Paul Gascoigne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Paul Gascoigne | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul John Gascoigne | |
| Date of birth | May 27, 1967 (age 39) | |
| Place of birth | Gateshead, England | |
| Nickname | Gazza | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1985–1988 1988–1992 1992–1995 1995–1998 1998–2000 2000–2002 2002 2003 2004–2005 |
Newcastle United Tottenham Hotspur Lazio Rangers Middlesbrough Everton Burnley Gansu Tianma Boston United Total |
107 (25) 112 (33) 47 (6) 104 (39) 48 (4) 38 (1) 6 (0) 4 (2) 6 (1) 472 (111) |
| National team | ||
| 1988–1998 | England | 57 (10) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 2005 | Kettering Town | |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Paul John Gascoigne (born 27 May 1967 in Gateshead, England), often referred to by his nickname Gazza, is a former English football player.
His career included spells at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Everton, and he also played 57 times for England. Due to his talent, Gascoigne became one of the most prominent sports celebrities in the United Kingdom in the 1990s:[citation needed] in particular, his fame rose to a peak when he burst into tears following a yellow card in the semi-final of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, which would have disqualified him from playing in the final had his team won. Since then the media have avidly followed his sometimes troubled life.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Gascoigne grew up in the Dunston area of Gateshead, a particularly deprived area of Tyneside, and played for the local Redheugh Boys Club. He was a bright pupil at school, especially in Mathematics, but his key interest was football and it is rumored that when he was 12 years old, he wrote his signature time and time again in an examination - explaining to his teacher that he was 'practicing his signature for when he grew up to be a famous footballer'.[citation needed] At the age of 11, Gascoigne suffered a tragedy when he watched his friend's brother Stephen Spraggon knocked down and killed by a car. A year later he suffered further trauma when his father suffered a brain haemorrhage and was in hospital for eight months.
After three unsuccessful trials at Ipswich Town, Middlesbrough and Southampton, he signed for Newcastle United in 1983 as an apprentice and made his first team debut in 1985. In total, he made 107 appearances and scored 25 goals for Newcastle. Paul made his Newcastle United first team debut on April 13th 1984 at St.James’ Park. Manager Jack Charlton introduced the teenager as a second-half substitute against Queens Park Rangers.
In the same season he captained the Newcastle youth team to victory in the FA Youth Cup. He scored twice in the decisive second-leg of the Final against Watford.
Paul had signed as an apprentice two years previous to his debut. He was a player the Tyneside public immediately took to their hearts.
In the summer of 1985 Jack Charlton parted company with The Magpies and was replaced by Willie McFaul.
And it was McFaul who, on the opening day of the following season at Southampton, awarded Gascoigne his first start in a Black and White shirt.
A poor run of results saw the youngster reverted to the substitutes’ bench. However, the Geordie crowd would chant Gascoigne’s name and he was soon back in the starting line-up.
His first goal came at home to Oxford United in a 3-0 victory at St.James’ Park. A further eight goals followed in the 85/86 campaign in which Paul made 35 appearances. The team finished 11th in the Canon First Division.
At the end of the season Paul appeared on the front of the Rothmans Football Yearbook. Gazza had certainly arrived.
The following season Paul was recognised at international level and made his England under-21’s debut. Whilst at domestic level he appeared 27 times for Newcastle scoring 5 goals. The contribution of the 19-year old helped Newcastle avoid relegation as they finished 17th in the league.
1987/88 was to be Paul’s final season at St.James’ Park. He made 43 appearances and found the net on 11 occasions in helping the team achieve a respectable 8th placed finish.
He scored one goal against Swindon Town in the FA Cup that lives long in the memory of any Geordie. Gazza received the ball about 40 yards out. After running towards goal he let fly with an unstoppable shot that ended up getting stuck in the stanchion. It was a fantastic way in which to cap the 5-0 victory.
His tricks, mazy runs, enthusiasm and endearing personality had made the 21-year old a Geordie hero.
