As news of Paul Gascogine arrival in Glasgow on July, 10, 1995 spread like wildfire, thousands of Rangers fans descended on Ibrox to catch a glimpse of their record signing.
One of the game’s biggest characters and the crying superstar of Italia 90, Gascoigne had agreed a move to the Light Blues after a chance meeting with manager Walter Smith at his home in the Rome countryside in the early summer.
‘Gazza’ was playing for Serie A outfit Lazio at the time when Smith explained why he had travelled to Italy to see if the England midfielder would fancy joining the club amid the golden nine-in-a-row era, to which he replied: “Aye, alright.”
Supporters lined Edmiston Drive in their droves to chant his name as police and stewards asked excited onlookers to move back from the front entrance of the stadium in glorious sunshine.
When Gascoigne appeared to meet his adoring new fanbase 28 years ago with a huge grin on his face, sporting bleached blonde hair and wearing a pair of flip flops accompanied by club captain Richard Gough’s No.4 shirt, it was the start of two-and-a-half memorable years south of the Clyde.
Gazza would go on to play some of the best football of his career at Rangers, helping the club secure eight-in-a-row almost single-handedly. He also had a massive contribution in delivering a historic ninth consecutive title and was well-known for his hilarious training ground pranks.
One particular iconic on-field moment came when Gascoigne was booked by referee Dougie Smith after he jokingly showed the whistler a yellow card which he had dropped moments earlier during a league match against Hibernian.
However, he did provoke controversy and outrage at times both on and off the pitch during those 32 months. Gazza was regularly plastered on the front page of newspapers and received death threats from an IRA member.
Injuries and a lack of form saw Gazza depart the club rather abruptly in March 1998 with 10 matches remaining as Rangers’ ten-in-a-row dreams fell apart.
Today marks Gascoigne 56th birthday. Here, GlasgowWorld takes a look at 12 highlights from his time at Rangers:
1.
A smiling and waving Paul Gascoigne wears the Rangers adidas home shirt and holds aloft a Sondico match ball after completing his transfer from Italian side Lazio on July 10th, 1995.
2.
The England international is flanked by Rangers manager Walter Smith and chairman David Murray as he is unveiled to the gathering media at Ibrox. Smith flew to Rome to meet with Gazza in person to ask if he would come and play for the club, to which he replied “Aye, alright”
3.
Gascoigne meets the fans of his new team outside the stadium after signing for a club record transfer fee of £4.3million on wages of £15k per week.
4.
Gascoigne in action for Rangers against in the UEFA Champions League againast a star-studded Juventus side featuring Antonio Conte, Gianluca Vialli and Alessandro Del Piero in November 1995. The Serie A outfit would run out 4-0 winners at Ibrox. Photo: SNS Group