Gazza - I dropped £5,000 a week but it was worth it to sign for Walter

[ian1964 10,514]

SWEAT poured from Paul Gascoigne as he pumped iron on the patio of his elegant Roman villa.

 

Every time he lifted a weight he would glance nervously behind him to see if he had company yet.

 

Trusted friend Jimmy â??Five Belliesâ?? Gardiner had been despatched to the security gates to escort an important visitor to the back of the palatial house in the hills above Italyâ??s capital city.

 

The house guest was Rangers manager Walter Smith.

 

Gazza knew the clock was ticking on his Serie A career with Lazio. His mentor there, former World Cup-winning keeper Dino Zoff, was leaving.

 

Hard-line newcomer Zdenek Zeman wasnâ??t the flawed Geordie geniusâ?? cup of tea and a move was now certain.

 

The only debate was his destination and the former England midfielder recalled: â??Zoff called me in and said he had concrete bids from three clubs in Britain if I wanted to go home.

 

â??He said Chelsea wanted me, which was interesting, and he told me Aston Villa were in too, which I wasnâ??t so keen on.

 

â??Then he said I could also go to Rangers and I shook my head and said no way was I going to Queens Park Rangers.

 

â??He explained to me it was Glasgow Rangers and Walter Smith wanted to meet me. I told him to arrange it as soon as possible.â? Gascoigneâ??s desire to work for Gersâ?? legendary nine-in-a-row boss had been fired by a chance meeting on an American holiday beach.

 

Gazza and ex-wife Sheryl were on a break in Tampa when they bumped into the Smith family, who were also relaxing close-season in the sunshine state of Florida.

 

He recalled: â??As ever I was having a kickabout with some lads Iâ??d met on the beach and I saw this guy smiling at me.

 

â??I recognised it was Walter and went back to my lounger and said to Sheryl â??Thatâ??s the manager of Glasgow Rangers, Walter Smith. Theyâ??re massive, some day Iâ??d like to go and play for himâ??.

 

â??Little did I know that two years later weâ??d be on the patio of my house in Italy discussing the deal that would finally get me to Scotland.

 

â??Looking back, though, I was keen to impress him even in that meeting.

 

â??I wanted him to see that I had worked hard on my fitness, that I hadnâ??t let myself go, even though Iâ??d been through some tough times with injury at Lazio.â?

 

A fee of £4.3million had been agreed by Rangers chairman David Murray before he sanctioned Smithâ??s trip to Rome to try to seal one of the most audacious transfer swoops in the Ibrox clubâ??s history.

 

Yet if he was expecting one of the toughest negotiations of his career, the battle-hardened Gers manager was wrong.

 

Gazza smiled: â??I put the weights down and asked Jimmy to get us some beers out because we were celebrating and I was signing.

 

â??Walter looked a bit stunned and said â??We havenâ??t talked about the money yetâ??.

 

â??I told him I was on £17,000 a week and he said heâ??d need to speak to the chairman. I told him, â??Donâ??t bother. Iâ??ll do it for £12,000 a weekâ??.

 

â??I just sensed that he believed in me and what I could do for the club and we got it done. I took a £5,000 a week wage cut to sign for Walter, he was some negotiator! But Iâ??ve never regretted it.â?

 

What followed was two and a half rollercoaster years in light blue, 18 months of which saw Gascoigne produce arguably the best football of his life.

 

In particular the eight-in-a-row season was stamped with his brilliance and it was fitting that when the title was clinched it was done thanks to an unforgettable hat-trick from the No8 in a 3-1 win over Aberdeen.

 

His first solo goal that day was sublime, the second was simply stunning as he took possession deep inside his own half and slalomed off on an incredible run that saw him weave past tackles and outmuscle rivals before curling a left-foot shot into the corner.

 

Earlier this month when we did an Audience with Gazza in Glasgow the tears were in the corners of his eyes as he watched the action on the big screens in the Thistle Hotel. He stressed: â??Looking back, that hat-trick, especially with me getting the ball off Coisty for the penalty for the third, was one of the best days of my life.

 

â??Rangers fans still talk to me about that goal and the story is well known now from Alan McLaren telling me, â??Gazza, do it for usâ?? to the finish and the celebrations.

 

â??What people donâ??t know is that they almost crushed me in the pile-up after my second.

 

â??If Andy Goram had run out of his goal and joined in I would have been dead.â?

 

The pleasure of doing SunSportâ??s two-part interview with Gazza was that this was always designed to simply be about the football.

 

His alcoholism, the brush with death in rehab, has been well recorded.

 

Heâ??s opened his heart on it all in our news pages and he is also set to be the subject of a lucrative ITV documentary.

 

This was about walking down memory lane and talking about what he loved best and he smiled: â??I will always bless the day I signed for Walter Smith.

 

â??I remember he caught me having a shandy one Friday night and the next day he booted me out of the team in front of everyone in the dressing room.

 

â??He always commanded total respect like that. Through all the things that have happened with me he has always been there.

 

â??I found a second dad in him and he treated me like I was his son at Rangers.

 

â??Thatâ??s why the club got what they did out of me.â?

 

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/feeds/smartphone/scotland/4933226/I-dropped-5000-a-week-but-it-was-worth-it-to-sign-for-Walter.html#ixzz2Tgpazwai

[the gunslinger 3,366]

just shows how mad football has gone in such a short time. one of the games greatest players on 17 or 12k a week.

[Super Cooper 0]

To think of some of the utter dross we have gave bigger contracts to.

[Gribz 743]

just shows how mad football has gone in such a short time. one of the games greatest players on 17 or 12k a week.

 

When Alan Shearer signed for Newcastle he said there is no better time to be a footballer....Nae luck Alan, you'd be on 150k a week if you were 10 years younger.