John Toshack reunites with Leire Martínez in Barcelona, hailing her as his favourite singer | OneFootball

John Toshack and Leire Martínez met for lunch in Barcelona on Saturday before her La Mercè 2026 appearance, according to Diario Vasco.

Their friendship began 10 years ago at a sports gala, where Martínez, from Gipuzkoa, told the Welshman she admired him. She recalled he was the first Real Sociedad coach she knew as a child, when the txuri-urdin won the Copa in Zaragoza, and he spoke of his fondness for La Oreja de Van Gogh songs she fronted.

Accompanied by his wife Mai, Toshack travelled from his home in Besalú, Girona, to join her at her hotel. The pair reminisced about his first spell in San Sebastián, and he described Martínez as his favourite singer.

During the meeting, Martínez said she would dedicate one of her upcoming concerts to him, a celebrated figure in Real Sociedad’s history. Toshack said he would suggest a few special songs, joking that they are all old and she might not know them.

She replied she could perform something by the Beatles and by Tom Jones. Toshack called Jones a good Welshman, like him, then broke into one of his compatriot’s best-known tunes. Both joked there are few Basque Welshmen quite like the legendary coach.

Source: Diario Vasco

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”