Paul Gascoigne

Paul Gascoigne

Paul John Gascoigne (born 27 May 1967) is an English former professional football player and manager. He is also known by his nickname, Gazza, and earned 57 caps for England. He was part of the England team that reached fourth place in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. After retiring, he had spells with Middlesbrough, Everton, Burnley, Gansu Tianma, and Boston United. In 2005, he was dismissed as the manager of Kettering Town.

About Paul Gascoigne in brief

Summary Paul GascoignePaul John Gascoigne (born 27 May 1967) is an English former professional football player and manager. He is also known by his nickname, Gazza, and earned 57 caps for England. He was part of the England team that reached fourth place in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. After retiring, he had spells with Middlesbrough, Everton, Burnley, Gansu Tianma, and Boston United. He has not worked in football since being dismissed as the manager of Kettering Town in 2005. His father, John, was a hod carrier, and his mother, Carol, worked in a factory. He attended Breckenbeds Junior High School, then the Heathfield Senior High School in Gateshead. His childhood was marked by instability and tragedy. He witnessed the death of Steven Spraggon, the younger brother of a friend, who was killed in a traffic collision. He developed obsessions and twitches, and was taken into therapy at age ten, but soon quit the therapy sessions after his father expressed doubts over the treatment methods. He also developed an addiction to gaming machines, frequently spending all his money on them, and also began shoplifting to fund his addiction. In his autobiography, Paul Ferris recalls the passing of the ball to him while playing for Newcastle United in the 1980s. He claims he turned and passed the ball in the opposite direction to Ferris, then shouted: ‘If you don’t pass to me then I’m not passing to you’ In the 1990s, he was scouted by Newcastle United and signed at the age of 16 and signed for the club. He later had a trial at Ipswich Town, though failed to impress in a trial.

He then had spells at Southampton, Newcastle and Lazio, before joining Newcastle United again in 1980. In 1995, he moved to Rangers for £4. 3 million and helped the club to two league titles and two trophies. In 1998, he made his debut in the Premier League in the 1998–99 season, having already featured in the Football League Cup Final. In the later part of his career, and especially following retirement, his life became dominated by severe mental and emotional problems, particularly alcoholism. His struggles receive regular coverage in the British press, and he has frequently attempted to live without alcohol, though rehabilitation programmes have provided only temporary relief. He experienced further tragedy when a friend died whilst working on a building site for his uncle, a Northern Irish physiotherapist and businessman, who he had encouraged to join Newcastle United. In 2013, he described himself as ‘George Best without brains’ in an interview with Sportsmail. He described the Newcastle chairman Stan Seymour Jr. as ‘the most naturally talented English footballer of his generation’ He has been involved in a number of high-profile goal celebrations at both club and international level, including the \”dentist’s chair\” celebration from Euro ’96, and mimicking playing the flute with Rangers in 1998. He won the FA Cup with Spurs in 1991, before being sold to Italian club Lazio for £5. 5 million.