Gascoigne: I drank nine glasses of brandy before the game, scored twice in the second half and won the man of the match award

England legend Gascoigne has emotionally shared his struggles with alcohol and mental health in an interview. He revealed that he drank nine glasses of brandy during half-time of the 1996 Scottish League Cup final before scoring twice in the second half and winning the man of the match award. He joked that it made him "play better."

When did you drink during the game?

Yes, that was at halftime. It was a cup final. The head coach asked me if I had been drinking and I said no. Then he said "Let's go have a drink". So I drank nine glasses of brandy, came on the field, scored two goals in the final...and won the man of the match award. But I wasn’t allowed to attend the post-match dinner because I had finished my drink at half-time!

Did that drinking affect your performance?

(Jokingly) I think it makes me play better.

About the roots of your alcoholism and mental health issues, and your relationship with your family?

I had a falling out with my parents for three months. That thing destroyed us. That thing destroyed us. Then the drugs took over me. Until my dad sent me to forced treatment.

Those 11 days of forced therapy were one of the best things that ever happened to me. I still miss him (father). Obviously, I've done some crazy things, but I try to look at life in a different way now.

In your new book, you mention one of the most painful experiences in your life, about the death of your friend’s brother?

His brother didn't want to go to the boys club at the time, and I said I would take care of him and make sure he was okay. As we were leaving the store I said "Quick, let's go" and he ran a yard ahead of us and then a car hit him.

I ran over and he died in my arms. I thought he was still alive because his lips were still moving. I thought "he's okay, he's breathing", but he wasn't. That was his last move. When I was ten years old, I took him out of the coffin. I remember his cold look. I stayed with him in the same room for a week after the coffin was taken away.

I was in the same room as a coffin. That's terrible. This incident hit me very, very hard. My mother took me to a psychiatrist when I was ten because I started experiencing auditory hallucinations and seizures.

It didn't take my mind off it until I actually started getting into football.