Remembering when Gazza faced Maradona… & upstaged Diego with a wondergoal

Paul Gascoigne and Diego Maradona shared something.

They were both football stars, of course, two of the most talented players of the 1980s and 1990s. But it isn't.

It is something deeper, more fundamental in their makeup. The level of talent is so great that it is seemingly unbearable. Genius, undeniable, but a genius loaded with flaws that were publicly displayed and made them excruciatingly human, making them relatable and compelling and sometimes difficult to watch.

On the only occasion they met during their professional careers, they also laughed together in the tunnel before kick-off.

Lazio traveled to play Sevilla in a friendly match in November 1992.

Maradona had been rocked in southern Spain just months before playing under his World Cup-winning manager Carlos Bilardo in 1986 after serving a drugs ban that ended his spell at Napoli.

Gascoigne had moved to Lazio from Tottenham around the same time and was settling into his new, Roman home.

Yet Gascoigne had been on edge for the three days before the friendly at Disneyland. And on the plane to Seville he had topped up a few more drinks.

“In the tunnel I went to Diego: 'Diego, I'm tipsy,'” Gascoigne told Good Morning Britain in 2020. “He said, “It's okay, Gazza – me too.”

No matter how drunk they were, it didn't stop them from putting on a show.

Maradona – a scruffy mullet on his head, a gold earring hanging from his left earlobe, a portly figure disguised by a very large shirt – was the first to get the chance to show his talents. A free-kick was won, beautifully positioned in front of his magical left foot, about 25 yards out. It sailed wide.

Then the Argentinian showed the first moment of skill of the match: a pass to the heels that created a half-chance for a Seville teammate. Not long afterwards, Sevilla took the lead. El Diego was not involved, but it was an excellent effort, a shot from distance from young midfielder Francisco Pineda.

Then Lazio – managed by Dino Zoff and featuring Aron Winter and Giuseppe Favalli – finally got their moment. Of course it came from Gascoigne.

He got the ball back to goal, 30 yards out and tightly marked. Too tight. Gascoigne overextended his man, evaded another challenge, flicked a flick to the left and then another to the right. Then the ball opened up for him and his low, curling shot slid perfectly into the bottom corner of the net.

It was a goal Maradona himself would have been proud to score and Gascoigne didn't miss the chance to rub it in. He told GMB: “I looked at [Maradona] and said, 'Beat that.' Of course I spoke to him in Italian, because he doesn't speak English and neither do I.”

Maradona would try to beat it, or at least offer his own special something for the fans. But that's what we're here for.

First, as Maradona left the field at half-time, he was stopped by Spanish television reporters and asked for his opinion on the match. After answering a general question about the game being a useful way to maintain competitive focus, he was asked if Gascoigne's goal had come as a surprise.

“Not surprised at all,” replied a sweaty, breathless Maradona, “he's a great player. We knew what he could do and he did it for us. We hope that in the second half we can win the game and not just beat Gascoigne.”

And it looked like they really wanted to win. Certainly Sevilla's youngster Diego did that, Diego Simeone. In the second half he produced a very unfriendly friendly, kicking the legs and then stamping on the head of Italian defender Cristiano Bergodi.

If he tried to incite the Italians, it worked. Simeone, after receiving the ball from Maradona moments later in the half, stormed towards the penalty area. He was taken down with a strong, vengeful challenge and won another dangerous free-kick. Maradona had the chance to regain Sevilla's lead.

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This time, Diego's eyes were more focused than the first time. He hit it, causing it to curl beautifully over and around the wall. He fell towards the goal, destined for the top corner… and smashed into the crossbar.

Disbelief. Maradona shrugged his shoulders, stretched out his arms, palms up, and looked up at the sky – the sign of a man who thought, 'What more can I do than that?'

The answer was not much. The referee blew his whistle and the match was over. Gascoigne had outscored El Diego, but Maradona had come close to the Englishman's equalizer in the first half.

Speaking about his lighthearted provocative words aimed at Maradona in the first half, Gascoigne told GMB: “I think I said the wrong thing. Because after that [Maradona] was incredible, magic. What a player.”

As previously mentioned, it was the only time in their professional careers that the two players faced each other.

Gascoigne was too young for the 1986 World Cup and England did not face Argentina again until the overlap of their careers, in 1991, with both men missing the match.

Gascoigne would also have seen the end of Diego's time in Italy had he moved to Lazio a year earlier, but once again that was not to be: a knee ligament injury in the 1991 FA Cup final saw Spurs keep him out for a season stopped playing and postponed his career. transfer.

It's a shame that their only meeting was a friendly match. Imagine what that desire to outdo each other in a competitive match would have achieved.

But the fact that when they met, they were both drunk and both created moments of magic, was a testament to both men's genius and both men's shortcomings.

In the 2015 Netflix documentary about Gascoigne, Gary Lineker said: “Part of his genius, part of his greatness is the fact that he is still vulnerable. Without that vulnerable side I don't think he would have been the player he was.”

If you were told that the same sentence came from the mouth of Jorge Valdano and was about Maradona, you would have no reason to doubt it.

By Joshua Law