GAZZA: I can beat the booze
The ex-Tottenham Hotspur favourite, whose legacy on the pitch has been overshadowed by alcohol and drug attractions since retiring a decade ago, was treated in hospital in Dorset when he suffered a relapse last week after spending the previous seven months clean.
Gascoigne, 46, known as Gazza, told the Sunday Mirror he did not want sympathy or pity – and was determined to stop drinking.
He said: “I know I can overcome this. I am an alcoholic so I am taking one day at a time, but I will get there.”
Gascoigne said he turned to drink after being served with an eviction notice on his flat in the up-market area of Sandbanks, Poole.
He said people had been leaving alcohol on his doorstep in the weeks leading up to his latest “blip”.
He told the newspaper: “Up until a few weeks ago, I was doing great.
“I have an illness and I had a bad moment. Now I want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Since retiring from football, Gascoigne has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and has described how, when he hit rock bottom, he was taking cocaine and drinking a litre of gin a day, which left him delusional and afraid to leave his room.
The former England hero went public about his continuing battle with addiction in 2009
However, he is still remembered by fans of the clubs he played for — also including Newcastle, Lazio, Rangers, Everton, and Middlesbrough — for his brilliance on the pitch.
