Liverpool and Wales legend John Toshack has laughed off a claim from his son that he has been suffering from dementia.
The 77-year-old has spoken out after his son, Cameron, gave an update on his health in an interview earlier this week.
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Cameron Toshack, who is an assistant manager at Thai side Buriram United, said: “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 his Liverpool days, or Sociedad or Madrid, the detail is amazing.
“The other day, he was telling me about a Real Madrid game against Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan and exactly how he tweaked his midfield to deal with Marco van Basten.
“I’ll talk to him about what we’re doing in Thailand and he still gives great advice. As a manager, he could always see two or three moves ahead, and it was always in the genes for me, really.”
Toshack laughs off dementia claim
However, in a bizarre turn of events, Toshack and his wife have now done their own interviews to deny those claims.
The football legend’s partner, Mai Angulo, told Spanish outlet El Diario Vasco on Thursday: “Cameron only knows what he talks about very occasionally on the phone with his father.
“He hasn’t seen him for two years. That’s why it really surprised me that he said this.
“John is very calm here. We celebrated his 77th birthday on Sunday, and he was very happy.”
Then, on Friday, Toshack himself spoke to the media about the strange situation, telling El Mundo: “Dementia? Not yet!”
The Liverpool legend went on to joke: “I’ve forgotten all the goals I missed, but I remember perfectly the ones I scored.”
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Recent health issues
Despite denying the dementia claim, Toshack has struggled with multiple health issues recently after being admitted into intensive care in 2022, fighting pneumonia after suffering from Covid.
And his wife has admitted: “It is true that Covid left him with very severe after-effects, both physical and mental.
“Everyone has been able to notice this. We cannot forget that we went through some terrible moments, with John sedated in an intensive care unit, not knowing how he would progress.
“He always says that he was out of this world for more than ten days and that when, thank God, he came back, he didn’t understand anything.
“He didn’t know what was happening to him or where he was. It wasn’t easy. I spent many days anxious because, except for John’s closest friends, no one showed interest, not even his family.”
Toshack made a rare appearance last year, being given a Diamond and Gold badge by his former club Real Sociedad.
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Toshack’s legendary career
Toshack started his football career in his birthplace Cardiff, playing over 100 times for the Bluebirds from 1965 to 1970.
The ex-striker then went on to play for Liverpool, where he went on to win nine trophies, including the European Cup.
He also won three First Division titles during his time with the Reds, where he scored 96 times in 247 appearances.
Toshack would go on to return to Wales after his spell on Merseyside, collecting another 63 appearances for Swansea.
And it was with Swansea that Toshack kick-started an impressive managerial career, going on to take charge of 12 teams over a 40-year tenure on the touchline, managing in multiple different countries.
He left Swansea to head to Portugal in 1984 as he coached Sporting Lisbon, before he then went on to manage Real Sociedad in Spain.
A stint at Real Madrid followed in 1989, as he went on to lead Los Blancos to the La Liga title in 1990.
Toshack also managed Turkish side Besiktas, French team Saint-Etienne and multiple international teams, including Wales and North Macedonia.