It wasn’t just the Newcastle fans that had noticed the talents of Gascoigne. He was awarded the Barclays Young Player of the Year and had courted the attention of both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
In the end, Gazza moved south to Spurs for a fee of £2.3 million a British transfer record at that time. Later that year he made his first England appearance when he came on as a substitute in a game against Denmark. Though clearly talented, his partying lifestyle and sophomoric antics made many observers[attribution needed] question whether he would reach his full potential. One contemporary English manager remarked that "he would either be one of the greats, or finish up at forty, bitter about wasting such talent."[citation needed]
By 1990, Gazza had emerged as an exceptional young midfield player with the rare ability to beat opponents and score superb individual goals. He had a stocky, powerful build that allowed him to hold off defenders and weather challenges. He combined his attacking flair with hustle and tenacious (sometimes reckless) tackling. His range of passing and reading of the game was in evidence during Italia '90, when he found Gary Lineker with a perfectly-weighted through-ball that lead to a crucial goal against Cameroon in the quarter-finals. He was named in the tournament All-Star team for his performances.
In 1990 he was the BBC Sports Personality of the Year after an emotional performance at Italia '90, where he cried in the semi-final after receiving a booking which would have seen him suspended for the final had England won.
After Italia 90, with 'Gazzamania' at its height, he reached number 2 in the UK top 40 with "Fog On The Tyne", a collaborative cover with Lindisfarne.
In the 1991 FA Cup Final against Nottingham Forest he badly injured himself as he made a reckless tackle on Forest's Gary Charles. Gascoigne was not booked for this, or an earlier horror tackle on Garry Parker, and even took his place in the wall for the subsequent free kick which was taken, and scored, by England teammate Stuart Pearce. It was while the Forest players were celebrating that Gascoigne collapsed. It was later revealed that he had torn his cruciate ligaments and the injury prevented him from playing for more than a year.
After he recovered from injury, he moved to Serie A side Lazio for a fee of £5.5 million. In the first year Gazza's play was inconsistent but he scored his first goal in the 89th minute to equalise during the Rome derby against AS Roma. Lazio fans still love Gazza for this, and for his character.[citation needed]
Beset by injury and intrusive media interest, he had little success playing for his new club side and returned to the UK in June 1995 to play for Rangers in the Scottish Premier League. After scoring a hat-trick in the penultimate game of the 1995/96 season against Aberdeen, he was awarded the title of Scottish Player of the Season. During Gascoigne's time with Rangers he secured three Scottish Premier League Winners medals. On two occasions he provoked Celtic supporters by pretending to play the flute, which is a symbol of Orange Men and Protestants in Scotland and Northern Ireland.[1]
During Euro 96, Gascoigne, enjoyed arguably his best international form since Italia '90, in a memorable team of talents that included young stars like Gary Neville, Darren Anderton and Steve McManaman, as well as veterans David Seaman and Stuart Pearce. Gascoigne scored the goal of the tournament against Scotland, and came close to scoring against Germany in the team's ill-fated and emotionally charged semi-final. (Fans have argued ever since whether, if Gascoigne had been fitter and lighter, he would have converted Alan Shearer's cross.) In the event, England lost to Germany on a penalty shoot-out, and once again, Gascoigne shed tears. He was named to the tournament All-Star squad along with Shearer and McManaman.[citation needed]
Because of problems with form, injury and discipline, Gascoigne was omitted from the France 98 squad by coach Glenn Hoddle. Gascoigne was never to play for his country again, an event the press dubbed 'Gazzagate'. Phil Neville was one of the other players omitted at the last minute by Hoddle and that left him in tears. Neville revealed in an interview that Gascoigne took him under his wing and consoled him.
He joined Middlesbrough in 1998 but continuing problems with drink led to him being released from his contract. Gascoigne then joined Everton, and after a period of rehabilitation from his now-acknowledged problem with alcoholism, he moved on to Burnley. In 2002, Gascoigne went on trial with US club D.C. United, but failed to win a contract. He then joined Chinese club Gansu Tianma, but returned to England to have an operation, when the SARS virus erupted in China. Gascoigne never returned after playing just four games. In 2002 Gascoigne was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.
[edit] After playing and management
On 30 July 2004, he signed a deal to become player-coach for Football League Two club Boston United. After being at the club for 11 games he left on 5 October 2004, to begin a football coaching course. He made five appearances for the club but scored no goals. In October 2004, he announced that he wanted to change his name, and later told a television audience that he wanted to be called "G8". He said he wanted to do this because "it sounds a bit like great, well it does with my Geordie accent". Gascoigne is estranged from his wife Sheryl and they have a son, Regan.
In 2005, he made an emotional TV appearance on a BBC One programme about ex-footballers. Speaking to Scottish ex-footballer Alan Hansen, he talked about his problems and how he had had to cope with not being the player he used to be. He also mentioned he was determined to get back into the game by obtaining the proper coaching badges needed to manage a team.
Gascoigne was appointed manager of the recently founded Portuguese team Algarve United in June 2005, but failed to settle at the club, and left to become manager of the Conference North team Kettering Town on 27 October 2005. His tenure at Kettering lasted just thirty-nine days, and he was dismissed by the club's board on 5 December 2005, along with assistant manager Paul Davis. Later the same day, Gascoigne was arrested over an alleged assault of a journalist outside Hope Street Hotel in Liverpool, but the journalist withdrew his complaint three days later.[2].
Paul's step-daughter Bianca Gascoigne is the latest celebrity to be taking part in the 2nd series of Love Island (previously known as Celebrity Love Island).
In August 2006 Gascoigne visited Botswana on behalf of the FA's international outreach week and played football with the children from the SOS Children's village there [3].
On 8 November 2006, Gascoigne was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm to another man in a London nightclub.[4]. He was later released on bail.
| Preceded by Tony Adams |
PFA Young Player of the Year 1988 |
Succeeded by Paul Merson |
| Preceded by Nick Faldo |
BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1990 |
Succeeded by Liz McColgan |
| Preceded by Brian Laudrup |
Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 1996 |
Succeeded by Brian Laudrup |
| Preceded by Brian Laudrup |
Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year 1996 |
Succeeded by Paolo Di Canio |
[edit] Trivia
- Gascoigne once booked a referee. When Dougie Smith, who was officiating the Rangers v. Hibs match on December 30, 1995, dropped his yellow card, Gascoigne picked it up, showed it to the referee mockingly, and then gave it back to the official. Smith, unamused, booked Gascoigne.[5]
[edit] References
- Paul Gascoigne with Hunter Davies. Gazza - My Story. ISBN 0-7472-6818-5.
[edit] External links
- English Football Hall of Fame Profile
- Paul Gascoigne: Little Boy Lost (Observer article, February 2, 2003)
- Russian site of Paul Gascoigne
 |
England squad - 1990 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place | |
|---|---|---|
|
1 Shilton | 2 Stevens | 3 Pearce | 4 Webb | 5 Walker | 6 Butcher | 7 Bryan Robson | 8 Waddle | 9 Beardsley | 10 Lineker | 11 Barnes | 12 Parker | 13 Woods | 14 Wright | 15 Dorigo | 16 McMahon | 17 Platt | 18 Hodge | 19 Gascoigne | 20 Steven | 21 Bull | 22 Beasant | Coach: Bobby Robson |
||
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Wikipedia articles needing factual verification | 1967 births | Living people | BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners | People from Gateshead | English footballers | English football managers | Newcastle United F.C. players | Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players | S.S. Lazio players | Serie A players | Non-Italian football players in Italy | Rangers F.C. players | Middlesbrough F.C. players | Everton F.C. players | Burnley F.C. players | Boston United F.C. players | FA Premier League players | England international footballers | FIFA World Cup 1990 players | UEFA Euro 1996 players | Scottish Footballers of the Year
