The 5 most iconic look of Paul Gascoigne From Newcastle to Colosseum, a trip into the universe of Gazza

After meeting Italy at the 1990 World Cup first, and exalting Lazio fans then, Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne will return to Italy to take part in the twelfth edition of the reality show. After recently undergoing stomach surgery to end his alcohol and drug abuse, the former England footballer faces the possibility of reviving his character. Character is what Gascoigne has always been in the public eye. Not only one of the most talented players in Her Majesty's service, but above all a larger-than-life character as the English would say, a condition in which Gascoigne has been able to splash for years but at the same time has obscured its inner dramas. In this regard Gascoigne, an in-depth documentary by Jane Preston from 2015, manages to show the double face of the former Tottenham, Lazio, Rangers and Newcastle striker among others: on the one hand the success of the Sports Gascoigne and public figure, on the other the excesses and wasted opportunities of the fragile man Gascoigne, son of the working-class of the north of England.

Gascoigne’s upbringing and lifestyle have been key elements in turning the former footballer into a man of the people. The English didn’t only find in Gazza the star that had long been missing to their national team, but mostly one of them. Gazza represented the camaraderie of popular England, its innocent and maybe childish excess, its genius and recklessness. Above all, though, Gascoigne embodied the British translation of the American dream: Gazza was unique, yet everyone could be Gazza.  

Much has been said on what could have been of Gascoigne’s career had he not been forced by injuries to several prolonged stops, like the one occurred between 1990 and 1991. In the months of healing and rehabilitation, on top of acquiring a new public dimension to his life, Gazza often took trips back home where on some occasions he indulged in joining local fans to follow Newcastle games. One of the most iconic shots of this period captures Gascoigne standing in an end surrounded by fans and wearing a rather small bucket hat, with a certain ‘80s casual edge and crowned by the writing ‘Away Lads’. Another sign of the fact Paul Gascoigne has always been and will always be a local lad.