Cameron Toshack on Football, Father's Dementia, and Coaching in Thailand
Living on a volcano – that’s how legendary manager Arsene Wenger once described the intense pressures of football management. For Cameron Toshack, son of football great John Toshack, this phrase carries a more literal meaning in his current life.
A New Home by a Dormant Volcano
‘We live next to an actual volcano,’ Cameron Toshack reveals in an exclusive interview. Speaking from Buriram, a city approximately 200 miles north of Bangkok, Thailand, he describes waking each morning to a view of Khao Kradong – a volcano dormant for nearly 300,000 years, yet a constant reminder of nature’s unpredictability.
‘There is also a Buddhist training college next to us, where the monks go to pray,’ Toshack adds. ‘There’s a morning call at the college around 4.30am every day. The first time I heard it, when we arrived last year, I must admit I was pretty confused, but it’s such a beautiful culture. An entirely different way of life and a different pace.’
This immersion in Thai culture has been a profound experience for Toshack, who reflects on the value of stepping outside one’s comfort zone. ‘It’s interesting, isn’t it, that we can grow up on our island and grow accustomed to certain things, but travelling and seeing new cultures, it’s one of the best things we can do if we get the chance. Not being afraid to try new things in life and football is one of the lessons I have taken from my dad.’
A Father’s Legacy and a Sad Diagnosis
His father is, of course, John Toshack – the former Liverpool striker and renowned manager who led teams from Swansea City and Real Madrid to Morocco, Azerbaijan, and Macedonia. With his son’s permission, we can now share the sad news that John Toshack has been diagnosed with dementia.
Now 77 years old, John Toshack experiences ‘good days and bad days,’ according to his son. Despite the challenges of dementia, his long-term memory remains remarkably sharp; he can still recite entire line-ups from matches he played or managed decades ago. His substantial imprint on football history endures, even as he battles this condition from his home in Girona, Spain.
‘It’s a terrible disease,’ Cameron Toshack says. ‘It’s the short-term memory where we’re seeing it – I speak to him most days and if we chat in the afternoon, he might not remember that we also spoke in the morning.’
However, the glory days of his career remain vivid. ‘But if I ask him about the Liverpool days, or Sociedad or Madrid, the detail is amazing. The other day he was telling me about a Real Madrid game against Arrigo Saachi’s AC Milan and exactly how he tweaked his midfield to deal with Marco van Basten. The game could have been yesterday, his memory was so clear.’
Carrying the Family Name to Football’s Outposts
The Toshack family legacy continues through Cameron, 56, who has carved his own path in football’s far-flung corners. He arrived at Buriram United in October last year, serving as assistant manager to Mark Jackson – another globetrotting coach with experience at Leeds United, MK Dons, and a treble-winning stint with Central Coast Mariners in Australia.
Together, Jackson and Toshack are on the verge of winning the Thai top-flight league comfortably, while also competing in the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League. Toshack rates the level of competition in Asia as ‘at least the top six of the Championship.’
Their success comes despite logistical challenges familiar to coaches working across continents. ‘We had a midweek game in Melbourne, nine-hour flight through four time zones, followed by one at home in the league, which is probably a bit like Arsenal playing in Miami on the Wednesday and London at the weekend,’ Toshack explains. ‘It can take some getting used to, but having a view of football in all corners of the world, especially with a guy as good as Mark, has been outstanding. I’ve loved it.’
An Eclectic Coaching Journey
Cameron Toshack’s football journey has been anything but conventional. Forced to retire from playing at 23 due to type-one diabetes after spells at Cardiff City and Swansea City, he spent a decade as a pharmaceutical sales manager. During this time, he moonlighted as his father’s analyst with the Wales national team and assistant during John’s tenure managing Macedonia.
Striking out on his own, Toshack played a key role in developing future stars like Dan James, Ollie McBurnie, and Joe Rodon in Swansea’s title-winning youth team. He later managed Pafos to their highest league finish in Cyprus and served under Jesse Marsch at Leeds United, where he first connected with Mark Jackson in 2022.
‘We said whoever got a management job first would bring the other in,’ Toshack recalls of their partnership. ‘We see the game the same way – solid foundations, high-energy, be adaptable – we don’t go somewhere and say it must be a 4-2-3-1. Eyes open. Listen to people. Manage people the right way.’
The Frustrations of British Coaching
Toshack voices familiar frustrations about the limited opportunities for British coaches at home. ‘Often you’re scratching your head about some of the people who get the posts, whether it’s an agent connection or a playing career or whatever, but on coaching credentials it can seem paper thin,’ he observes. ‘I know Mark and I have done the hard yards and we keep doing what we do.’
This perspective echoes advice from his father, who always encouraged looking beyond familiar shores. John Toshack’s own career spanned eight different nations abroad, with trophies in five of them – including La Liga with Real Madrid, the Copa del Rey at Real Sociedad, the Turkish Cup at Besiktas, and the Moroccan league title. At home, he famously took Swansea from the fourth division to the first.
For Cameron Toshack, his father’s wisdom remains relevant even today. ‘I’ll talk to him about what we’re doing in Thailand and he still gives great advice. As a manager, he could always see two or three moves ahead, and it was always in the genes for me, really.’
For now, Cameron’s path has led to Thailand – one of the few countries where his father never coached. With another title likely on the horizon for Buriram United, the Toshack family legacy continues to grow, even as its patriarch faces his most personal challenge yet.
