Peter Crouch has spoken to FourFourTwo about why he's such an adored figure in British football – and how there's a parallel there between himself and Jack Grealish.
Crouch is the subject of new documentary, That Peter Crouch Film, available on Amazon Prime Video from today, which takes a trip down memory lane for the striker and charts his beginnings in the Tottenham Hotspur academy before his rise up the football pyramid and his England career. But though Crouchy is a beloved figure in the media these days, things weren't always so rosy.
The former forward was abused by fans and spectators along the way for his unconventional, 6ft 7 frame, while some team-mates even doubted his ability as a footballer. In the documentary, Crouch's friends, father and even his wife, model Abbey Clancy, discuss the perceptions of Peter and how this adored character was formed.
When FourFourTwo sat down with Crouch, we asked him if it was surreal that he's gone from being laughed at from the terraces to one of the most universally recognised figures of a generation – and why he thinks he has such an enduring appeal. Crouch referred to the likes of Treble-winning Jack Grealish as an example of another player who has caught the imagination of nation.
"I think it’s because if you were a fan from the street, you’d play football like me," Crouch said.
"A lot of players would see it as a divine right to be there. They’d score a goal and wouldn’t celebrate it. I look at people like Jack Grealish now and I think, ‘He’s having a good time. He’s enjoying it.’ I think that’s what I did."
Famously, Crouch caught the attention of the country when he performed the Robot dance move after scoring against Jamaica in a friendly. The documentary charts the moment when he pulled out the iconic celebration – and even references the popularity that was sparked by the then-Liverpool man showing that side of his personality on England duty.
"It was like, ‘Look at him, he’s scored for England and he’s doing the Robot’," Crouch remembers. "I think it was something that people see in a player as a fan playing football.
"That was something that I had and I think now that I’ve gone on to do what I’m doing now, people can see that I didn’t take it for granted, I used the maximum of what I had and I enjoyed every minute of it."
That Peter Crouch Film is available on Amazon Prime Video now
