England supporters have the army and police’s height restrictions to thank for Stuart Pearce’s stellar international career.
The legendary former left-back enjoyed a memorable 12 years in a Three Lions jersey, reaching the semi-finals of two major tournaments across the 78 appearances he made for them.
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Pearce’s journey is made all the more incredible considering he went from fan to international player in the space of just four years.
He began his remarkable rise at non-league Wealdstone, plying his trade there until 1983 alongside working as an electrician.
From there, Pearce earned a move to Coventry, before joining Nottingham Forest in 1985 where an England debut followed two years later.
And while ‘Psycho’ went on to capture the nation with his passionate displays, things could have turned out very differently.
‘I wasn’t tall enough’
Opening up on his career beginnings, Pearce revealed how he came to play at left-back, having started out at centre-back as a youngster.
On a recent episode of eSPORTY’s ‘How to Win the World Cup’ podcast, the iconic former defender said: “I wasn’t tall enough.
“I played all my school days as a centre-back and when I got to Wealdstone, the centre halves were massive, the centre forwards were massive. They’d knock your head off if you looked at them in the tunnel!
“So they ferried me out to left-back, because I didn’t have the height to head the ball.”
And it wasn’t just a spot in central defence that Pearce missed out on due to his height.
He was almost set for a different career altogether, having applied to join the police and the army at 16, only to meet the same stumbling block.
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Pearce continued: “I was a really late developer as a kid. I remember when I was 16, I think you had to be at least 5ft 8in to join the police.
“So I went for an interview for the army and the police, and I remember standing on tiptoes to make 5ft8 as a kid at 16.”
The iconic former defender then joked that actually fell short of more than one strict rule, with his haircut also an issue.
Laughing, Pearce added: “I failed the interview because I had a skinhead haircut as well.
“So I happened to pass the height situation, it was all those other personal traits that I fell down on!”
Continuing to poke fun at his misfortune, Pearce then quipped: “Too violent.”
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Lucky escape?
The forces’ loss was certainly England and Nottingham Forest’s gain, with Pearce going down as an all-time great for both.
In his 11-year career at the City Ground, Pearce made over 500 appearances, signing for the legendary Brian Clough.
He won two League Cups and two Full Members’ Cups, and was named as the club’s Player of the Season on three occasions.
After leaving Forest in 1997, Pearce enjoyed spells at West Ham, Newcastle and Manchester City, while his England career is fondly remembered.
The defender played at three major tournaments, most notably playing a key role in driving England to the World Cup semi-finals in 1990, where they were beaten by West Germany in Turin.
Now 36 years ago, Pearce, along with Chris Waddle missed his penalty in the shoot-out but bounced back heroically years later.
At a home tournament at Euro 1996, he banished his demons by scoring from the spot during a quarter-final shootout win over Spain.
