Paul Gascoigne, football player: biography, personal life, sports career. Vinnie “Axe” Jones - from big football to big cinema How long have you been in football?

Paul Gascoigne - 10 wildest stories

Paul Gascoigne is the biggest hooligan and alcoholic in the history of football. Throughout his career he drank and went crazy. The other day, the former England midfielder told another fiery tale. Well, this is a great reason to remember his other wild stories.

Fresh. About Les Ferdinand's genitals

“I was in the dressing room,” says Gascoigne. And then Ferdinand came out, completely naked. You should have seen his trunk! I felt insignificant. I walked up to Les and said, “Man, please let me touch him.” The forest didn’t mind.”

I took the field and played very well, even scoring.

The next game was at Wembley. I sat down next to Les again.

Well, I say, get it.

“That’s the tradition,” Gascoigne continues. We played together for the national team for five good years.”

Ferdinand's reaction was not long in coming:

“This is all nonsense,” Les laughs. Gascoigne has gone completely crazy.”

Nine thousand pound burp

In 1993, Lazio fined the striker nine thousand pounds. The reason for this was a short interview with Gascoigne. Which, as they say, was discussed even in the Italian parliament.

The essence of the incident is simple. Gazza was not included in the squad for the match with Juventus. And he gave the reporters this comment.

Blatter and Santa Claus

Sepp Blatter arrived in Rome. The FIFA Secretary General was going to visit the Lazio base. For this occasion, the team coach, Dino Zoff, asked the players to dress up.

Gazza came dressed as Santa Claus, sat next to Blatter and said:

“Hi, I'm Santa. Ho, ho, ho!

The reward for the masquerade was a portion of training twice a day for the whole week. Seven days a week.

Bus driver

History of the Middlesbrough times.

Gascoigne was wandering around the training ground when he saw the driver of the club bus, who went for a cup of tea. Gazza walked into the dining room. And, five minutes later, he returned with the keys in his hands.

The football player got behind the wheel and went for a ride. Nearby, at the bus stop, two girls stood.

Hello! Sit down, where are you going? - the newly minted driver slowed down.

The ladies went up to the salon. A couple of moments later the bus crashed into the wall.

Vinnie Jones and Easter

Paul Gascoigne met with a gang as part of Newcastle Vinnie Jones and from Wimbledon.

Gazza pestered Jones throughout the match. At one point Vinnie couldn’t stand it. He grabbed his opponent by something that came to hand. Namely - for the genitals. Football history replenished with a famous shot.

“Everything is fine,” Jones recalls. - After all, it was Easter.

After the game, as a sign of reconciliation, Gazza sent Jones a red rose. Vinny responded with a package, which was a toilet brush. They say the players are still friends.

Sausage rap

After the 1990 World Cup, Gazza was on a roll. And launched a musical career. The first single was a remake of one of the old British songs.

There is nothing surprising in Gascoigne's choice. The first lines of the hit talk about “sweet sausages sliding across the tongue.”

Dumb as a mop

This was the description given to Gascoigne by Sir Bobby Robson, coach of the England national team in the 80s. In response, Gazza showed up to training with mop brushes inserted into his socks.

A little more Italy

At a press conference on the occasion of his move to Lazio, Gascoigne demanded silence from journalists. And then he euphoniously spoiled the air.

Even for very good actors, the best roles are considered to be those where they don’t have to play anything and just be themselves. The director's talent partly lies here - in matching the characters with those who most closely match them in life.

It was on this principle that Vinnie Jones, a former English football player, flashed in the movies, who unexpectedly became one of the textbook characters in the black crime comedies filmed in Britain 15-20 years ago.

Childhood

Vincent Peter Jones was born in 1965 in Watford in Hertfordshire (East England). Like any ordinary British boy, he loved to play football. Already at the age of 9, Jones played for the school team - no one has yet broken this age record in his country.

Soon Vinnie began playing for the county team, and then led it. At the same time, he played for the children's team of the local club Watford, which is now in the English Premier League. For a talented teenager, the logical step would be to join the senior team. In the case of Vinny, the club management decided differently. Due to his short stature and puny physique, he was considered unpromising and was excluded from the team.

