England's finest
Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne was the finest British footballer of his generation and there’s little doubt he would have achieved much more in the game if it weren’t for injury problems (some self-inflicted) that blighted his career from his time in the white of Tottenham Hotspur and onwards throughout the remainder of his career.
Born May 27th 1967 in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear,
Gascoigne captained Newcastle United’s youngsters to an FA Youth Cup final
victory in 1985. He made his first-team debut in April 1985 against Queen’s
Park Rangers as a substitute and shortly after, the skilful 19-year-old was
handed his first pro contract. He scored nine goals in the top-flight the
following season and was earmarked as a potential star of the future by many
observers.
Gascoigne’s reputation was further cemented when he was named PFA
Young Player of the Year for the 1987-88 campaign amid furious speculation
about his future. The Geordie maestro came close to a move to Manchester
United, but joined Tottenham Hotspur in 1988 in a last-minute change of mind.
Terry Venables was building an exciting side at White Hart Lane and he viewed
Gascoigne as a pivotal player in his overall master-plan.
The move to north London helped Paul on to the next level of his
career when breaking into the international team in September 1988. He featured
in most of the World Cup qualifiers for Italia ’90 and made sure of his place
at the tournament with a sublime performance in a 4-2 win over Czechoslovakia. His
powerful build and nimble feet allowed Gascoigne to mix it both physically and
technically with the best players in the world at that time. There was a
clamour from media and fans alike for his inclusion at the World Cup and
manager Bobby Robson duly obliged.
The period 1988-90 burgeoned into a special period for both the
club and player; Spurs grabbed sixth spot in the top-flight during Gascoigne’s
first season, before advancing to third spot the next year. Gazza’s attacking
flair, keen eye for a pass and extraordinary ball control brought the Tottenham
Hotspur Player of the Year award in 1990, just before he headed off to Italy
for the first major international tournament of his career.
England went into the World Cup finals quietly confident of
experiencing a successful competition and excitement back home had reached
fever pitch, especially with a view to witnessing Gascoigne on the world stage.
They battled through a tough group stage before seeing off Belgium in the
second round. Gascoigne provided an assist with a fine free-kick for David
Platt’s volleyed winner, but the maverick midfielder picked up a yellow card.
Surprise package Cameroon were next up and the Spurs playmaker gave away a
penalty before making amends with a through-ball that reached Gary Lineker, who
was fouled for a penalty kick that Gazza’s Spurs team-mate converted.
The semi-final at the Delle Alpi in Turin was massively hyped due
to the nature of the game, as well as the identity of England’s opponents, arch-rivals
West Germany. Gascoigne already held a reputation for reckless tackling at
times and the pressure was on him and his colleagues to produce as they approached
the biggest match of their careers. What occurred during the game went down in
football folklore and Gazza will always be remembered for breaking down in
tears after receiving a yellow card for a rash challenge on Thomas Berthold. He
immediately realised that he’d miss the final if England progressed, owing to
the yellow he’d already picked up against Belgium. Television cameras showed
close-ups of a devastated Gascoigne and Gary Lineker, who signalled to the
bench that his young Spurs comrade had lost his head due to the booking.
Having collected his thoughts and refocused on the game, England’s
lions pushed themselves to the limit in taking the tie to a penalty shoot-out,
which West Germany won after poor spot-kicks from Pearce and Waddle. It was a
shattering end to a competition that provided the England team and fans with so
many high points.
Gascoigne stepped into superstar hysteria on his return and played
a big part in Spurs’ run to the FA Cup final. The midfielder had already agreed
terms on a move to Serie A club Lazio in the run-up to the final; it seemed
from the first whistle that he was manically hyped for the game in his
desperation to leave Spurs on a high. The adrenalin pumped as he ran around the
field throwing in tackles, one of which was a highly dangerous challenge on
Gary Charles. Ironically, it was Gazza that came off worst, resulting in the
badly injured star going off on a stretcher. Stuart Pearce fired Nottingham
Forest into the lead from the resultant free-kick, but Spurs managed to fight
back and win the trophy 2-1 after extra-time.
