Paul Gascoigne and Diego Maradona shared something.
They were both footballing royalty of course, two of the most wonderfully gifted players of the 1980s and 1990s. But it’s not that.
It’s something deeper, more fundamental in their make-up. It’s a level of talent so great that it is seemingly unbearable. Genius, unmistakably, but a genius laden with flaws that were publicly displayed and made them excruciatingly human, that made them relatable and engaging and sometimes hard to watch.
On the one occasion that they faced each other during their professional careers, they shared a laugh in the tunnel before kick-off too.
Lazio travelled to play Sevilla in a friendly in November 1992.
Maradona had rocked in the south of Spain up a few months prior to play under his 1986 World Cup-winning manager Carlos Bilardo after serving a drugs ban that ended his spell at Napoli.
Gascoigne had moved to Lazio from Tottenham at around the same time and was starting to settle in his new, Roman home.
Yet, for the three days before the friendly, Gascoigne had been on a bender at Disneyland. And on the plane to the Seville, he’d topped himself up with a couple more drinks.
“In the tunnel, I went to Diego: ‘Diego, I’m tipsy,”” Gascoigne told Good Morning Britain in 2020. “He went, “It’s OK, Gazza – so am I.’”
Inebriated though they were, it wouldn’t stop them putting on a show.
Maradona – scruffy mullet atop his head, gold earring hanging from his left earlobe, portly figure disguised by a very large shirt – was the first to get a chance to display his talents. A free-kick was won, beautifully positioned for his magical left foot, about 25 yards out. It sailed wide.
Then the Argentine showed the game’s first moment of skill, a backheeled pass setting up a half-chance for a Sevilla team-mate. Not long after, Sevilla took the lead. El Diego was not involved, but it was a fine effort, a shot from range by young midfielder Francisco Pineda.
Then Lazio…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…