How long have you been in football?

Jones actually gave up football for a while, but returned in 1984 as part of the Weldstone amateur club. With him he won the FA Championship and Cup (in amateur league), after which he left to play in Sweden. In the Scandinavian kingdom, he and the Holmsund team won the third division of the local championship in 1986.

Comparing English and Swedish football is pointless. Against the background of the British favorite game, their colleagues from cold Sweden cannot be seen even under a microscope. Therefore, in the same 1986, Jones returned to his homeland and moved to Wimbledon. In 1988, Vinny, together with this team, won the now professional FA Cup. For Wimbledon, which has existed since 1889, this victory still remains the highest achievement.

Every English club has an unofficial nickname, many have several. It is noteworthy that Wimbledon players, in addition to the Dons, are also called the “Gang of Psychos”. For the stubborn, extremely capricious and undoubtedly talented Jones best place it was impossible to find then.

After Wimbledon's victory, players from its roster began to be lured away by higher-ranking clubs. Over the course of several years, Jones played successively at Leeds United, Sheffield United and Chelsea, after which he returned to the Dons, becoming their captain. He played more than 250 matches for Wimbledon. In 1998, Vinnie spent a short time as a player-coach of another British club, Queens Park Rangers, and at the age of 33 he completed a long football career.

In total, Jones played 384 official matches, with 33 goals scored. He usually didn’t need to make his way to the opposing team’s goal - he was always a defender or midfielder.

Dirty game

On the football field, Vinnie Jones gained the image of a “tough guy”. For this he was often criticized and called one of those who discredit football. Journalists weren't particularly fond of Jones either. They constantly accused him of clumsiness and inappropriate rudeness.

When it came to Wimbledon winning the FA Cup, one newspaper wrote that a team containing the likes of Vinnie Jones winning the trophy would be a “mockery of football”, since the country had so many great players who had never received such a title.

Vinny’s nickname was appropriate – ‘Axe’, that is, “Axe” or “Axe”. During his football career he was sent off 12 times. One day yellow card he received just three seconds after entering the lawn for a tackle on the opposing attacker.

The most striking illustration of rudeness, perhaps, will be the case when Jones angrily clenched his fist, so to speak, the crotch of another English football star, Paul Gascoigne. The photograph of this episode was probably seen by many who were interested in Vinnie’s football past.

In another match, Jones inflicted a very serious injury on Gary Stevens, then an England player, which ended Stevens' career. However, Vinny was so tough only as part of Wimbledon. At Leeds he received only 3 yellow cards during the season, and while playing for Sheffield and Chelsea he was never sent off from the field.

Like any footballer, Jones dreamed of playing for the England national team, but due to his scandalous reputation, he had no chance of getting there. However, he was able to play for the Welsh national team. Vinnie was born in English city, but he managed to prove the presence of Welsh roots on his mother’s side. Jones played 9 matches for Wales and even served as captain of the national team. He was also invited to the Irish national team. However, the search for Irish roots was less successful.

Sudden Guy Ritchie

In 1998, Guy Ritchie released Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The low-budget film immediately began to be criticized for allegedly shamelessly copying Tarantino. But when the film was revealed to the mass audience, it became clear that Ritchie had directed one of the iconic British films of the 1990s.

Vinnie Jones had no acting experience before. Richie invited him to make his directorial debut after seeing him on one of the TV shows where he participated as a football player. On the first day of filming, Jones arrived on set straight from the police station - the day before he had been arrested for a fight with a neighbor.

“Cards” did so well that Guy Ritchie immediately conceived the next film on a similar theme – “Snatch.” Naturally, there was a place in it for Vinny. It was he who was supposed to play the gypsy Mickey. However, a big fan of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Brad Pitt asked Richie for a role in the new film.

Richie simply could not refuse a star of such magnitude. When it turned out that Pitt could not be included in the panopticon of London bandits due to their inability to reliably imitate the local accent, it was decided to give him the role of a slurring gypsy. Yes, yes, Mickey’s speech in “Snatch” is largely like that precisely in order to disguise his not at all British origin.

