Gazza is fondly remembered at Lazio for moments of brilliance on the pitch and his memorable antics off it
The day before the England team boarded their flight home from the 1990 World Cup, it was already becoming clear that soon enough, Paul Gascoigne would be returning to Italy on a more permanent basis.
Gascoigne had been England’s star performer as Bobby Robson’s side reached the semi-finals, earning admirers from several of Serie A’s grandest clubs in the process. Eventually, Gazza would join Lazio in 1992, arriving in Rome 12 months later than planned after suffering his infamous knee injury in the 1991 FA Cup final.
Purely in a football sense, Gazza’s three-year stay in Italy could be described as a disappointment. Injury problems limited him to just 43 Serie A appearances and six goals. There were no league titles, no trophies won. And yet, despite this, he was adored there. His first goal salvaged a draw in the dying seconds of the Rome derby, going some way to cementing his fans’ favourite status amongst his new club’s supporters.
While his time in the Eternal City was punctuated with some unforgettable moments which showcased his brilliance on the pitch, part of his popularity is owed to his antics off it.
Gascoigne had earned a reputation for playing pranks on teammates before he touched down in Italy. Adapting to a new lifestyle and culture in an unfamiliar country failed to dampen his mischievous streak.
In one widely told story, former Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo, then a young midfielder at Lazio, fell victim to him. Gazza had found a snake in his garden and slipped it inside a coat pocket of the unsuspecting Di Matteo. Asking his young teammate if he could borrow some change, Gazza stood by and watched as a horrified Di Matteo reached inside his pocket and grasped the snake.
On another occasion, Gascoigne decided to play a significantly darker practical joke on his teammates.
There are several versions of the story and some of the details differ slightly but all state that Gascoigne had failed to show for training one day and the other Lazio players were growing concerned. At the time, Lazio’s squad were ferried to the training ground by a bus. As it approached the complex, Gazza was spotted by the roadside, lying motionless and soaked in what appeared to be blood next to a crashed motorbike.
Understandably, his teammates were panicked by what they saw and rushed to tend to him. When they arrived at his side, they quickly realised that – thankfully – all was not as it had first seemed. Grinning, Gazza quickly leapt to his feet. He was fine; the ‘blood’ had actually been tomato ketchup, as he showed by licking some from his finger. He had staged a fatal motorcycle crash, all in the name of having a laugh.
Gascoigne left Lazio for Rangers in 1995. He returned to Rome in 2012, guest of honour at the Stadio Olimpico as Lazio hosted Spurs in a Europa League game. ‘Welcome back Gazza. Lionheart, headstrong, pure talent, real man: still our hero,’ read one of the banners unfurled in the crowd. The experience moved him to tears.
The injuries had limited what Gazza could do at Lazio but the club’s supporters held fond memories of the occasions he did pull on their shirt. There is no doubt, also, that some of the stories about what he got up to away from the field of play left a lasting impression.
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