Paul John Gascoigne was born on May 27, 1967 in Gateshead, England. His nickname is Gazza.
Gascoigne had unsuccessful trials at Ipswich Town, Middlesbrough and Southampton before being offered a place by his local side Newcastle United. He made his debut on April 13, 1985 against QPR.
He made a total of 107 appearances for Newcastle, scoring 25 times. At the end of the 1987-88 season, he was named as the Barclays Young Player of the Year and was subject of offers from both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. He chose Spurs, and signed for them for £2 million, a British record transfer fee.
He helped Spurs to a sixth-place finish in his first season, and to the FA Cup final in his second. He scored six goals en route to Wembley, including a spectacular 30-yard strike in the semi-final against Arsenal. Sadly, he was stretchered off with ruptured cruciate ligaments just minutes into the final against Nottingham Forest. Spurs went on to win 2-1.
He signed for Rangers for £4.3 million in July 1995.
In his first season at Ibrox he helped the side to a domestic treble of Scottish Premier League, Scottish FA Cup and Scottish League Cup. His hat-trick against Aberdeen in the penultimate game of the season clinched the title. He won a second SPL title the following year.
Gazza is probably best known for his role in the England team of 1990 when he was part of the side that were beaten in the World Cup semi-final by West Germany. He became a national figure when, upon being ruled out of a potential appearance in the final with a yellow card, he burst into tears. The hysteria surrounding him was known as "Gazzamania".
Gascoigne was also part of the side that made it as far as the semi-finals of Euro 96, before again being beaten on penalties by the Germans. He scored a memorable goal against Scotland during the tournament, chipping Colin Hendry before volleying home.