Paul John Gascoigne

Paul Gascoigne, often referred to as “Gazza”, is widely considered as one of most talented player of 90’s. He became very popular also for his many off-field incidents, so that he had a phenomenon dedicated to him, the “Gazzamania”. Unfortunately his great talent was mined by the troubles he suffered: alcoholism and personal legal problems, so that he never showed his real potential as player.

Early days

Gascoigne was born in the Dunston area of Gateshead on 27th May 1967, the second of four children of John Gascoigne and Carol Harold. His childhood wasn’t so simple as he suffered for a brain haemorrhage that left him for eight months in hospital and with the father far in Germany for work. Gazza started to play football very young, initially in the streets with his friends, then with Redheugh Boys' Club despite being under the minimum age. He caught the attention of the football scouts while at the age of 13 he played for Gateshead Boys, gaining a trial at Ipswich Town, Middlesbrough and Southampton. However he failed to impress, as he didn’t receive any offer by them. In the summer of 1980 he was signed by Newcastle schoolboy team and in 1983 he joined to the youth team managed by Colin Suggett.

Newcastle United: 1984 – 1988

After only one year in youth team, Paul was promoted in the first team coached by Jack Charlton, due to his excellent skills. So on 13th April 1984 he played his first game with Newcastle United against QPR as substitute in the second half. However in that season he played only two times in the first team, but the following one would see Gascoigne often in the starters: he made 35 appearances (31 in England Championship) and nine goals. His first goal was scored against Oxford United in a 3-0 win. Newcastle finished 11th in the First Division that season and at the end of it Paul was one of the best players. He played other two season with Magpies, becoming in 1987-88 season “Young Player of the Year”. In the summer he was subject of offers from Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur that wanted to sign him. Despite of verbal promise with Alex Ferguson, Gascoigne signed with Tottenham for £2.3 m.

Tottenham Hotspur: 1988 – 1992

The Spurs coach Terry Venables admired Gascoigne’s talent, believing he could become a world class player. However at his arrival in Tottenham, he was absolutely unfit and overweight, and only thanks Venables’ patience and hard work, Gazza showed his skills. In his first season he helped Spurs to reach sixth place in the First Division with six goals in 31 appearances and to third position the following season (six goals in 34 games). In 1990-91 season Gascoigne leaded the team to FA Cup final, scoring a memorable goal in semi-finals against Arsenal: a fabulous 35 yard free kick that screamed past David Seaman.

Before the final he had already agreed terms to join Italian club Lazio for £8.5 million. However the final against Nottingham Forest turned out to be disastrous for the player who sustained a serious injury: during the game he committed a dangerous knee-high foul on Gary Charles, rupturing the cruciate ligaments in his right knee and his transfer to Lazio was delayed for 12 months. As a consequence of this injury he missed the entire 1991-92 season.

Lazio: 1992 – 1995

Finally he joined to Lazio but with a lower fee of 5.5£ millions. His debut in Serie A came against Genoa at home. However, although there was great expectation about him, Gazza was plagued by some injuries that mined his performances. First he broke his cheekbone and then, in 1993-94 season, his leg. In the first season with Lazio he scored only four goals in 22 games, the first of them in the 89th minute to equalise the score during the derby against Roma.

In 1994-95 season he played only four games, due to his leg broken and the club decided to sell him. His Italian period wasn’t so lucky and maybe he was most famous for his madness than his football skills.

Glasgow Rangers: 1995 - 1998

In 1995 Gascoigne signed a contract with the Scottish Rangers Glasgow, for a fee of £4.3 millions. In his first season he made a great impact at Rangers, winning the title and being named “Player of the season”. He scored 19 goals in 42 official games, among which his goal in the city derby against Celtic and the great hat-trick in penultimate game of the season against Aberdeen.

Gascoigne in an interview identifies this hat-trick as one of his best career moments.
During this season occurred one of funniest episode of his career: on 30 December, in the match against Hibernian, Gascoigne picked up the yellow card that referee Dougie Smith had lost and showed it to the official, simulating a booking. Smith was not amused about that and booked him.

