John Toshack says he doesn’t have dementia (Image: GETTY)
Welsh football icon John Toshack has denied suggestions he is battling dementia. In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo, John said, “Dementia? Not yet! I have forgotten all the goals I missed, but I remember perfectly the goals I scored.”
Toshack’s wife, Mai Angulo, previously said she was shocked by Toshack’s son Cameron’s comments about his father. “He cried himself to sleep at 2 a.m.,” she said, referring to the pain caused by her eldest son’s comments.
Prime Minister David Cameron addressed Mr Toshack’s condition in a conversation with the Daily Mail, suggesting his father “has good days and bad days”. Prime Minister David Cameron said in an interview that John had been diagnosed with dementia.
Angulo told the Spanish daily El Diario Vasco: “I only know what Cameron is talking about on the phone with his father from time to time.”
“I haven’t seen him in two years, so I was really surprised that he said that.”
Cameron, who is currently assistant manager at Thailand’s Buriram United, said he still remembers the entire line-up from the game his father played in decades ago.
“It (dementia) is a terrible disease,” he said. “What we’re looking at is short-term memory. I talk to him almost every day, but if we chatted in the afternoon, he might not remember that we talked in the morning.
“But if you ask him about his time at Liverpool, Sociedad and Madrid, the details are amazing. The other day he told me about Real Madrid’s match against Arrigo Saatchi’s AC Milan and exactly how he adjusted his midfield to deal with Marco van Basten.”
“The match may have been yesterday, but his memory was very clear. I will talk to him about what we are doing in Thailand and he still gives us great advice.”
Toshack’s son recently claimed his father was diagnosed (Image: GETTY)
“As a coach, he was always looking two or three moves ahead, and that was always in my genes, really.”
Toshack was an outstanding player during his playing days, signing for Liverpool from Cardiff City in 1970 for a fee of £100,000.
Throughout his time at Anfield, he won nine trophies, including three First Division titles and one European Cup.
He then spent six years as a player-manager at Swansea City before turning full time into coaching.
Toshack went on to manage some of Europe’s most prestigious clubs, including Real Madrid, Sporting Club de Portugal, Real Sociedad, Deportivo La Coruña, Besiktas and Saint-Etienne.
He won the La Liga title with Madrid in 1990 and went on to manage Wales twice. The first case was held on a part-time basis in 1994 and then again from 2004 to 2010.
Throughout that second term, he helped develop future stars such as Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen.
In recent years, he has faced serious health issues and was rushed to intensive care in 2022 while battling pneumonia due to complications related to the coronavirus.
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