Gazza's advice to Rooney

Tonight, as millions sit glued to the television to see if England go through to the semi-finals of Euro 2004, Paul Gascoigne will be in Scotland. "I'm going to Ayr to sign books," he says, referring to his fast-selling autobiography, Gazza. Within two days of being published, it has become a number-one best seller with its description of his addiction to alcohol, drugs, pain, anti-depressants, football, just about anything really.

"I'll watch the match, of course, I will," he says, "but it'll bring back so many memories. I will find it difficult to watch in many ways. For a start, it will take me back to how it feels to play for England.

"It's like trying to explain to people what being an alcoholic is like. So no one who hasn't played for England can possibly imagine how amazing it is. It makes or breaks you.

"I watch Michael Owen now and he looks like a lad in pain. Four years ago he was the kiddie and now it's all about Wayne Rooney. The media pressure is off him but, in a way, that makes it worse. I don't think any player can put his hand on his heart and say he doesn't like being in the headlines when he's played well. Believe me, I loved it. I hated it when I was hounded by the newspapers but loved it when they loved me. I mean, I was Gazza!

"The problem was, Gazza was this fun-loving fool who drank too much and hurt people. For years I thought I could only be Gazza on and off the pitch and that's why life was so difficult, because I didn't know who Paul Gascoigne was. Rooney's got to be careful about this; does he really know who he is? He's only 18. He's very young, even though his heart must be singing by now."

There are so many comparisons between Paul Gascoigne and Wayne Rooney. They both come from the north of England - Gazza from Gateshead, Rooney from Liverpool. They are both working class.

"Aren't all footballers?" says Gascoigne. "Middle-class kids don't have any hunger. They have more choices."

They are both prodigiously talented at one thing - football - but not much else. "That's what I suspect of Rooney anyway," says Gascoigne. "I didn't do very well at school. I wasn't really interested and I didn't try hard at academic subjects. I only felt happy when I was playing football. It was something I knew that I could do, even when I was larking around.

"When I wasn't playing footie, I'd go round nicking things just for the hell of it. I mean, it's not surprising because boys like I was get bored. If I hadn't been good at football, I'd have probably ended up nicking cars or something. Rooney looks like he's from that background and there's nothing wrong in that. I had a loving family. So does he."

Yes, but Gascoigne's family was famously tricky. His mother and father were constantly splitting up and getting back together again. Eventually his father John, a hod-carrier, moved out for good but is still very close to his son, travelling with him often. "My mum is close, too, but she can't get away as much as me dad can," he says.

And Rooney's family? They are renowned for their rackety behaviour and drunken brawling, especially at Rooney's 18th birthday party. "I don't know about that," says Gascoigne. "All I know is that you need your family. They have to stand by you and help you. Even at my worst, my family loved me. They stay with you when other's don't."

But why do people keep linking Gazza and Rooney? It's not just that Gascoigne is in the news because he's doing the promotional rounds, it's because there seems to be a direct link between these two players. A sports editor friend went into raptures when I asked him about Gazza. "He was the most amazing player we'd seen," he said. "He was as articulate with his feet as he was inarticulate off the pitch. He had this God-given talent and Rooney has it, too."

Gascoigne sees it more clearly than that. "I think Rooney and I do share something," he says. "We're both fearless. I see it in him. It's what makes him special and what made me special. When Rooney gets on the pitch he doesn't respect anyone. I don't mean that he is rude or badly behaved, just that he is never cowed. I was like that.

"I remember Bobby Robson in that 1990 World Cup, the one where I cried. He said to me: 'You're up against Matthaus [the German captain], one of the best players in the world.' I turned to Bobby and said: 'Yeah? Well so's me.' I remember Bobby just shaking his head in disbelief but that's what made me good. I had to have conviction. I had to think that I could beat the best of them.

"Rooney is fast and he just doesn't care. Also, the media is on his side at the moment and that feels wonderful, unlike Owen, who's getting an unfair kicking all round. He'll show everyone. But Rooney has the makings of a great player, a world-class player.

So did I but look what happened to me. I wasted my money and my talent. People say: 'Oh, but it's different for Wayne. He's got support. He's got help.' Yes he has. He has a very supportive team and manager at Everton but he'll leave. He'll get tempted by the money. It's never enough, you see, though he's probably got enough money now to be set up for life.

"What a brilliant thing to be able to say at 18. But it can soon go."

Gazza says that press reports that he is broke are untrue. "I earned a lot of money. Probably £20 million. I've still got the £2 million paid for me by Lazio. That's put away. I've also got some other stuff. Essentially I gave a lot of my money and property to Sheryl [Gascoigne's ex-wife and mother to his son, Regan, eight].

"I felt I owed her that because of my treatment of her. I beat her up. It's my biggest regret. I have apologised to her and she has forgiven me. But I never want her to want for anything.

"I can still afford a therapist to help me with my treatment. I've been off alcohol for over a year. It's tough but I have had to accept that I have an addictive nature.

"I was addicted to football and only felt happy when I was playing. But, inside, I think I was very unhappy. I had this image of being a clown. I felt I was there only to entertain and if I wasn't entertaining people, then I didn't exist.

"And the money you get offered is incredible - silly money. I was offered fishing lakes, shares in chalets to endorse aftershave lotion and stuff, and for a while I took it and did everything. But I probably should've been better advised. I thought I was set up, you know. I had my family and my girlfriend and my agent and publicist and manager and team mates and Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all.

But your girl can dump you and your friends sell you out. Life can go from being sweet to sour very quickly."

But why did Gascoigne fall so heavily by the wayside? "I couldn't cope with lots of things. I have an obsessive-compulsive disorder. I used to twitch a lot, even as a child.

"Then, when football became my life, I used to worry constantly about when I wasn't going to be able to play any more. I'd get so panicked and upset that I'd just drink to stop it. I hope, in a way, that I've been a lesson for people like Rooney. He has to try and stay grounded. But you can't stop what's inside of you. "I feel I've been a bad person and a bad dad. I have told Regan that. I haven't seen him for a while but I hope that, one day, he'll choose to see me, because I miss him.

"Now I have realised that maybe there is a future for me as a coach and a manager. That's my goal. But it's still hard, especially when I watch an England match.

"I've turned quite solitary really and, although I can now go into a bar and not drink, it's difficult when it's a match. Everyone is watching me, expecting me to fall off the wagon.

"But, on this book tour, I see that people are behind me. They've forgiven-me. They want me to succeed so I feel very moved that

I've been given a second chance. When I see the public rooting for me it makes me cry. I feel vulnerable all the time and I'm not used to feeling that way. "So what I'd say to Wayne Rooney is enjoy the attention and the affection but never, never take it for granted. In fact, never take anything for granted. Use the support systems available and be man enough to ask for help. I wasn't.

"I paid the price for many years. I wouldn't want to see anyone go down that path again."