Vinnie Jones ended up playing the hired thug Tony "Bullet in the Mouth", and he did a great job. Acting former football player was awarded several awards and positive reviews critics. Dustin Hoffman even called him “the new Bruce Willis.”

Through the Hollywood Hills

An incredible debut helped Jones build a rapid acting career out of nothing. In the image of a sarcastic thug, he appeared in several large projects at once - “Gone in 60 Seconds” (2000), “Password “Swordfish”” (2001), “Eurotrip” (2004).

Vinny played a football player only once in the film “Bonebreaker” (2001), which was produced by Guy Ritchie. However, the film did not receive much success, and even comparing it with “Cards” and “Snatch” is somehow awkward. But later, Hollywood made a kind of remake of the film - “All or Nothing” with Adam Sandler and a whole set of famous wrestlers.

In 2006, Vinnie Jones played in his highest-budget film, the third part of the X-Men. Naturally, he got the role of a giant mutant with enormous strength. After the premiere, Vinny announced that he had signed a contract for the next two parts of the X-Men. However, he never appeared in them.

Hostage of the image

The viewer, alas, soon became bored with the permanent role of Vinnie Jones. After 2006, no matter how hard you try, you cannot find a single major or successful project in which the actor played. He continues to actively act. For example, in 2012, several films with his participation were released at once: “Pretend to be my husband”, “Stolen”, “Freelancers”, “Magic Boys”. Can you remember any of this?

These days, Jones seems to take whatever job is offered. He goes to Alma-Ata to star in the thriller “Liquidator” (2010) from Kazakh director Akhan Sataev. In 2014, Vinnie played in the failed Russian science fiction film The Calculator. He performs in musical theater, appears in second-rate TV series and does not refuse to star in documentary and entertainment shows.

In general, the current Vinnie Jones can only be seen on screen by accident. It’s unlikely that anyone is intentionally following his career. However, this does not deprive Jones of his past acting credits. "Big Chris" and "Bullet in the Mouth" Tony will always be with us as one of the most memorable archetypes of London's gangland underworld. And any episode with his participation from Guy Ritchie’s first two films will invariably lift your spirits.

Vinnie Jones's childhood and family

As a child, Vinnie was a rather small and puny boy, and the club management considered him an unpromising football player and expelled him from the team.

Vinnie Jones's football career

In 1988, Wimbledon, together with Vinnie Jones, achieved the most significant success in their history - they won the FA Cup.

In the late 80s of the 20th century, Wimbledon acquired the unofficial name “team of psychos”. Much of the credit for this unflattering nickname belonged to Vinnie Jones. He was distinguished by his tough and rough game. In one of the games, Jones entered the field as a substitute and he “managed” to get a yellow card within 3 (!!!) seconds! In total, Vinnie was sent off the field twelve times throughout his football career.

Most fans condemned Jones for rough play, and the famous striker English clubs Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur Jimmy Greaves once ironically stated that he no longer expected any surprises in English football, but it turns out that some consider Vinnie Jones an international footballer!

However, Jones knew how to play not only rough: in the period from 1988 to 1992, he played for such famous clubs as Leeds United, Sheffield United, Chelsea and was never sent off!

In total, during his 15-year career as a professional football player, Vinny played more than three hundred official matches and scored 33 goals.

With such a scandalous reputation, Jones might not have dreamed of playing for the England national team, but he was invited to play for the Irish national team, but he could not prove his Irish origin. On his mother's side, Vinnie had Welsh roots and managed to play 9 matches for the Welsh national team. In some of them he took the field as team captain.

Vinnie Jones now

Since the mid-90s of the 20th century, he has become a real TV star. Vinnie hosts the “Men and Motors” program on television and a sports column in The Sun newspaper, participates in various television shows, and comments on football matches.

Vinnie very successfully changed the image of a “tough” football player to a “tough” guy. His image and voice are used by the British bookmaker Ladbrokes, which accepts bets on greyhound racing. Bacardi commercials advertising strong alcoholic beverages were very popular among television viewers.

