ON a balmy July evening in Turin, the tears of Paul Gascoigne changed the landscape of English football forever, acting as the catalyst for the Premier League.

England reached the semi final of the World Cup thanks to their mercurial talisman, after what began as a troubled campaign that saw Bobby Robson’s side struggle to get out of their group and lose skipper Bryan Robson to injury.

England’s best performance of a vintage World Cup came in that semi final, where they would ultimately lose in a penalty shoot-out to West Germany, who would go on to defeat Argentina in a listless final.

The tears of Gascoigne, who was booked in the ninth minute of extra time, would become the defining image of the tournament, depending on how you view Roger Milla’s dancing ability.

The pressure was immense on boss Robson after a poor showing in the 1988 European Championships, but thanks to the goals of Gary Lineker and a rock solid defence, England went as close to World Cup glory as they had since 1966.

At the heart of the defence was skipper Terry Butcher, now manager of Newport County AFC.

And 25-years to the day of that semi-final showdown with Germany, Butcher, who won 77 caps over ten years for the Three Lions, recalls to Argus Sport what were his final days in an England shirt.

“It was a fabulous time, it really was, it certainly gives you a fond memory,” he explained.

“Unfortunately, the progress we made, the way we grew into that tournament, we haven’t come close to doing since, not in a World Cup, well, not in a men’s World Cup.

“It was a brilliant experience, because even though we lost on penalties, the best performance we produced in the whole tournament was against West Germany in the semi-final. There was absolutely nothing in that game at all.”

Butcher had no idea he’d be selected as captain when Bryan Robson broke a toe and damaged his heel as the nightmarish soundtrack that accompanied him at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico proved to be on repeat.

For Butcher, simply wearing a certain shirt was already a special reward.

“It was lovely to be able to captain England at a World Cup, another thing you look back on with tremendous pride,” he recalled. “But it wasn’t something that was expected, I’d captained England a few times before, but never in games of such magnitude.

“I was very happy already because I was wearing the number six shirt and that was Bobby Moore’s shirt and it was all about Bobby Moore for me, as a footballer he was all a defender could aspire to be and wearing six was a tremendous honour.

“But when you lead the side out wearing six, you think of Bobby Moore and it’s a great responsibility.”

England started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Jack Charlton’s Republic of Ireland, a feisty encounter which saw Robson’s side look less than inspiring, “it felt like a league game, a derby,” Butcher remembers.

The seeds of the campaign were arguably sewn when England switched their system to deploy a sweeper for their second group game against Holland, with Mark Wright deployed between Butcher and Des Walker.

Senior players such as Butcher, veteran goalkeeper Peter Shilton and Gary Lineker were consulted about the radical change, but Butcher insists it is Robson and his assistant Don Howe who deserve all the credit.

“We really improved in that second game, Bobby and especially Don really felt that the change in system would help us, suited the players we had, which was a very big call.

“It was seen as a radical change, but it got Gazza into the game more, it was a way to accommodate him. It was visionary management and very uncommon at the time when everyone played 4-4-2.”

England were the better side against Netherlands and might have won a contest that ended 0-0, with Butcher dropped for the final group F game against Egypt, who had also earned two points, all four games in the group having been draws.

Butcher was replaced by Steve Bull as Wright’s header secured a 1-0 win that saw England win the group, before being recalled as captain for the last 16 clash with Belgium, as David Platt’s last-gasp volley set up a clash with Cameroon in the quarter finals.

In the most dramatic game of the competition (and the only quarter final to feature more than one goal) England threw away a fine start and a goal lead to trail 2-1 before Gary Lineker equalised from the spot with seven minutes remaining, before sealing a victory with another penalty in extra time. By the time Lineker equalised, Butcher had been sacrificed for Trevor Steven as England switched back to 4-4-2.

The same fate would befall Butcher in the semi-final, who was replaced by Steven again, with England desperately searching for a leveller against a superb West German side that had won every game in the tournament, without the need for extra time.

“I think I was England’s secret weapon in that World Cup, when I went off, we scored,” Butcher joked. “It happened in the quarter final and semi final.

“We played so well against a brilliant West Germany side; we felt like it was England’s time because we were playing better and better and had a tremendous spirit about us.

“We honestly felt we were going to go all the way.”

Butcher had a front row seat from the dug-out as Gascoigne’s booking potentially ruled him out of the final, the cue for the sport’s most famous tears, before the penalty agony for England that would become customary.

“It was devastating for Gazza, we’ve seen it since with players like Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and John Terry missing Champions League finals, but this was the World Cup and Gazza was the sort of player whose emotions were never far away.

“He had been superb in the tournament and against Germany he was immense, it was a sight to behold the way he responded to that booking, because it takes an awful lot of character.

“We all loved playing with Gazza. Who wouldn’t? He could be a pain in the backside off the field, and he often was during that World Cup, but his performances and character were inspirational. He was absolutely immense.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t quite get to that final, but it was a wonderful time. I retired after that World Cup and felt proud to have been a part of it.

“The great shame was that we never took it on. Bobby Robson left the job and we didn’t even qualify for the 1994 World Cup. We had another nearly moment in 1996 with Terry Venables’ team, but that momentum didn’t last.”

The major tournament successes didn’t last for England, but for a generation of supporters, the memories endure.