Tony Cascarino English footballer Date of Birth: 01.09.1962 Country: Great Britain

1. Early Life and Career
2. Transfer and Success
3. International Career
4. Post-Football Career and Controversial Autobiography
5. Doping Allegations

Early Life and Career

Tony Cascarino, an English-born footballer who later played internationally for Ireland, began his football career with Crockenhill youth team in Kent, England. Initially aspiring to become a hairdresser or yoga instructor, Cascarino ultimately pursued football. In 1982, he joined Gillingham, who acquired him for an exchange of tracksuits and corrugated iron.

Transfer and Success

In 1987, Cascarino was transferred to Millwall for £225,000, where he scored 42 goals in 105 appearances over three years. Subsequent stints with Aston Villa, Celtic, and Chelsea followed. However, his most successful period came in France, where he played for Marseille and Nancy in Ligue 2.

International Career

Despite being born in England, Cascarino was granted Irish citizenship due to his grandfather's Irish heritage. However, in 1996, his mother revealed that his grandfather was not his biological grandfather. Cascarino described himself as a "fraud" and "fake Irishman" in his autobiography. Nonetheless, he became an integral part of the Irish national team, participating in EURO 1988 and the World Cups of 1990 and 1994, scoring 19 goals in 88 appearances.

Post-Football Career and Controversial Autobiography

After retiring from football, Cascarino became a semi-professional poker player and later a commentator for the major poker show "Party Poker." He also made appearances in several television dramas.

His autobiography, "Full Time: The Secret Life of Tony Cascarino," drew significant controversy. The sports autobiography chronicles his football career and passion for poker, but also reveals his struggles with gambling addiction and infidelity towards his wife, Sarah, who left him with their two sons, Michael and Teddy (named after former Millwall teammate Teddy Sheringham). Cascarino admitted to becoming "isolated in my newfound celebrity, indestructible to the pain I was causing."

Doping Allegations

Cascarino also claimed that during his time at Olympique de Marseille, club players received injections of a substance from the team's physiotherapist at the behest of club president Bernard Tapie. While the physiotherapist insisted the substance was not illegal and merely boosted adrenaline, Cascarino maintained that most players accepted the injections and it had a definite effect: "I felt sharper, more energetic."