Peter Crouch Recalls the Time He Chose to Sacrifice Dirk Kuyt Over Xabi Alonso: I Nearly Killed Him!

One week before your club's most important game of the season - possibly one of the most important games in your club's history - what would you expect your favourite team's players do be doing? Sitting in ice-baths? Practicing penalties? Literally being wrapped in cotton wool? 

Generally, the expectation is that - one week before the biggest game of the season - a manager is ensuring that his players are mentally and physically at 100%. 

However in 2007, one week before the UEFA Champions League final, Rafael Benitez opted to throw caution to the wind; almost costing one of his player's their life in the process. 

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Peter Crouch revealed at a week before the Liverpool's Champions League final encounter with A.C. Milan, that the decision to allow he and his Liverpool teammates to go go-karting almost proved disastrous. 

After losing control of his kart, Crouch explained that - fully aware that he was set crash into one of his teammates - he opted to career into Dirk Kuyt as opposed to Xabi Alonso as he was less valuable to the team.

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"I think it was before the Champions League final... I think we were in Portugal, we had a week before the game and we went away we were training and we went go-karting.

"Went out, obviously going around the track and I've come in, I've flew into the pit obviously where we stop. 

Image by Matt Barnes

"I thought right I'll just brake now. No brakes whatsoever... so I've seen Alonso and I've seen Kuyt and I thought who's more valuable? So I've swerved into Kuyt and fair play to him he literally jumped with his legs like that and I've gone straight through him... God's honest truth it was quite dangerous."

Although Liverpool would lose 2-1 to AC Milan, most fans will probably agree that Crouch made the right choice.