Gazza II

Extras

This game came with a free Gazza badge.

Paul Gascoigne

This was the perfect time to release a Paul Gascoigne licensed game, as the cheeky Newcastle native was hugely famous, mainly due to his form in the 1990 World Cup (and his fit of tears after being booked, when he realised this would rule him out of the final). He even had a hit record. From here, everything was disaster for him. His weight and apparent poor diet attracted media attention, as did accusations of domestic violence when his marriage broke down, and apparent sectarian gestures while playing for the very Protestant Glasgow Rangers team. His wild partying and occasional drunken fights became infamous. More recently he was ill with pneumonia. He had problems on the pitch as well. A reckless tackle in the 1991 FA Cup final severely damaged his knee, nearly stopping a move to Italian club Lazio. His spell there was moderately successful, but ended by a broken leg in a training-ground accident. He was left out of the England squad for the 1998 World Cup (which was especially unfortunate as the official team song referred to "Gazza good as before"), and had an ill-concieved spell in China as well as a short stint with minnows Boston United (Boston in Lincolnshine, not Massachusets). All in all, his career marks him down as a wasted talent.

Information also contributed by Martin Smith