Schwarzer on Gascoigne: Heart of gold

Paul Gascoigne returned to English football in March 1998, signing for Middlesbrough after six years in Italy and Scotland. By then, Gazza was no longer the player who had dominated Italia 90 and Euro 96. His body struggled to keep up with the pace of the game, but his ability to attract attention and entertain those around him had not diminished at all.

Mark Schwarzer, a former Boro goalkeeper, witnessed closely Gascoigne's jokes, which either had the dressing room laughing or annoyed his teammates. Speaking to FourFourTwo, Schwarzer said of Gascoigne: "Gazza has a heart of gold." According to Schwarzer, Gazza's only wish was to make people laugh, entertain them and bring a smile to their faces. Schwarzer added, "He did very funny but wrong things, but he never had any malice."

Gascoigne joined Riverside Stadium from Rangers when the season was nearing its end. That season, he had scored only three goals in 28 games. According to Schwarzer, his impact had declined compared with his brilliant spell in the early 1990s, but it was clear that his talent was still there.