That season Rangers won also the Scottish Cup defeating 5-1 rivals of Hearts.
In the following season he missed several games at the starting due to some injuries, but when he returned in 1997 he helped the team to win again the Scottish title. He was also decisive in League cup victory with two goals in the final when they defeated again Hearts.
At the end of the season he scored 17 goals in 34 games. Thanks to his great performance, the club extended player’s contract until 2000. However in 1998 began a difficult period for the player: during an Old Firm match at Celtic Park against Celtic rivals, he mimicked playing a flute, symbolic of the flute-playing of Orange Order marchers, offensive to Roman Catholics. This gesture infuriated Celtic fans and Gascoigne was fined £20,000 by club and received IRA death threats for months after the incident. He had also some troubles for his violent behaviour on the pitch and out of it towards his wife Sheryl. So despite of two years of contract remaining, Rangers in 1998 offered him first at Crystal Palace but Gazza refused and then to Middlesbrough.

Middlesbrough: 1998 - 2000

So in March 1998 Gascoigne moved to Tyneside for a £3 millions transfer. At that time the club was in First Division, so for the player this move could be considered a downgrading for his career. However at the end of the season Boro reached promotion to the Premiere League, with Paul playing seven games in the last part of the season. The following two year in Premiership his performances failed to impress the coach Bryan Robson who decided in 2000 to release him for free to Everton coached by Walter Smith who previously managed him at Rangers. Totally with Middlesbrough he played 48 games and scored only four goals.

Everton and latest years

Smith was aware of danger of Gazza’s personality but at the same time he knew his great talent, so he accepted the risk. However his first year with Everton ended in a Rehabilitation clinic for his alcoholism with 15 games in the first team but no goals. In the second year he increased his appearances (23 with one goal) despite of hernia problems. However after the departure of Walter Smith, Gazza left Everton and moved to Burnley in the last part of 2001-02 season.
After leaving Burnley, he was attracted by Chinese experience, signing for Gansu Tianma in the Chinese Football League. This experience was brief (four appearances and two goals) due to the SARS scare and he decided to return in Great Britain to be player/coach of Boston United in 2004. This was the last experience for Gazza who coached the club until October 2004 with only five caps with the club.

Manager career

After his brief and unlucky experience at Boston, he spent two months in the summer of 2005 as player/coach at the Portuguese team Algarve United (founded recently in 2004), but a proposed contract never materialised and he decided to return to England.
He became manager of Kettering Town on 27 October 2005. His charge at Kettering lasted just 39 days, and he was dismissed by the club's board on 5 December 2005. The club's owner blamed Gascoigne's alcohol problems, stating that he drank almost every day he worked.

With England

In 1987, thanks to his great performances with Newcastle United, Gascoigne debuted with U21 England. He had a brief experience with the team as the following year he was called in England National team for the game against Denmark on 14 September 1988. His first goal came against Albania in a World Cup qualification game for Italia ’90. His performances secured him a place in first team at 1990 world Cup and it was during semi-finals in Turin that we have maybe the most iconic image of Gascoigne, the tears flooded down his face following his booking which meant that he would be suspended for the eventual World Cup final.

However England was defeated by Germany but Gascoigne was named in the all-star team at the end of the tournament.
His next tournament was Euro ’96, as he wasn’t able to play for England for long time due to his injury problems, especially when he was at Lazio. During this tournament Gazza scored one of his most famous goals against Scotland where he chipped the ball over Colin Hendry's head before volleying it from 25 yards out past the Scottish goalkeeper Goram. Unforgettable was also his celebration with the team-mates, the famous "Dentist's chair" celebration: it referred to an incident before the European Championship, where some England team players were photographed on a drunken night with Gascoigne and Teddy Sheringham shown drinking in a dentist's chair.

England again lost semi-finals but Gascoigne’s performances were great and he was confirmed also by the new England manager Glenn Hoddle for qualification games for France 98. However his lack of form and his drunken behaviour led Hoddle to leave him out of England team for the World Cup, a decision very criticized in the country. Gascoigne never played for his country again, ending his International career with 57 caps and 10 goals.