A nation wept once more this week at the sight of a pale Paul Gascoigne being bundled onto a plane and flown out to Arizona in the US to undergo treatment at one of the worlds’ most exclusive and reclusive rehabilitation centres. A consortium of friends, former colleagues and well wishers including Gary Lineker, Peter Beardsley, ex-wife Sheryl and Talksport radio presenter Ronny Irani, put forward the money to send the former Newcastle United, Tottenham and England genius on his way.
A sad indictment of a man who seems hell-bent on following the same path as his hero George Best.
For a certain generation of fans however (including this writer), Gazza meant so much more than just a great footballer. Signed by Newcastle United as a schoolboy in 1980, he signed apprentice forms in 1983. He was once told by then manager Jack Charlton that he had two weeks to lose some excess weight or he would be kicked out of the club.
Gascoigne duly did this and was placed on the bench for the Tyne-Wear derby with Sunderland, but didn’t get on. In all he made 92 appearances for the Geordies, scoring 21 goals before being sold to Tottenham Hotspurs for a then British record of £2 million in 1988. His four years in London really made his name with Gazza making his England debut under Bobby Robson in 1988.
Then followed his heroics in Italy during the Italia 90 World Cup when he helped England to the semi-finals and defeat on penalties to the Germans which was characterized by Gazza’s tears after picking up a yellow card (his second of the tournament ruling him out of the final). 1990-91 was Gazza best season however, as this was when he led his Spurs side (almost single handledly at times) to the FA Cup Final.
Gazza scored six goals on the way to the final including a fantastic free kick in the semi-final win over Arsenal. But with a £8.5 million move to Italy and Lazio agreed prior to the final, it turned into a nightmare for the Geordie. Just minutes into a frantic start, an over hyped-up Gascoigne made a lunging chest high challenge on Nottingham Forest defender Gary Charles which ended with him rupturing his cruciate ligament in his right knee and missing the whole of the 1991-92 season.
Gazza eventually moved to Lazio for a more modest £5.5 million in the summer of 1992. His arrival in Rome sparked a sudden huge interest in Italian football for much of this country. This is a love which for many (including myself) has remained to this day. Gascoigne’s arrival made a household name of television presenter James Richardson, who on a Saturday morning was immortalised sitting outside a Milan cafe, drinking a cappuccino and going through the weekend’s football papers.
Gazza failed to settle in Rome however as he struggled to get to grips with Italian football. In three seasons he only made 47 appearances, scoring six goals. He became an instant hero with the Lazio faithful however as his first goal happened to be an 89th minute equaliser in the Rome derby with AS Roma. He would break his cheekbone in his second season which left memorable photos of Gazza in a special facial mask as he made his come-back.
Gazza would leave Italy for Glasgow Rangers, before going onto Middlesbrough, Everton and Burnley. He had a short lived spell in charge of Kettering Town before seemingly slipping out of public consciousness. This was somewhere he seemed destined to stay until recent events have gone to prove otherwise.
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