For Gascoigne, his challenge delayed the move to Rome and caused
him to miss the whole of the 1991-92 season.
Eventually, Lazio got their man in 1992 for £5.5 million and the former
Newcastle starlet made his debut in the glamorous world of Italian football in
September of that year versus Genoa. Despite an inconsistent season at the
Olimpico, Gazza endeared himself to the Lazio faithful when scoring an 89th-minute
equaliser in the Rome derby against AS Roma. British interest in Italian
football had blossomed after the World Cup that was held in the country and was
at its peak during the Geordie boy’s spell there.
He was beset by injury problems during his time in Rome;
fracturing a cheekbone in 1993 and then breaking his leg a year later. His
boundless energy and enthusiasm had rubbed off on the club’s supporters, though,
and he is still a revered figure at Lazio to this day.
In 1995, big-spending Glasgow Rangers offered Gascoigne a return
to British shores and he completed a £4.3 million switch to the football-crazy
Scottish city. It was a very successful stint at Ibrox as the England
international won two league titles, a Scottish FA Cup and one League Cup
during his time there.
Personal accolades also came his way and among many great
memories, one that will be best remembered is the solo run from his own half
resulting in a remarkable goal against deadly rivals Celtic in only his fifth
match for Rangers. On the downside, the controversial side of Gascoigne reared
its head in 1998 when he celebrated a goal with a mock flute, which is an
insult of huge proportions to the Celtic faithful. He later claimed he’d been
told by someone to do it and he wasn’t aware of the significance of the
gesture. However, Rangers showed no sympathy by fining him for his indiscretion
and there followed reports of violent threats against Gascoigne from certain sections
of the public.
During Gascoigne’s time in the Scottish game, his former mentor
Terry Venables had taken over as England manager and set about reconstructing
the team around the midfield schemer in the run-up to Euro ’96, which was to
take place in England.
Gascoigne had been written off in some quarters as washed-up and
criticism came in abundance from the media when a pre-tournament training camp
turned into a drinking binge one night in Hong Kong, involving several members
of the squad. In true Gazza style, he bounced back with a fabulous strike in
the group match against Scotland when bamboozling Scotland defender Colin
Hendry with a flick of the ball over his head before firing low and hard past
the keeper. Wembley went crazy and with tournament anthem ‘Three Lions’ blaring
in the background, the nation started to believe.
After advancing through the group, England beat Spain on penalties
in the quarter-finals (with Stuart Pearce scoring and erasing memories of
Italia ’90), and then the hosts were matched with Germany in a semi-final once
more. It was a fabulous contest that (predictably) went to the wire, despite
Gascoigne’s best efforts to find a winner in extra-time. He missed a cross by a
whisker when the slightest of touches would have put the ball into the net and
England through to the final. So, as per usual, it was penalties and Germany
won!
After several ups-and-downs at Rangers, a £3.4 million bid
surfaced allowing him to move back to his native north-east in March 1998,
helping Middlesbrough to promotion to the Premier League. He also featured in
the League Cup final that year, which ‘Boro lost to Chelsea.
Paul helped England qualify for the 1998 World Cup under Glenn
Hoddle, but was told that he hadn’t made the squad for the finals themselves
due to injuries and disciplinary issues. Gascoigne responded by smashing up the
room in a rage when told of the news and thus never played for his country
again after amassing 57 caps. It was a shuddering blow to the player that he
never seemed to fully recover from.
It was also a hugely frustrating period of Gascoigne’s club career,
with a mountain of injury issues causing his time on Teesside to be less than
satisfactory. Everton took him on a free transfer in the summer of 2000 and
there were fleeting glimpses of the old Gazza, but ultimately he dropped down a
division to finish the 2001-02 season with Burnley.
The footballing genius of Gascoigne puts him among the world’s
most naturally-gifted players of his generation. Barring injuries, he would
have been one of the greatest players of all-time.
For more sport, travel & music follow me on Twitter: @davewh1980
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