PETER CROUCH has slammed Rafael Benitez for dropping him for the Champions League final in 2007.
Liverpool faced AC Milan in the clash in Athens in what was a repeat of the final two years earlier in Istanbul.
2007 Etsuo HaraPeter Crouch did not start the 2007 Champions League final[/caption]
2007 AFPHe claimed that Liverpool would have won if he had played from the start[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationCrouch has dugout out Rafael Benitez for not starting him[/caption]
This time round the Italian giants came out on top winning the match 2-1 thanks to goals from Filippo Inzaghi.
Dirk Kuyt did grab a late goal for the Reds but they were unable to replicate the heroics from two years earlier.
Crouch, 42, was left out of the starting line-up as manager Benitez made the controversial call not to start a recognised striker.
The Spaniard left both Crouch and Craig Bellamy on the bench as Kuyt started upfront rather than his regular position on the right wing.
Crouch had a claim to be the starter for the game having impressed during the Champions League campaign.
The former England international had scored seven goals in 14 appearances in the competition and started the majority of games.
Crouch believes that if he had started Liverpool would have won the game.
He also fired a subtle dig at Benitez for not starting him as he had been a regular in the team beforehand.
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He was speaking to Paddy Power as the star of their ‘Life with More Chances’ TV ad: “If I could change any moment in my life, it would probably be a football-related one.
“There will always be the games that got away in any footballer’s career, but for me it was the Champions League Final in 2007 with Liverpool against AC Milan.
“If I could replay one game, it would probably be that because we lost.
“I’d be sitting in front of you today as a Champions League winner instead of a Champions League finalist.
“I played every game up until the final, and then I didn’t start. So, I’d start the game and we’d have won the game.
“That is what I would change.”
Liverpool made a change to their striker options in the following transfer window as Bellamy was sold to West Ham.
This allowed Atletico Madrid star Fernando Torres to be brought to Anfield.