Film career of Vinnie Jones: films and roles

The famous director liked the newcomer’s performance and invited him to play the role of Tony in the film Snatch.

The debut of the newly minted actor and film critics were celebrated. Jones receives several awards for his roles as Tony and Chris, and the famous Dustin Hoffman calls Vinny the new Bruce Willis.

The successfully found image became Jones’ calling card in subsequent films: “Gone in 60 Seconds,” “Swordfish,” “Eurotrip.” In these and other films, Jones becomes a partner of such Hollywood stars as Nicolas Cage, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie.

The difficult character of Vinnie Jones

More than once he was arrested and fined for driving while intoxicated. In 1997, Jones almost ended up in prison for beating a neighbor with whom he argued about the boundaries of his property. The football player managed to get away with a fine and hundreds of hours of community service.

One day, while heading to Tokyo, Jones started a fight on a Virgin Atlantic flight. Since then, he has been blacklisted by the company and has no right to use its services.

Vinnie himself recalled, not without pride, that when bananas were thrown at his friend John Fashanu, he picked them up and threw them back, because... I wanted to show everyone that in order to get to Fashanu, you would first have to meet him.

At the same time, Jones is no stranger to charity. He donated his entire fee - 30 thousand pounds sterling for the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - to the hospital where his wife underwent a heart transplant.

Apparently Vinnie Jones himself said it best about his controversial character: he was born in England, was captain of the Wales team, but always loved Ireland, although he went to Scotland to fish.

Personal life of Vinnie Jones

Soon Jones broke up with Milena. The son stayed with his mother, but maintained a relationship with him and regularly saw his father.

In 1994, Vinnie Jones married his old friend Tanya Lamont. Lamontimela had a daughter, Kylie, from her first marriage, whom Vinnie adopted.

Vinnie Jones today

Vinnie Jones, good actor and former footballer, and one of his most famous photographs:

Some people know Vinnie Jones for his roles in the films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Bonebreaker, Gone in 60 Seconds and others. But before he got into films, Jones was a professional football player. Anyone with the slightest interest knows, I’m willing to assume, how Vinny “looked after” the rising Newcastle star Paul Gascoigne. English football Human. This episode of the match between Newcastle and Wimbledon in February 1988 became famous thanks to photojournalists, whose photographs were remembered much better than the outcome of the meeting. Gascoigne himself, who was also never a good boy, devoted several pages to a description of what happened in his autobiography.

We had to play away against Wimbledon, which at that time was an extremely difficult opponent. Mainly thanks to three players - John Fachan, Dennis Wise and Vinnie Jones. The press described upcoming match like a duel between Jones - a tough guy who takes no prisoners - and me, a young talent with a lot of cunning tricks up his sleeve.

During the pre-match warm-up, the camera lenses were turned on me, and I, in turn, could not bring myself not to look at Vinnie, who was warming up on the opposite half of the field. Even from a distance it seemed huge to me! I always get nervous before a game, but this time I felt exhausted even before the starting whistle. Shortly after the match started, he came up and croaked in my ear:

My name is Vinnie Jones and I'll damn sure be around the whole game. Do you understand me, fat man? Today there is only you and me!

I knew that experienced players often resort to such methods, especially if they have a young player like me as their opponent. But then Jones' threat had the most serious effect on me. When I first touched the ball, it attacked me so hard that I must have been thrown five feet into the air. Until the very final whistle, he did not leave me alone for a second, with the exception of one moment when he had to throw the ball in from touch.
“I need to leave for a couple of seconds, but I’ll damn it be back,” Vinnie growled, heading to the sidelines.

Our team received the right to a “standard”, and Vinny and I stood in the penalty area, waiting for the serve. He was in front of me, suddenly pulled his hand back and, like a vice, squeezed my balls. I roared from pain and surprise. I think at that moment no one understood what really happened, especially since the ball flew to another place. But thanks to the photographers, the whole of England knew about it the very next day.

