Tony Adams says Euro 96 was his "saving grace" as he rescued a difficult year by captaining the Three Lions to the semi-finals after struggling with injury and alcohol abuse.
The Arsenal legend led Terry Venables' men all the way to the semis at Wembley during that eventful tournament - when they agonisingly lost out to Germany on penalties.
It had been far from an ideal build-up for Adams, who struggled with injury and his infamous drinking problems throughout the year 1996.
The tournament, though, gave Adams something to focus on, and provided him with a much-needed target to aim at as he battled both his physical and mental demons.
In a revealing interview with Mark Pougatch on ITV's Euro 96 Relived podcast, Adams told the inside story of his troubled build-up.
"It was a horrific year for me emotionally and mentally off the pitch," said Adams. "I did my meniscus in the February, and because I kept getting drunk, the rehab was terrible. My rehab was sitting in a bar. I don't imagine Harry Kane would do that now.
"My rehab was sitting there drinking too much. Football had kept me sober down the years as well. I'd had long periods of abstinence playing football, so I kind of threw myself into the tournament, threw myself into the rehab come late April. But yeah, I didn't play for Arsenal at all, was going through a really difficult period personally, but clawed my way back and held onto the tournament as a saving grace."
Adams says making football his focus, and Euro 96 in particular, helped him to stay away from alcohol in order to ensure he could play for his country.
"I kept it all buried," he added. "I kept everything buried. But football - I focused in on that, I focused in on the tournament. When you're so driven, if you lose football, you ain't got nothing! I could get drunk and I could play football. I took the drinking out of it, so then I'm left with football. And I was like, this is all I've got. This is my life today. I need this tournament, so I completely threw myself into it.
"The moments that I was training with them and everything else was fantastic. I loved every minute of it. But to my own devices, I don't know what I'm doing. I haven't got a life. It's just a very lonely place to be.
"But at the moment I was avoiding that as well by focusing on football, and the Euros... if I'm not going training, I'm going to see Terry, I'm going to see the physio, I'm going to see Gareth, I'm going to see the boys, I'm talking to Teddy Sheringham.
"You know what I mean, you're active. I didn't want to feel and I didn't want to think. So I can't really get emotionally attached to a tournament. I'm not having the experience of the fans, I'm not having the experience of my parents.
"They must have been going through hell at this point, going, 'Give us a phone call Tone, you know, call us, we're here, we're behind you, we love you.'
Euro 96 Relived starts on ITV Hub and ITV4 on Monday May 11.
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