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Among the many attributes you need to make it as a top-level footballer are confidence and self-belief.
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Its not the kind of profession that you stumble into, and those who do make it will usually have had their heart set on it since the first time they kicked a ball, and spent their childhood manifesting their future dreams.
A certain Paul Gascoigne - never a player who was short on confidence - was clearly no different.
Gazza on having the last laugh at his old school
When FourFourTwo ask him what the first moment he realised he had a special talent as a footballer was, he replies without hesitation.
Seven years of age, he tells us. Did he always know that hed make it to the top? Yeah, he explains. I came from a rough background, but when I was 14, I did my autograph during a geography lesson. The teacher asked what I was doing and I told him, Im signing my autograph, I want to be a professional footballer.
He said, Theres only one in a million who make it. I said, Im going to f**king make it and got kicked out of the class.
After the 1990 World Cup, I went back to the school and said, Do you remember me, you f**king bastard!
Italia 90 saw Gazza become a household name with his spellbinding performances that helped England enjoy their best major tournament since the 1966 World Cup, while his tears in the semi-final defeat to West Germany showed off another layer of his personality.
Throughout his progression into adulthood, there was never any doubt where he was at his happiest. When I put the boots on, he says.
It didnt matter when it was I enjoyed playing whether it was in front of 5,000 or f**king 95,000. I liked making people happy.
As the stages he played on got bigger and bigger, he never felt the pressure that should have come along with it.
No, I dont know why, he admits. Im a genius, probably and a pain in the arse! I just knew I was good.
I used to tell opposition players, Good luck, Ill be your worst f**king nightmare today.
Paul Gascoigne: Eight (published by Reach Sport) is on sale now in print, ebook and audiobook
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