Vinnie Jones is a charismatic professional actor from Great Britain, a former footballer who played for Chelsea, Wimbledon and Leeds United. The man is known around the world for his unique style of football, based on toughness and aggression, and for his memorable roles in the popular X-Men films.

Childhood and football

Vinnie Jones' path to fame and recognition was long and difficult. In childhood, in early age, he became interested in football and began to play it in the nursery sports school. His coaches were the best specialists England, so after a while Jones had already developed excellent technique, passing accuracy and “reading” of the game. However, the guy’s height was not suitable, so the road to big football was closed to him - the coaches did not see any prospects for such a “small” player.

Vinny entered the world of professional football through amateur football - he and a team of like-minded people literally burst onto the sports scene and attracted maximum attention from coaches professional clubs series crushing victories at the amateur level and in the lower divisions of the country.

The country's top clubs drew attention to the technical and sharp player that Vinnie became. He managed to play for a number of professional clubs from the top division of England, and he also participated in international football tournaments in the Wales national team. The choice of the Wales team instead of England is easily explained - Vinny’s behavior on the field blocked his path to the English team, but thanks to his Welsh roots on his mother’s side, the player could sign up for neighboring Wales.

For excessively tough play and aggressiveness on the field, the player receives the nickname Ax. He was sent off countless times, his behavior was considered the worst among his contemporaries, and he received red cards after being on the field for three seconds. Vinnie has become something of a legend, an example of what not to do.

His trick with the Newcastle player still amazes the public - then Vinnie's opponent Paul Gascoigne, while fighting for the ball, felt the steely grip of Jones's hand in the most intimate place.

Age has brought the football player’s career to its logical conclusion - 33-year-old Vinny quits sports and moves into the film industry, without having any acting education.

Movies

The motivation for Vinny to achieve success after his sports career was an article by one sports journalist, in which the author noted that “after football, Vinnie will simply disappear, and we will never see him again.” And although Jones did not like the high life and the flair of Hollywood, he did not want to become a nobody after football.

Creative biography Vinny in films began with films where he played a “tough, tough guy.” The first work in Jones's filmography was the cult action movie of the late 90s "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", which was soon followed by filming in the blockbuster "Snatch".

The image stuck with this actor, because his tall height (187 cm) and impressive physical characteristics, together with his courageous face, organically fit into the image of a “bad guy”. Over time, Vinnie became even more brutal, increasing his body weight. During football career his weight did not exceed 76 kg; subsequently Jones gained another 13 kg.

It turned out that Vinnie has a hidden talent as an actor, and he is capable of playing comedic and dramatic roles. For example, the ironic image of a scandalous football player who ended up in prison and there decided to put together football team, Vinnie Jones recreated in the comedy “Bonebreaker”.

His performances in popular films began to receive positive reviews from film critics, and he won several international awards. But even after this, there were film critics who published articles and reviews, predicting the imminent decline of Jones’ career. And he starred in film after film.

He began to be invited to star in high-budget films in which the main roles were played by top stars - and others. Vinnie's repertoire is varied, but he works best in roles in science-fiction blockbusters and sports dramas. He appears in American and English films and receives invitations to European and Asian cinema. True, here he plays the monotonous roles of a “tough American guy.”

From 1998 to 2016, Vinny starred in more than 100 films and television projects. Among his roles are from the superhero action film "X-Men: The Last Stand", assassin Sebastian "M" Moran from the detective series "Elementary". Vinnie Jones also did not refuse the opportunity to embody the image of a bloodthirsty butcher who kills people in the horror movie “Midnight Express” with leading role.

In 2013, Vinnie Jones became a participant in the original television project. He tried himself as a worker in complex specialties in the “Real in Russia” project. This is how he finally and irrevocably fell in love with the Russian audience. In one interview, the actor shared his impressions of Russia. According to Vinnie Jones, Russians are similar to the Irish in their hospitality. The artist was also surprised by the opportunity to travel by train without a break for 24 hours, and the fact that in many regions simple movement between populated areas is accompanied by extreme sports. Not without the symbol of Russia - the bear, which Jones repeatedly met in the taiga.

