Born and raised in Gateshead , Gascoigne signed schoolboy terms with Newcastle United before turning professional with the club in He debuted in the Premier League in the β99 season, having already featured in the Football League Cup final. Gascoigne represented the England national team from to , in which he was capped 57 times and scored ten goals.
He was part of the England team that reached fourth place in the FIFA World Cup , where he famously cried after receiving a yellow card in the semi-final with West Germany , which meant he would have been suspended for the final had England won the game.
He also helped the team to the semi-finals of Euro 96 , which included scoring a goal against Scotland , described in as "one of the most iconic goals in the game's recent history". In the later part of his career, and especially following retirement, Gascoigne's life became dominated by severe mental and emotional problems, particularly alcoholism.
He has been jailed or sectioned on numerous occasions, and his struggles receive regular coverage in the British press. He has frequently attempted to live without alcohol, though rehabilitation programmes have provided only temporary relief. His issues ended his coaching career, and he has not worked in football since being dismissed as the manager of Kettering Town in Gascoigne was born in Gateshead , County Durham , on 27 May The pair were even taken to court and fined over a hit and run incident.
While Gascoigne was successful on the football field, his childhood was marked by instability and tragedy. Initially, his family lived in a single upstairs room in a council house with a shared bathroom and moved several times during his early life. Gascoigne developed an addiction to gaming machines , frequently spending all his money on them, and also began shoplifting to fund his addiction. Brian Tinnion met Gascoigne for the first time at 14 when Tinnion signed for Dunston Juniors, another side Gascoigne played for.
