The Dutch international arrived in North London from Spanish giants Real Madrid on transfer deadline day last summer, and enjoyed a spectacular start to his first campaign in England, netting seven league goals in the first three months of the season .
Of those seven goals, England international Crouch assisted five, and Van der Vaart believes that the former Liverpool target-man possesses attributes that ensured his first season with Tottenham got off to the best of starts.
"Crouchy is a great player," Van der Vaart told Tottenham's official website.
"He is a big, tall guy but he can also play fantastic football.
"I remember in my first training session his heading ability was fantastic.
"He has a great technique, sees everything and when I played behind him it was easy to make goals.
"I think my first five or six goals were because he gave me the ball so he has been a really important player for me."
‘People said I was unsporting in the 1984 European Cup Final – my logic was if an international player can’t hit the target from 12 yards, it’s not my fault’: Liverpool hero Bruce Grobbelaar justifies penalty tactics against Roma
‘I had it in my contract when I joined Barcelona from Spurs that I’d wear the No.8 shirt – Bernd Schuster said no, so I took Diego Maradona’s No.10 instead’: Scotland hero recalls replacing Argentinian legend at Barca in 1984
