When England takes on Scotland at Wembley there’s one thing that comes to everyone’s mind. The incredible goal Paul Gascoigne scored in their clash at the 1996 Euro, and his wild celebration right after.
Eighteen years ago, the English hosted the entire tournament, and their national team was a powerhouse favorite to clinch the trophy. The then-coach, Terry Venables, had picked the cream of the Premier League crop, and Wembley was expected to witness some epic moments. However, the 1-1 draw in the opener against Switzerland wasn’t the start England hoped for. The newspapers were harsh on the players, with Gascoigne taking the brunt, especially for an incident that occurred before the Euro. You see, during the preparation, he had a wild night out with his teammates, and the paparazzi caught them goofing around, pretending to be dentists, but instead of using anesthesia, they were drowning in booze. Gascoigne was already dealing with alcohol issues, which he later admitted and entered a rehab program for. With his on and off-field antics, he had already earned a reputation as a bad boy, so he was in the eye of the storm.
In the second match, England faced Scotland, who also had one point after drawing 0-0 with the Netherlands. The English, being the pessimists they are, saw disaster looming because if they lost, they might get knocked out. Until Alan Shearer opened the scoring in the 53rd minute, they were sweating bullets, and if it weren’t for another goal, they wouldn’t calm down. The Scots wouldn’t allow it either, coming dangerously close to equalizing twice, only to be thwarted by England’s goalkeeper David Seaman, who made a jaw-dropping save from Gordon Durie’s header and then stopped Gary McAllister’s penalty. With 11 minutes left on the clock, a brilliant moment of madness ensued. Gascoigne found himself alone amidst four opponents and as he received the ball, he had the inspiration to flick it over Colin Hendry with his left foot.
Seeing that he was in a scoring position, he left the then Blackburn defender bewildered and executed the move with his right in front of his Glasgow Rangers teammate, Andy Goram, against whom he hadn’t scored once in practice. After that, pandemonium broke loose at Wembley. The English, who were eaten up with anxiety, erupted for the 2-0 lead, while simultaneously unable to believe what they had just witnessed. At the same time, on the pitch, Gascoigne continued his show, accompanying his amazing goal with a celebration that went down in history. He fell to the turf, beckoned his teammates around him to reenact the “dentist’s chair,” and happily accepted a dousing of isotonic drinks.
After the game, he revealed it was all staged. It was he who had come up with the idea for this celebration in case he scored, and that’s why he had placed an isotonic drink near the opposing goal. The next day, the English newspapers, through their front pages, in a rare move for their standards, rushed to apologize to him for what they had put him through. His goal gave England the boost it needed, and in the final match, they crushed the Netherlands 4-1, triumphantly taking the top spot in the group. The trophy didn’t end up in their hands (they were knocked out on penalties in the semifinals by Germany, who claimed the title), so the highlight of their tournament was this magical scene orchestrated by Gascoigne.
