Remembering Gazza's tears: 30 years since Paul Gascoigne shot to stardom at Italia '90 in a journey symbolic of his career

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It feels typically English to cherish one of the nation’s favourite ever football stories - and indeed its leading star - for the heart-breaking nature of its finale.

In the absence of tangible success, glorious failure has all too often filled us with pride, and Italia ‘90 was no different.

Some will always argue that the tournament’s lack of goals, especially during a mentally-draining knockout stage, and its 16 red cards push it well down the list of the most enthralling World Cups.

But it was the abundance of characters both ageing and emerging, underdog stories, drama and passion that arguably make it one of the most emotional.

Indeed, whether you remember Italia ’90 vividly or if it ignited your love for the game in childhood, those tedious statistics have long been forgotten in a warm sea of nostalgia.

We also gloss over the battling group-stage draws with the Republic of Ireland and Holland as well as the narrow 1-0 triumph over Egypt, which put England on a path lit up by David Platt’s last-gasp winner, Bobby Robson’s dancing and a five-goal thriller against Roger Milla’s Cameroon.

Paul Gascoigne’s mesmerising talents throughout England’s dreamy campaign – especially during the knockout stages - shot him to global stardom, but it was those tears which made him a national treasure.

Looking back now, it was almost as if this journey was scripted for the life Gazza was to lead. One packed with an array of career-defining turning points that agonisingly veered off in the wrong direction time and time again.

And that night of July 4, 1990 in Turin was just one of his many iconic ‘what if’ moments.

Just like how he’d continue to play out his entire career of extremes on and off the pitch at a million miles per hour, Gazza’s rash challenge on Thomas Berthold - albeit making minimal contact - prompted the dream-crushing booking and exposed his lovable vulnerability for millions to see.

As Gary Lineker sympathetically uttered "you better have a word with him" towards the bench, fans up and down were beginning to lose hope.

While his reaction epitomised how much it meant to play a leading role for his country, this didn’t stop him showing tenacity and courage in a desperate bid and get his team-mates to the final without him during a goalless extra-time.

Despite Bobby Robson’s iconic pep talk to Gazza and his other heroes after extra time, the fate of England’s first ever penalty shoot-out - even without a history of mental blocks - felt inevitable.

Nine spot kicks later, England’s world was in motion no more.

There aren’t many players in history you predominantly remember for their exploits for England - or so evidently cherish their national shirts more than their clubs - especially in recent times, but Gazza was undoubtedly one of them.

It’s no coincidence that he’d also become the heartbeat of another side that drummed national pride and passion to levels no other has matched since, during the fevered football summer of Euro ’96, in which he agonisingly came inches short from securing victory over Germany.

Six years earlier, though, we’d been treated to just the first real taste of Gazza mania.

After nationwide tears were wiped away, the Three Lions returned to hero’s reception as if they’d ended a mere 24 years of hurt, with Gazza fittingly taking centre stage on the open top bus wearing a huge pair of fake plastic breasts and accompanying stomach etched with his name.

If he wasn’t putting smiles on faces with his wizardry and magic on the pitch, he couldn’t help but do it with his unique humour off it.

More career-blighting rash tackles, exceptional brilliance, crowd-pleasing antics and hysterical tales of tomfoolery would firmly keep him fixed in a limelight he struggled to deal with, while the shocking vulture-like behaviour of the tabloid press also caused avoidable demons to grow.

It’s crushing to see interview and chat show footage in the wake of Italia ’90, when a the fearless young Geordie was warned about the 24/7 attention he was receiving, but in hindsight the fearless young Geordie was just not prepared and, as many documentaries have since unearthed, simply not shielded enough from damaging media scrutiny and public obsession with a roller-coaster lifestyle.

You have to wonder how much a 23-year-old Gazza would have been able to blossom in today’s world with superior protection from clubs and a far more advanced focus on fitness and psychological mindsets.

The press has obviously never changed and the existence of social media would have intensified the global glare on his life in the limelight, but modern-day players are evidently better equipped to handle it.

While this may have all suppressed and constrained his free-spirited character somewhat, few can doubt his God-given talents would have seen him reach another level of stardom.

As it turned out, Gazza is a symbol of English culture in the 90s as well as the agony and ecstasy of the beautiful game.

His life leaves us agonising about the many other possible alternate realities, yet weirdly not wanting it to play out any differently - on the pitch, at least.

For the sheer wonderment and memories he produced, there’s typically an unjust lack of honours and achievements on the CV of a true people’s champion.

Just think if he’d kept his promise to Sir Alex Ferguson and joined Manchester United instead of Tottenham in 1988, he would have spent the 90s becoming a trophy-winning icon at a club everyone other than its fans loved to hate.

We’ll always love our flawed football genius but perhaps the collective fascination with the man and his pain cost him the life and career he really deserved.

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