Liverpool legend John Toshack diagnosed with dementia | OneFootball

There is some deeply sad news for us to reflect on, with former Liverpool striker John Toshack having been diagnosed with dementia.

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The update comes via the Daily Mail, with permission from the Toshack family, and it concerns one of the most important figures of our history both as a player and as a football man far beyond Anfield.

Sad health update on John Toshack

(Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images)

Cameron Toshack confirmed that his father is now living with dementia.

“With his son’s permission, we can share the sad news that the former Liverpool striker… has been diagnosed with dementia.”

The report explains that the Welshman, now 77, has “good days and bad days”, which is heartbreaking to hear about a man who gave so much to the game.

At the same time, there is something moving in the detail that so much of his football memory remains intact.

Cameron revealed: “If I ask him about the Liverpool days, or Sociedad or Madrid, the detail is amazing.”

That says plenty about the imprint those years made on Toshack’s life, and about the extraordinary football brain he carried throughout his career.

Toshack’s Liverpool legacy will never fade

(Photo by Aubrey Hart/Evening Standard/Getty Images)

For us, Toshack will always be remembered as one half of one of Liverpool’s great forward pairings alongside Kevin Keegan, helping Bill Shankly’s side become a force again in the 1970s.

His contribution to the game, though, stretched well beyond Anfield, with the Cardiff-born former striker going on to build a remarkable managerial career across Europe, winning major honours and taking Swansea from the fourth division to the first.

This news also lands with extra sadness because it is not the first time we have seen dementia affect giants of our club.

Peter Cormack’s family previously shared his own battle with the disease before his passing, while Ron Yeats also suffered with Alzheimer’s in later life.

That pattern makes each new case hit even harder, especially for those brilliant old-school players who spent so much of their careers heading a heavy ball.

Right now, the most important thing is simply to send our love and best wishes to John Toshack and his family.

He is one of our own greats, and whatever this cruel disease takes away, his place in Liverpool history never changes.