John Toshack ‘denies dementia diagnosis’ after son’s claim | OneFootball

Liverpool and Wales great John Toshack says he does not have dementia, denying claims made by his son in a newspaper interview this week.

Toshack’s son Cameron said he gave the Daily Mail permission to share his father’s diagnosis in an interview published on Wednesday.

“Demented? Not yet,” Toshack, 77, told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo from his home in Girona. “I've forgotten all ⁠the goals I've missed, but I remember perfectly the ones I've scored.”

Toshack said that he does sometimes struggle with his short-term memory, but explained it was because of a long battle with Covid-19.

The former Liverpool forward and Wales manager spent more than two weeks in an ICU in Barcelona after contracting Covid-19 and pneumonia, confirming in 2022 that he had been “seriously ill”.

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John Toshack watches on as Real Madrid face Numancia at the Bernabeu (Getty Images)

The El Mundo journalist who visited Toshack at his home in Girona, Luis Nunez-Villaveirn, shared a video of the 77-year-old speaking in Spanish and wearing a Real Sociedad tracksuit as he discussed his condition.

A former coach of Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, Toshack lives in Spain with his wife, Mai. She said Toshack had not seen his son Cameron, who works as a coach in Thailand, in two years.

Cameron had told the Daily Mail that his father had “good days and bad days” and claimed they spoke “most days”. He said Toshack could still remember details of past matches from his time at Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Toshack scored 96 goals for Liverpool in a seven-year spell at Anfield that brought three league titles, two Uefa Cups and the European Cup.

He formed a formidable strike partnership with Kevin Keegan and scored 13 goals in 40 caps for Wales before turning to management.

Toshack took charge of Wales in 1994 and between 2004 to 2010, and is the only Welshman to have managed Spanish giants Real Madrid - winning LaLiga in 1990.

He returned to the Bernabeu for a second spell in charge in 1999 and also managed Swansea, Sporting Lisbon, Deportivo La Coruna, Besiktas, Saint-Etienne and Real Murcia in a journeyman managerial career.