John Toshack
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John Benjamin Toshack (born 22 March 1949) is a Welsh former professional football player and manager. He began his playing career as a teenager with his hometown club Cardiff City, becoming the youngest player to make an appearance for the side when he made his debut in 1965. After establishing himself in the first-team, he went on to make over 200 appearances and scored 100 goals in all competitions after forming a striking partnership with Brian Clark. In 1970, he joined First Division side
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, where he formed a noted forward partnership with Kevin Keegan and
Steve Heighway Stephen Derek Heighway (born 25 November 1947) is an Irish former footballer who was part of the hugely successful Liverpool team of the 1970s. Following his eleven-year spell at the club, he has been regarded by some as one of the greatest Li ...
that helped the club to win two league titles, the European Cup, the
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
on two occasions, the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
and the
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
. His partnership with Keegan was so effective that the two were described as telepathic. Mounting injuries eventually led to him securing his release from Liverpool to join Swansea City as
player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
in March 1978. He led the club to three promotions in four seasons, elevating them from the Fourth Division to the First Division in a feat that led former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly to describe him as the "manager of the century". During his career, he scored over 150 goals in the Football League in more than 350 appearances and also represented
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
at international level, winning 40 caps and scoring 13 goals. He resigned from Swansea in 1984 after suffering relegation and embarked on a managerial career abroad, taking charge of
Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...
in Portugal and later Spanish side Real Sociedad, winning the
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
in 1987. Two years later, he was appointed manager of Real Madrid and led them to a fifth consecutive
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
title with a record total of points and goals scored. However, a disappointing start to the following season resulted in his dismissal in November 1990 and he returned to Real Sociedad. In 1994, he was appointed part-time manager of Wales alongside his job at Sociedad but resigned from the role after just 47 days having been in charge for one match, citing the strong support for former manager Terry Yorath among fans and a "political war" as reasons. After a spell in Turkey with Beşiktaş, he returned to Real Madrid for a second time but was sacked ten months later after refusing to retract criticism he had made of his players in a press conference following a defeat. In 2004, he was appointed as manager of Wales for a second time and remained with the side for six years, presiding over three ultimately unsuccessful qualifying campaigns. He later managed Macedonia and Azerbaijani side
Khazar Lankaran Khazar Lankaran FK ( tly, Xəzər Lankon Futboli Klub, script=Latn, az, Xəzər Lənkəran Futbol Klubu) is an Azerbaijani football club based in Lankaran that last played in the Azerbaijan Premier League during the 2015–16 season. Since the ...
before managing outside Europe for the first time in his career with Moroccan side
Wydad Casablanca Wydad Athletic Club ( ar, نادي الوداد الرياضي, ) commonly referred to as Wydad AC and known as Wydad, or simply as WAC, is a Moroccan sports club based in Casablanca. Wydad AC is best known for its professional football team that ...
and
Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...
of Iran.


Early life

John Toshack was born on 22 March 1949 in
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, Wales, and grew up on Northumberland Street in the Canton area of the city. His father George was from Dunfermline in Scotland and worked as a carpenter. He moved to Wales while serving in the
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
, being stationed at
MOD St Athan Ministry of Defence St Athan or MOD St Athan (Welsh: Maes awyr Sain Tathan), formerly known as RAF St Athan, is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales. It was the designated site for ...
, and met Toshack's mother Joan, whom he later married. As a child, Toshack attended Radnor Road Primary School, where he first played football for ten minutes in a school trial match, and later Canton High School for Boys. As a teenager, Toshack also played rugby and cricket and was regarded as a promising outside-half before a fractured shoulder suffered playing rugby led to him focusing on football. He left the school at the age of sixteen with
O-levels The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...
in French and history.


