EXCLUSIVE
close call
Peter Crouch almost ‘tore Dirk Kuyt’s ankles to pieces’ in go-kart accident before Champions League final after deciding Liverpool ‘needed Xabi Alonso more’
We can laugh about it now.
But the sight of Peter Crouch racing towards you in a 35mph go-kart with no brakes probably wasn't quite so funny at the time.
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Not least for Dirk Kuyt, who was almost wiped out and seriously injured ahead of Liverpool's Champions League final against AC Milan.
The year is 2007 and Reds boss Rafael Benitez has decided to take his squad on a team bonding trip to a go-kart track.
But with Crouchy around, this was a terrible idea.
As usual, the former England striker decided to have a little bit of fun.
Kuyt and Xabi Alonso decided to watch on from the sidelines and Crouch only wanted to give them a little fright.
Joining talkSPORT on Friday morning, the 41-year-old explained how events quickly spiralled out of control and left him with a brutal decision to make.
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"It was just before the Champions League final," Crouch recalled on the talkSPORT Breakfast. "We went go-karting.
"Everyone had stopped in the pits and as I came in, I came in fast for a bit of fun.
"I slammed the brakes - gone. No brakes.
"It was literally Alonso or Kuyt and I thought, 'Who do we need most?'
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"I went straight into Kuyt.
"To be fair to him, he was so quick. My brakes had gone, I didn't know what to do.
"He sort of spread his legs and I went through the middle of them."
Speaking after the incident, Kuyt said: "I didn’t join in, as I wanted to rest a small injury, but I went along to watch and picked a safe-looking spot to stand beside the track with Rafa.
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"Out of nowhere, Crouch drove straight at me at roughly 35mph. He couldn’t brake!
"The only think I could do was jump in the air, and in the end I just managed to jump over Peter, and he crashed into cardboard boxes behind me.
"I was within a whisker of having my ankles torn to pieces, and would surely have missed the Champions League final."