The former coach of Gheorghe Hagi, diagnosed with a “terrible disease”

The news was revealed by his son, Cameron, in an interview given to the British press.

John Toshack, diagnosed with dementia

The former great Welsh striker is going through a difficult time personally. At the age of 77, John Toshack was diagnosed with dementia, a brain disease that causes a long-term and often gradual decline in memory and the ability to think, affecting the way he carries out usual day-to-day activities.

His son Cameron, who is currently assistant coach at Thai side Buriram United, spoke to the British publication Daily Mail about his father's health. Although he stated that the disease is a terrible one, Toshack remembers details about the time when he was involved in football.

“It's a terrible disease. We see it in short-term memory. I talk to him almost every day, and if we talk in the afternoon, he might not remember that we talked in the morning.

But if I ask him about his days at Liverpool, or Sociedad or Madrid, the details are amazing. The other day he was telling me about a Real Madrid game against AC Milan, Arrigo Saachi's side, and how he adjusted his midfield to deal with Marco van Basten.

I'll talk to him about what we're doing in Thailand and he keeps giving me great advice. As a manager, he always saw two or three moves ahead and, indeed, he was always in my sights,” his son said, according to the aforementioned source.

During his playing career, Toshack played for Liverpool Swansea and Cardiff, but it was in the Cormorants shirt that he had his greatest achievements. Between 1970 and 1978, in 274 appearances for the team at Anfield, the former striker scored 96 goals and provided 54 assists.

RECORDS AS A PLAYER:

• 2 European Champions Cups with Liverpool (1977, 1978)

• 2 UEFA Cups with Liverpool (1973, 1976)

• 1 European Super Cup with Liverpool (1978)

• 3 Premier League titles with Liverpool (1973, 1976, 1977)

• 1 FA Cup with Liverpool (1974)

John Toshack in a Liverpool shirt from 1970-1978

The former coach of Gheorghe Hagi

John Toshack was the coach under whom Gheorghe Hagi debuted at Real Madrid in 1990. He coached the Romanian in the first part of the 1990/1991 season, but left due to instability in the team.

In addition to Real Madrid, the Welshman has also coached teams such as Swansea, Sporting Lisbon, Real Sociedad, Deportivo la Coruna, Saint-Etienne and Besiktas, as well as the national teams of Wales and North Macedonia.

RECORDS AS A COACH:

• 1 La Liga title with Real Madrid (1990)

• 1 Spanish Cup with Real Sociedad (1987)

• 1 Spanish Super Cup with Deportivo la Coruna (1996)

John Toshack, Real Madrid coach in 1989/1990 and 1999