Peter Crouch can laugh now about the moment that gave him the motivation to succeed in professional football. But as a 13-year-old who had never been on the Tube alone, the day his dad forced him to make his own way home was a harsh and scary lesson.
The former England striker had been in action for Tottenham's youth side with his father, Bruce, watching keenly from the sidelines. Yet Crouch senior was so unimpressed by his son shirking a tackle during the match that he decided to leave and force him to make his own back to Ealing from north-east London.
When the game finished Crouch spent some time looking for his old man before the penny dropped and he realised that he would need to navigate his own route back across town.
It is one of several formative stories told in Amazon’s new documentary charting the career of Crouch, 42, and in an interview ahead of its release he said the tough love from his dad provided him with the determination to succeed in the cut and thrust of professional football.
“It would have an impact on anyone,” Crouch said. “It was a life lesson, I think. I was raised in quite a nice neighbourhood. And it was quite different from the lads I’d meet at White Hart Lane on a Tuesday and Thursday night. Lads who are going out there to help their families survive.
“They went into tackles like their life depended on it because, well, their life did depend on it. It would have been easy for me to shy away from it. In the early days there were times when my dad would let me know in no uncertain terms not to jump out of a tackle. And I’ve got to be honest with you, I didn’t jump out of another one. I should have been sent off the next week.”
Bruce features prominently in the film and admits he was concerned that his son would not be aggressive enough to make it as a pro in an environment that was ruthless towards anyone who looked a little bit different.
And Crouch credits the tough love for keeping him focused at a time in his career when many team-mates were being lured by other interests.
He added: “I knew I had ability but it’s easy for ability to get lost with my frame. My body didn’t catch up with me. I had skill and ability but I was tall and not very good in the air. I wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t quick enough. But there are so many factors that make a footballer.
"If you’ve got the ability, that’s the hardest thing to have. The rest of it, your body will catch up or it won’t. I never had blistering pace but I had other attributes and could adapt my game. I worked hard and had the dedication and desire to succeed.
“My dad zoned in on that and it’d have been easy to get lost between 14 and 21, where a lot of people get lost, because other factors come in and you can lose your way. My dad was very good at just letting me make my own decisions.
"'Do you want to be a footballer?' Obviously, yes. 'If you make that decision, do you think that will help?' No. 'Why are you doing it then?' Well… It makes perfect sense and helps to make your own mind up rather than saying you’re not doing this, not doing that.
“It’s something I’ll take into bringing my own kids up. I thank him every day for being in the position I’m in now. He was hard on me at times but he saw something in me, that I could make it, and got there.”
