Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne received a hero’s welcome as the former Tottenham Hotspur and Lazio midfielder returned to Rome’s Olympic Stadium last night to witness the two sides play each other in the Europa League.

Gazza spent three years at the Italian club before moving to Glasgow Rangers in 1995 and, despite his time there being hampered by injury, he quickly won the affection of the fans with his fantastic brand of football and on-the-field antics (although a late equaliser in the Rome derby certainly helped).

La vuelta de Gazza al Olimpico | Il ritorno di Gazza all’Olimpico @officialsslazio #sslazio twitter.com/sslazioes/stat…

— LAZIO SPAGNA (@sslazioes) November 19, 2012

The game ended in a 0-0 stalemate but Gascoigne’s appearance provided a much needed emotional boost, given the incidents that transpired in the build up to kick-off.

Lazio fans paid tribute to Gazza’s boisterous footballing genius with t-shirts, a series of banners and a huge flag.

This video was released by Lazio on the day of the game:

Arrival in Italy

Before the match

Gazza before the Lazio match #COYS twitter.com/Yid_Poker/stat…

— Matty (@Yid_Poker) November 22, 2012

Here’s a sneak peak of Gazza ahead of @officialsslazio v @spursofficial twitter.com/EuropaLeague/s…

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) November 22, 2012

Triumphant return

Gazza returns in triumph… twitter.com/TelegraphSport…

— Telegraph Sport (@TelegraphSport) November 22, 2012

Former Spurs and Lazio player Gazza gets a warm welcome at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome… twitter.com/TelegraphSport…

— Telegraph Sport (@TelegraphSport) November 22, 2012

Pic: Hero’s welcome for Gazza at Lazio v #THFC (probably exactly what this game needed, given the build-up…) twitter.com/TelegraphSport…

— Telegraph Sport (@TelegraphSport) November 22, 2012

We love #Gazza!!! twitter.com/cholo81/status…

— Cholo (@cholo81) November 22, 2012

In the stands