to the
Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...
' hit single "
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" is a song by English rock band Arctic Monkeys released on 15 October 2005, through Domino Recording Company. The song was the band's first single from their debut studio album, '' Whatever People Say I ...
". On 12 June, Crouch announced he would perform his robotic dance again only if England were to win the World Cup, saying, "It's not about robotic dancing. It is about scoring goals and winning matches. It's an important time for everyone now." In September 2006, he was quoted in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' newspaper as saying that, "It was funny at the time, but I didn't want to carry on doing it until it became unfunny. I've stopped doing it for the time being, but if I ever score a really big goal you never know." On 6 August 2007, Crouch said he would never use the robot dance again unless he scored in the UEFA Champions League Final, but he partially reprised it on 1 April 2009 after scoring during England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine after a Comic Relief sketch. On 1 February 2017, Crouch gave the dance a final outing to celebrate his 100th Premier League goal.


After football

After retiring from football at the age of 38, Crouch has worked on a Saturday night
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
TV show titled '' Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer''. In 2022, he became a member of the panel for the TV series '' The Masked Dancer''.


Personal life

Crouch and model
Abbey Clancy Abigail Marie Clancy (born 10 January 1986) is an English lingerie and catwalk model, and television personality. She was the runner-up of '' Britain's Next Top Model (cycle 2)'' in 2006 and won series 11 of '' Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2013 ...
married on 30 June 2011. Together they have two daughters and two sons, Sophia Ruby (born March 2011), Liberty Rose (born June 2015), Johnny (born January 2018) and Jack (born June 2019). In August 2012, Crouch was found guilty of
speeding Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...
in November 2011 and ordered to pay a fine of £1,000. On 16 October 2012, Crouch was disqualified from driving for six months. Crouch released his autobiography in 2007, titled ''Walking Tall – My Story''. His second book, ''How to be a Footballer'', was released in 2018. In autumn 2018, the first series of ''
That Peter Crouch Podcast ''That Peter Crouch Podcast'' is an entertainment and sports podcast hosted by Peter Crouch, Chris Stark and Steve Sidwell. Ostensibly a guide on how to be a professional footballer, the episodes include insight on everything from dressing rooms, ...
'' aired, featuring Crouch along with
Tom Fordyce Tom Fordyce is a former BBC Sport journalist. He wrote text commentaries on cricket and tennis, also writing features on various other sports and blogging from a number of different events. Fordyce attended Westminster School, where he was a pref ...
and Chris Stark. Crouch has a
GNVQ A General National Vocational Qualification, or GNVQ, was a certificate of vocational education in the United Kingdom. The last GNVQs were awarded in 2007. The qualifications related to occupational areas in general, rather than any specific ...
in Leisure and Tourism, which he obtained as part of a mandatory educational programme while at Tottenham Hotspur.


Career statistics


Club


International

:''England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Crouch goal.''


Honours

Norwich City *
Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
: 2003–04 Liverpool *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
: 2005–06 *
FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA C ...
:
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
*
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
runner-up: 2006–07 *
FIFA Club World Championship The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 20 ...
runner-up:
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...
Individual *
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
Player of the Season: 2000–01 * Portsmouth Player of the Season: 2001–02 * Stoke City Player of the Year: 2011–12 *
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
Goal of the Season: 2011–12


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crouch, Peter 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Macclesfield Footballers from Cheshire English footballers Association football forwards Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players IFK Hässleholm players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Isthmian League players Ettan Fotboll players English Football League players Premier League players England youth international footballers England under-21 international footballers England B international footballers England international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate footballers in Sweden People educated at Drayton Manor High School English autobiographers FA Cup Final players