England Striker Peter Crouch Announces Retirement Via Twitter

England striker Peter Crouch officially announced his retirement at the age of 38 on Friday morning. Crouch had a long and healthy career, playing for multiple Premier League teams, and playing in both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups for England.

The striker was one of the more unorthodox front-men in the Premier League, standing 6-foot-7. He made his debut in the Premier League in 2000 with his first team, QPR after leaving Tottenham Hotspurs, failing to make the first team. He joined Aston Villa two years later, then moved onto Southampton after failing to play well at Villa. From Southampton, he moved onto Liverpool where we won an FA Cup, Community Shield, and placing second in the 2007 Champions League Final. He is most-known for his time at Liverpool, especially his Champions League goal against Galatasaray S.K., a bicycle kick.

Crouch scored 13 times in his first year at Liverpool after being signed by Rafa Benitez, winning an FA Cup in his first year in a red jersey. He made 134 total appearances, scoring 42 goals before moving onto Portsmouth then Tottenham again. After staying with Spurs for one season, scoring seven europeans goals, he moved to Stoke City where he won the team’s Player of the Year Award, scoring 14 league goals.

Overall, Crouch was a unique striker, standing taller than almost every player he played against and enforcing his play in the air and bringing his teammates into the game, being a target man.

Crouch tweeted on Friday, “After a lot of deliberation this summer I have decided to retire from football ! Our wonderful game has given me everything. I’m so thankful to everyone who helped me get there and to help me stay there for so long.”

According to the Guardian, Crouch said, “if you told me at 17 I’d play in World Cups, get to a Champions League final, win the FA Cup and get 100 Premier League goals I would have avoided you at all costs. It’s been an absolute dream come true.”