When reminiscing on the 1990s as a football fan, there are countless memorable moments, from Italia 90 to Euro 96. The decade was also packed with legendary players, such as Alan Shearer, Marco van Basten and Paolo Maldini. But for England fans, one name stands above the rest: the mercurial Paul Gascoigne. In an exclusive interview with Pokerstrategy.com, Gazza looked back on Italia 90, Euro 96 and the infamous pigeon incident during his time at Tottenham Hotspur.
Paul Gascoigne Reflects on Iconic Moments
Italia ‘90, Bobby Robson, and Mischief
Italia 90 will forever be remembered by England fans for a memorable run to the semi-final, before a heartbreaking 4-3 penalty loss to West Germany. It was a team that captured the hearts of the nation, and looking back, Gazza gave a fascinating insight into Bobby Robson’s management style: “I mean the good thing with Bobby Robson was, it’s not like the players these days. Because nowadays, the WAGs seem to be hitting the headlines more than the players. When we played in the World Cup 1990, Bobby Robson didn’t really want us to contact home, we weren’t allowed to read any newspapers or watch any TV. He didn’t want us to know what was going on back home.”
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Many stories have surfaced over the years about Gazza and his England teammates and their extracurricular activities. Gascoigne recalled one hilarious story from Italia 90: “Yeah we did. A couple of us did most night. Me, Chris Waddle, Chris Woods and Steve Bull and we went out and ended up mixing with the fans and then we came back and it was funny as we’re coming back down the ramp into the entrance of the hotel, we just saw Bobby Robson waiting and Chris Woods said he was going to jump over this wall and because it was pitch black.
“He says, ‘I’m just gonna go in the back end and jump over the wall,’ and as he jumped over the wall, we didn’t hear anything for a while, it was like a few seconds and then we heard a big scream and bang. We looked over and he was flat out on the floor and Bobby Robson went mad at us. But Chris Waddle took the flack for us all.”
Paul Gascoigne: Reminiscing Over Euro 96
Euro 96 is arguably the most memorable tournament for many England fans, with the tournament taking place in Britain, the England team enjoyed a memorable run to the semi-final, before another heartbreaking penalty defeat to Germany. Looking back on that memorable run, Gazza said: “You wouldn’t believe it, I said to Katie, ‘God, I seem to be getting pestered more now than I did when I played, because I can’t go anywhere now.’ I mean, I’ve been around these venues and just walking around the streets, everyone’s like ‘Gazza’, shouting through the windows, and it’s like, wow! Even where I live, I’m sitting on the back of the patio next to the roadside and you can hear people pedalling the bikes past shouting ‘Gazza’.
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“But Euro ‘96 was special. I mean, 1990 was unbelievable, to be fair. But Euro ‘96 as well. We were close to winning that. We were only that far. When I do these venues, I put a little video up on this. I look back and I think, God, I wasn’t such a bad player.”
Shooting Pigeons
Looking back on the life and times of Paul Gascoigne, it is fair to use words like colourful and mischievous. Throughout his career, there were a plethora of stories about Gazza playing tricks on his teammates, but arguably one of the most memorable stories involved him trying to help a groundsman with his pigeon story: “No, it was the ground. I used to go after the game. I used to go to the ground and mix with the staff. I’d drink a pint of milk with them, and I went one day and there was no one there and it was just a groundsman. He went, ‘Gazza, I’ve got a problem’. I said, what? He says, ‘you know how you like the pitch flat, with lots of good grass on it?’ He said, ‘I’ve got a problem’. I said, what’s the problem?
“Then he went, ‘a pigeon’. I started laughing. He said ‘it’s eating all the seeds off the grass, have you got a gun?’ I went, yeah. He says, ‘ do you wanna shoot it? ’cause it’s eating all the seeds and I can’t get rid of it’.
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“So I go home, get a gun and come back and there’s no one there now. Just the groundsman, me and this pigeon. Every time we got closer in the stadium, it flew to the other side, and then it flew up where the big Cockerel was. I went, I know where it is now. So I climbed up the ladder. I shot the Cockerel on the way up, put a hole in it. Now it’s on display at the new Spurs ground, with a sign saying ‘Gazza shot this’.
“So now I’m 10 yards over here and I’ve got me sights on the pigeon. I thought I’ve got it now, one more step. I went one, two steps too many, and fell through the roof. I went about 12 feet into the stands and this pigeon looked at me going, ‘Ha!’. That was on the Friday, and on the Saturday, I went to the dressing room and said to the gaffer, I’m struggling a bit. He said, ‘you cannae be! It’s not possible, you were okay yesterday, what happened?’ I showed him my bruise and my ribs and he said who did that? I went, The pigeon! He just laughed and said get your kit on, you’re playing. I had to play. 1-0 to The Pigeon,” added Gazza.
