Dirtiest footballer ever? Peter Crouch said Kevin Muscat is the only player who scared him | OneFootball

Highlights

Peter Crouch once named the only footballer who genuinely scared him during his professional career. And no, it wasn't former Manchester United captain Roy Keane.

Some of you may not be familiar with the name Kevin Muscat. But Crouch, and many other footballers around the world who played in the 1990s and 2000s, will certainly never forget the former Australian defender. Muscat left Australia in 1996, signing for Crystal Palace. He then went on to have spells at Wolves, Rangers and, fittingly, Millwall before returning to his home country in 2005.

Kevin Muscat was named the dirtiest player in football history

The former Australia international, who scored 10 goals in 46 games for his national team, put the fear of god into his opponents with his approach to defending - which, at times, was downright violent. In 2013, Spanish football website El Gol Digital named Muscat as the dirtiest player in football history, above the infamous Andoni 'The Butcher of Bilbao' Goikoetxea.

Peter Crouch: Kevin Muscat scared me

"Kevin Muscat scared me," Crouch confessed on his podcast in 2018. "You know people say, 'I'm going to break your legs', when he would say it you genuinely believed him."

One of Crouch's podcast co-hosts added: "My seven-year-old asked me who is the dirtiest player of all time. I've gone straight to YouTube and typed Kevin Muscat in and let him see the horrors. He understood. You can get one-off Kevin Muscat horrors. You can get the best of Kevin Muscat, which is the worst of Kevin Muscat. It's terrifying."

Video: Kevin Muscat dirty moments

So let's take a closer look at why Muscat was so terrifying on the pitch. First of all, here's a shocking challenge from his Melbourne Victory spell which deservedly resulted in a straight red card.

And here's another video which shows what Muscat, who was sent off 12 times during his career, was capable of. You have to wonder how many games he would have completed these days.

Other Kevin Muscat controversies

Per talkSPORT, Muscat was once described as "the most hated man in football". Matty Holmes was awarded £250,000 by the High Court in 2004 after one brutal challenge by Muscat left the former Charlton Athletic midfielder requiring skin grafts and a metal bolt inserted into his ankle.

Holmes suffered a broken tibia during an FA Cup tie in 1998 and only managed to make one more substitute appearance before he was forced to prematurely end his career in July 2000. "My goal throughout was to prove that Mr Muscat's challenge was a very bad one and it ruined my career," Holmes said, per BBC Sport, after he was awarded the agreed damages.

talksSPORT claim that Muscat was branded a "lowlife" by Arsenal legend Ian Wright, he once stamped on Danny Webber's head, and he threatened to break Ashley Young's legs while the winger was only a youngster at Watford.

What is Kevin Muscat up to these days?

Since hanging up his boots in 2012, Muscat has entered the world of coaching. His players must be scared stiff of him - especially when he joins in training sessions! He managed Melbourne Victory between 2013-2019 and is currently the head coach at Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan's top division after replacing Ange Postecoglou in 2021.

However, the 50-year-old - who was born in Crawley - has been linked with the Rangers job after Michael Beale was sacked and was said to have been 'very interested' in the vacancy at the time of writing. Muscat spent the 2002-03 season as a player at Ibrox, winning the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup, and Scottish League Cup in the process.

"I've realised looking back on my own time what was right and what was wrong," Muscat told The Guardian in 2014. "It puts me in the best position to give advice if [anything] ever happens. I understand that interest [in my past], but I'm just looking forward. I'm focused on my coaching career. It's a whole new chapter [and] I want to be judged on how I'm doing and how my team is playing."

During the same interview, he added: “The fire in my belly still burns, and I’m just as eager and enthusiastic to win a game of football as I ever have been. But as you take control, you realise you’ve got a responsibility to act in the right manner, and I’ve certainly worked out. When I’m calm I make better decisions. I do wear my heart on my sleeve, and finding that balance to be able to stay poised and stay in control is very important.”

However, all those who played against Muscat will always never forget the fear of going head-to-head against arguably the dirtiest player in football history.

Who is the hardest player in Premier League history?

There's a fine line between tough and dirty, but there is a difference. With this in mind, Muscat failed to make our list of the top 21 hardest players of the Premier League era - despite the fact he terrified poor Crouchy. We kicked off our recent list with Joey Barton taking the No. 21 spot. Other players who made the cut include David Batty, Jaap Stam and Vinnie Jones.

The aforementioned Keane finished in second place - he'll probably be disappointed to hear - with Duncan Ferguson pipping him to top spot. Speaking of Big Dunc, there was a funny recent call involving the former Scottish forward, who was finally reunited with Jimmy Bullard years after their iconic Premier League altercation.