I felt like the whole world was laughing at me on my debut – 30,000 people were calling me a ‘freak’

PETER CROUCH has opened up about his struggles to break through as a footballer on his latest podcast with wife Abbey Clancey.

The former England man reflected on how his 6ft7 stature made it difficult for him to find acceptance earlier on in his career.

The ex-striker, who now regularly works as a pundit for TNT, was reflecting on his career with wife Clancy as part of her Exhibit A podcast.

Crouch spoke about making his debut for QPR at the age of 18 and feeling like “the whole world was laughing at me”.

He told Clancy: “At the start, I would have given everything just to have a normal body shape. [Because] You just want to fit in don’t you?

“I made my debut and felt like the whole world was laughing at me really.”

“I’m 18 years old, I’m coming on and getting 30,000 people shouting ‘Freak’ at you.

“[Fans were thinking] ‘What’s this? He doesn’t look like a footballer'”.

Clancy then asked her husband what some of the worst jibes he faced from fans were.

Crouch replied: “Well ‘freak’ was the worst one. ‘Does the circus know you’re here?’ was one of the songs. Quite funny to be fair.”

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Clancy then interjected to say: “Not funny if you’re a teenage boy.”

The former forward revealed that his mother and sister came to watch him play in the early days but soon stopped after the abuse from the terraces.

He said: “But in all honesty I’m there to be shot at. I’ve given myself the opportunity of a lifetime. I’m thinking my mum and sister have come to watch me play and this should be the pinnacle of my life as I’ve kind of made it now [after making his debut].

“But they stopped coming very quickly.”

He said he eventually came through it due to his persistence, saying: “You just want to get through it. I want my debut to be my debut and think ‘I’ve just played now’ and go under the radar.

“Obviously you want to go beyond the radar and score goals but you don’t want to be on the radar for just looking different.”

Crouch said his turning point came in a game against Gillingham when he came off the bench with the R’s 2-0 down and registered a goal and an assist.

He’d go on to spend just one season at QPR, before moving on to Portsmouth and then Aston Villa.

Crouch became one of the most recognisable strikers in the Premier League in a career that saw him play for Liverpool, Tottenham and Stoke.

He also made 42 appearances for England and scored 22 goals for The Three Lions.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk