Decay is as much a part of life as death and taxes, yet it is still
wretched to watch someone blessed with such sublime talent as Paul
Gascoigne struggling to survive. The former England international
soccer
star, pretty much known to everyone as “Gazza,” whose long-running
battle with alcoholism and mental health problems have been well
documented, has “willingly”
booked into an unnamed U.S. treatment clinic to seek help for “complex issues” after a recent breakdown reportedly saw him
shaky, incoherent and in tears
at a charity event in the English town of Northampton. “Paul has been
extremely touched and overwhelmed by the generous offers of help and
support over the past few days,” his management company GamePlan
Solutions
said in a statement. “He is motivated to fully understand and control his
addiction problem under guidance.”
Gestures of goodwill have flooded in for Gazza. “Anyone who knows
Paul Gascoigne knows how desperate he is, and has been, to sort himself
out. He deserves our sympathy, not ridicule,”
tweeted
CNN host Piers Morgan on Monday. Current England captain Steven Gerrard
has since revealed that a players’ delegation from the national team
also approached the Football Association (FA) to offer help to the
former Newcastle, Tottenham, Lazio and Glasgow Rangers star.
(
MORE:
Gazza’s Grief: A Sobering Reminder)
The late Sir Bobby Robson, England manager at the 1990
World Cup,
memorably labeled him as “daft as a brush,” and it was during that same
tournament that Gascoigne won the heart of the nation with
his tears during England’s semi-final defeat
to West Germany on penalties (a yellow card during the game meant that
he would have missed the final, hence the crying). A creative midfielder
capable of near-impossible feats with the ball, he further endeared
himself with a
sublime goal against Scotland in the 1996 European Championship, as well as a litany of
wild pranks and
antics.
Most infectious of all was his clear fondness for the game, always
playing with a smile on his face and treating auspicious occasions as if
they were kickabouts in the local park. He loved playing for his
country and was never sent off in his decade-long international career
that boasted ten goals in 57 appearances.
Yet Gascoigne’s mental fragility has always been cause for concern.
Born into a working class family in Gateshead, northern England, on May
27, 1967, he underwent therapy as a ten-year-old after seeing a friend
knocked down and killed by a car, and later developed an addiction to
gambling machines while still a young man. After a series of
unsuccessful trials, he was eventually signed by Newcastle United at the
age of 13. Gascoigne managed to prosper with the Tyneside club, scoring
21 goals in 92 appearances, before eventually being sold to Tottenham
Hotspur in 1988 for the then-British record fee of £2 million (around $3
million).
This move, however, was shrouded in controversy. Alex Ferguson, then and still the Manchester United manager, reportedly had a
verbal agreement
with Gascoigne that he would instead move to Old Trafford. Ferguson
first heard that Spurs boss Terry Venables had sneaked in to sign Gazza
while he was sitting by the pool on holiday in Malta. The furious
Scotsman immediately phoned from the hotel bar to demand an explanation,
only to be told by an apologetic Gascoigne that he had no choice as the
North London side had offered to buy his parents a house in order to
swing the deal.
(
MORE:
Can A French Sports Star Change China’s Soccer Fortunes?)
Observers have argued that the bright lights and many temptations of
London initiated a downward spiral that could have been avoided under
Ferguson’s watchful tutelage. Nevertheless, Gazza initially flourished
in his new surroundings and achieved many glorious moments – none more
so than his legendary
35-yard free kick against
local rivals Arsenal in the 1991 FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. Spurs
went on to lift the trophy that same year, although Gascoigne was
carried off on a stretcher after injuring his knee in a rash knee-high
challenge on Nottingham Forest’s Gary Charles a few minutes into the
final. He was certainly pumped up before one of the biggest games of his
career and had already committed a cynical foul before his injury,
which kept him out of the following soccer season.
Italy eventually came next for Gascoigne, but he only exhibited
flashes of his brilliance during his time for the Rome-based side Lazio. He fell foul of the prissy local media for
burping into a microphone
and making crude jokes – once asked by a reporter if he had a message
for the people of Norway, he infamously replied “F__k off, Norway” – and
spent a good portion of his time injured. Nevertheless, he remains an
undisputed crowd favorite
and is still worshiped by the blue half of the immortal city (he scored
the first of his six goals for the club to tie with local rivals
A.S. Roma). When he cracked a cheekbone in April 1993, Gascoigne was forced to wear a “Phantom of the Opera”
mask
while the injury healed. But such was his celebrity that an obsessed
Lazio fan burgled the training ground to steal the protective device.
