- Paul Gascoigne remains one of England’s most iconic World Cup players
- By 2002, the former England hero was approaching the end of his Everton career
- One extraordinary performance against Sunderland flashed the genius of Italia ’90
As England prep for another World Cup adventure, supporters will once again find themselves dreaming of images that have become part of football folklore.
Bobby Moore lifting the trophy.
David Beckham’s free-kick against Greece.
The tears of Paul Gascoigne in Turin.
For a generation of supporters, Gascoigne and England’s 1990 World Cup were inseparable.
Italia ’90 transformed him from a gifted footballer into a national treasure. His performances in Italy were dazzling, fearless and joyful. Despite being on football’s biggest stage, he played as if back in the school playground.
Thirty-six years later, many England supporters can still picture that yellow card against West Germany and the tears that followed.
Which is why the Paul Gascoigne Everton supporters saw a decade later felt so different.
From national treasure to troubled genius
When he arrived at Goodison Park in 2000, Everton were signing a famous footballer. But not the Gazza of Italia ’90.
The explosive acceleration had faded. The body was struggling. Off-field problems that had lingered in the background through much of his career were, by then, impossible to ignore.
Yet every now and then there would be a glimpse.
A pass nobody else saw.
A touch that made Goodison gasp.
A moment that reminded everyone that the footballer who had captivated a nation still existed somewhere deep.
Perhaps no game captured that better than Everton’s game with Sunderland in January 2002.
One final reminder
Gascoigne later admitted that in the build-up to the match, he had spiralled badly.
Friends had spent days winding him up about Sunderland midfielder Gavin McCann, who they said was going to “p*** all over Everton”. Harmless enough, just banter, but it got into Gazza’s head.
What followed was a troubling sequence of alcohol, sleeping tablets and self-destruction that now reads more like a cry for help.
By the time he arrived at Goodison, he was barely functioning. A shadow of his former self.
Or so it seemed.
Because once the game started, something remarkable happened.
The footballer took over. he was back in that playground
The Gazza Everton never fully had
Everton beat Sunderland 1-0 thanks to Jesper Blomqvist’s goal.
Gascoigne, though, was the story.
He dictated the game. Controlled the tempo. And in doing so, produced one of his finest displays in an Everton shirt.
Afterwards, he went home and slept.
Not until the next morning did he discover he had been named Man of the Match.
And there is something almost heartbreaking about that. Not because of the award itself. But because it served as a reminder of what had been lost. And what he once was.
The teenager who shone at Newcastle. The genius who lit up Tottenham. The World Cup hero who made England supporters believe.
All of that talent was still there. Tucked away.
The tragedy was that so much else had unravelled around it.
A different kind of Everton memory
Gascoigne later admitted he didn’t really view the Sunderland game as a highlight. In his own words, it marked the beginning of another decline.
Perhaps that is why the story still resonates. Everton did not get the best years of Paul Gascoigne.
They did not get the player who illuminated Italia ’90 and became one of English football’s most beloved figures. But every so often, they got a glimpse.
And on a winter afternoon at Goodison Park, with his career fading and his personal struggles growing, Everton supporters briefly saw the same footballer who had once carried a nation’s hopes on his shoulders.
For ninety minutes, the Gazza of Italia ’90 came back.