Vinny also managed to star in a couple of television projects, work in a newspaper (he wrote a column about sports) and comment on a number of football matches high level. Vinnie Jones is no stranger to music - he recorded several blues albums with his own songs, showing limitless musical and creative abilities.

Personal life

Hot guy Vinnie Jones has always been popular with the fairer sex. During his career at Wimbledon, he met Milena Elliston, with whom he began a short relationship. The football player did not plan a wedding, but in 1991 Milena gave him his first child, son Aaron. The boy remained to live with his mother, but also maintains a close relationship with his father.

In the mid-90s, Vinnie decided to settle down and married Tatiana Lamont, his longtime friend, the ex-wife of football player Steve Terry. Vinny and Tanya’s family has no children together, but the parents raised Tatyana’s daughter from her first marriage, Kylie. At one time, the Jones family lived in England near the city of Sheffield. In the first years of their marriage, Tanya underwent a heart transplant, after which Jones donated to the clinic his fee from filming the film that brought him popularity, “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.”

In 2013, the public learned that Vinnie and his wife were struggling with a terrible disease - skin cancer. The actor’s wife had been battling cancer for 7 years at this point. The tumors were caused by hormonal pills that Tanya had been taking for a decade. Vinny discovered he had cancer later. A tumor in the form of a mole appeared on the actor’s face.

Over the next two years, the family does everything to defeat the disease. Both spouses undergo numerous operations to remove tumors. Jones had three tumors removed. The actor suspects that they were caused by numerous trips to the football field without protection from UV rays. Fortunately, both spouses manage to overcome such a dangerous disease and restore their health.

The press learned that the actor was having an affair on the side - a Russian-speaking singer became his chosen one. The romance did not last long; the girl did not intend to arrange her personal life at the expense of destroying another family. But the fleeting relationship between the two stars was noticed by reporters from Russian and foreign media, and photos of the artists appeared on the pages of popular tabloids.

Vinnie's character often leads to him causing scandals. At first it was brawls, fights and overly aggressive behavior on the football field, then in his personal life. He was caught for drunk driving, excessively provocative behavior in public and loud parties.

Repeatedly it came to calling the police and pressing charges. Hot-tempered and menacing, Vinny was accused by the court of attacking a neighbor and causing him serious physical harm. He was also found guilty of violating the rules of passenger behavior during an air flight - then Vinny not only got drunk and hit the passenger, but also threatened the pilot and his assistants. The actor paid a fine and completed 80 hours of community service.

Vinny is not shy about his violent character and boldly talks about the dirtiest football tricks and claims that he is not affected by criticism. He does not believe that his work has an invaluable contribution to culture or sport. Jones just does what he knows.

The controversial Vinnie Jones would not be himself without noble deeds. With his participation, a public service advertisement for the British Heart Foundation was created, in which Vinnie, in the image of a “bad guy,” explains the principles of cardiac massage.

Vinnie Jones does not have his own Instagram, but photographs with his favorite actor appear on the profiles of his fans.

Vinnie Jones now

The popular actor regularly receives offers from film producers. Vinnie Jones has a lot to choose from. This is an action film with “The Mercenary: Absolution”, and a fantasy film with “The Cross. Part Two: Double Deception,” and a crime thriller with “Life Outside.”

Now the artist’s repertoire is ready to be replenished with the crime comedy “System Madness” and the thriller “The Hit List,” in which Jones is announced to participate.

Filmography

• 1998 – “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”
• 2000 – “Gone in 60 Seconds”
• 2000 – “Big Snatch”
• 2001 – “Bonebreaker”
• 2004 – “Big Theft”
• 2006 – “Strength and Honor”
• 2006 – “X-Men: The Last Stand”
• 2008 – “Hell Ride”
• 2010 – “Locked Up”
• 2010 – “The Irishman”
• 2012 – “Freelancers”
• 2013 – “Blood of Redemption”
• 2014 – “Computer”
• 2015 – “In the Vise”
• 2018 – “Cunning”