A successful return to the U.K. with Glasgow Rangers saw Gazza win
six trophies in three seasons for the Scottish giants. But it was
England manager Glenn Hoddle’s decision to leave an overweight Gascoigne
out of his squad for the 1998 World Cup – he supposedly
trashed a hotel room
upon hearing the news – that signaled the beginning of the end of the
road. Part of the reason behind his omission was his obvious lack of
preparation, snapped in British tabloids eating kebabs with
celebrities and drinking with
insalubrious friends in between important games. It also emerged that he
assaulted
his long-suffering wife Sheryl, with the pair finally divorcing that
same year. Gazza kept playing although his subsequent stints at
Middlesbrough and Everton were markedly less glorious. After a few
dalliances with lower league teams in England, in 2003 Gazza took a role
as player-coach in China’s second division for Gansu Agricultural Land
Reclamation Flying Horses in Lanzhou, at the time considered the most
polluted city on Earth.
(
MORE:
Paul Gascoigne Interview: All Washed Up?)
His Far Eastern sojourn did not last long, however, and he didn’t
return to China after going to America for treatment to combat drink and
depression. Yet the return to familiar pastures did not herald an
improvement either in fortunes or wellbeing for the dad-of-one, with a
string of high-profile incidents demonstrating an increasing detachment
from reality. He was
sectioned five years ago under the Mental Health Act
when the police were called during a row with a hotel night porter.
And, as incredible as it sounds, in July 2010, Gascoigne arrived at the
scene of an armed confrontation between a suspected murderer and the
police in order to offer his assistance. Raoul Moat was believed to have
killed his ex-girlfriend, her boyfriend and shot and blinded a
policeman before fleeing arrest and generating what has since been
dubbed the
largest manhunt
in U.K. history. The 37-year-old was eventually tracked to open land by
Rothbury, Northumbria, and was holding a gun to his head amid a tense
standoff with surrounding police when Gazza turned up.
(
LIST: Top 10 Manhunts)
Incoherent and clutching a
fishing rod, bucket of fried chicken, beer and dressing gown,
Gascoigne offered to negotiate with Moat, a former nightclub bouncer
who he apparently knew from drinking around Newcastle. He even gave a
live interview
to Real Radio North-East upon being turned back by baffled officers.
“[Moat] is willing to give in now. I just want to give him some therapy
and say ‘come on Moaty, it’s Gazza.’ He is all right – simply as that
and I am willing to help him. I have come all the way from Newcastle to
Rothbury to find him, have a chat with him. I guarantee, Moaty, he won’t
shoot me. I am good friends with him.” Upon hearing of his bizarre
actions, Gascoigne’s agent Kenny Shepherd
replied, “He’s doing what? I am sitting having an evening meal in Majorca. I’m speechless.”
(
MORE:
Ciao Mario! Looking Back at Balotelli’s Turbulent Time in the English Premier League)
Gascoigne is not alone with his problems. Other players have
struggled with substance abuse and mental health issues. Former Spurs,
Chelsea and England striker
Jimmy Greaves
had a well-documented drinking problem but finally managed to quit in
February 1978 aged 37. The mercurial Manchester United and Northern
Ireland great, George Best, deemed the
best player ever to have kicked a ball by Brazilian legend Pele, finally lost his battle with the bottle even after
being granted a liver transplant despite his record of relapses. Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams fought alcoholism for many years and has since launched the
Sporting Chance charity for similarly afflicted sportsmen, which is in part a response to the perceived lack of care within the game.
The ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel launched an
attack on the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) last week for
not doing enough to help Gascoigne. “This is not fun watching. Gazza
needs help,” said Schmeichel
via his Twitter page.
“Come on PFA & [PFA chief executive] Gordon Taylor, time to step
up.” Taylor, however, was quick to defend his record and that of the PFA
during an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, and revealed that the
association recently paid for Gascoigne to attend a detox program for
sportsmen suffering from addictions. “There isn’t a player we’ve done
more for over my time at the PFA,” he said. “In fact, we’ve been
criticized for doing as much as we have, because he has not made the
improvements that some of our other members have.”
Whether the 45-year-old Gascoigne can still be helped is by no means
clear. While his demise is undeniably tragic, and everyone hopes for his
speedy recovery, Gazza’s woes serve as a reminder that even our
greatest heroes remain human.
19:22
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