John Toshack, the former Liverpool and Wales striker, has been diagnosed with dementia, his son Cameron has confirmed. The 77-year-old, who enjoyed a distinguished playing and managerial career, is experiencing short-term memory loss but retains vivid recollections of his footballing past.
Cameron Toshack, a football coach in Thailand and former assistant manager at Leeds United, told the Daily Mail that his father has good and bad days. 'It's a terrible disease. 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. But if I ask him about the Liverpool days, or Sociedad or Madrid, the detail is amazing,' he said.
Toshack scored 96 goals for Liverpool between 1970 and 1978, winning nine trophies including three league titles, two UEFA Cups, an FA Cup and a European Cup. He earned 40 caps for Wales before moving into management, where he led Swansea City from the fourth division to the top flight and managed Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, and the Welsh national team.
During his second stint as Wales manager from 2004 to 2010, Toshack handed debuts to Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale, who later became key figures in the side that reached the Euro 2016 semi-finals. He also coached in Portugal, France, Turkey, Morocco, Azerbaijan, and Macedonia.