Playing career


Cardiff City

While at school, Toshack was selected to represent Cardiff Boys, where he played alongside Terry Yorath. In 1963, Toshack scored in every match he played for the side and broke the team's scoring record with his 33rd goal in eleven matches as Cardiff defeated Swansea 2–0 in the Welsh schools divisional final. He was later selected to represent the Wales under-15 side. In 1965, he joined his hometown club Cardiff City, signing for them as a 16-year-old on a contract worth £12 a week with an £8 appearance bonus and a £4 win bonus. In his early days at the club, he was in charge of cleaning the boots of
John Charles William John Charles (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United and Juventus, he was rated by many as the greatest all-ro ...
. He became the youngest ever player to play in a senior match for the club when he came on as a substitute in place of Graham Coldrick to make a goalscoring debut during a 3–1 win over
Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
on 13 November 1965 at the age of 16 years and 236 days, a record which stood for 41 years until it was broken by
Aaron Ramsey Aaron James Ramsey (born 26 December 1990) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Nice and the Wales national team. Ramsey mainly plays as a box-to-box midfielder, but has also been deployed on the left ...
in 2007. His performance during his debut persuaded manager
Jimmy Scoular James Scoular (11 January 1925 – 19 March 1998) was a Scottish football player and manager. Known as a tough, combative player with precise passing skills, Scoular made over 600 appearances in the Football League with Portsmouth, Newcastle ...
to promote him to the starting line-up for the following match and Toshack found the net again, scoring a brace during a 4–3 victory over
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
. In his first season in professional football, he scored six goals during nine appearances in all competitions. Establishing himself in the side over the next few years, Toshack rejected a £70,000 move to Fulham when he was 18 as he felt he was too inexperienced to play in the First Division and would learn more by playing under Cardiff manager Scoular. He scored his first career hat-trick in January 1968 in an 8–0 win over Ebbw Vale in the
Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...
, and went on to form one of the most prolific partnerships in the club's history alongside Brian Clark. In the 1968–69 season, he scored 31 goals in all competitions, including three goals in a two-legged Welsh Cup final against Swansea City, finishing as the club's top scorer and the highest goalscorer in the Second Division. He scored two further hat-tricks for Cardiff, in 1969 against
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
and in 1970 against
Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
. In November 1970, several days after scoring his 100th goal in all competitions for Cardiff during a 2–1 victory over French side Nantes in the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
, Toshack completed a transfer to
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. The club had made several previous offers for Toshack that had been rejected however, the Cardiff City board stated that they had left the decision up to the player who chose to move clubs. Cardiff manager Scoular and board member George Edwards both opposed the transfer but were unable to convince chairman Fred Dewey to block the move.


Liverpool

The deal was completed on 11 November 1970, Liverpool manager Bill Shankly paying £111,000 for the striker, a club record fee at the time. £100,000 went to Cardiff for the sale of the player while the Football League received £5,500 for the transfer and Toshack himself received the remaining £5,500. Liverpool had resurrected a potential deal for Toshack after an attempt to sign
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
forward
Frank Worthington Frank Stewart Worthington (23 November 1948 – 22 March 2021) was an English footballer who played as a forward. Worthington was born into a footballing family in Shelf, near Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire. Both of his parents had pla ...
collapsed after he failed a medical. He made his debut three days later on 14 November 1970 in a goalless league draw with
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
at
Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
. His first goal came a week later on 21 November in a
Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is the association football, football matches between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it ...
at Anfield. With the game 0–0 at half-time, Everton scored two early goals just after the start of the second half before
Steve Heighway Stephen Derek Heighway (born 25 November 1947) is an Irish former footballer who was part of the hugely successful Liverpool team of the 1970s. Following his eleven-year spell at the club, he has been regarded by some as one of the greatest Li ...
scored from an acute angle for Liverpool. In the 76th minute, Toshack headed a goal from a Heighway cross that turned the game around; then Chris Lawler volleyed home, after Toshack had headed on an
Alec Lindsay Alec Lindsay (born 27 February 1948) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Bury, Liverpool and Stoke City. Career Born in Bury, Lancashire, England, Lindsay played 139 matches for Bury, helping the club gain ...
cross, for the 84th-minute winner. In his first season at Anfield, Toshack scored seven times in all competitions but his noted aerial ability proved to be a key asset in Liverpool's style of play as it helped the side reach the
1971 FA Cup Final In the finale to the 1970–71 FA Cup season, the 1971 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Liverpool at Wembley on 8 May 1971. Arsenal won 2–1 after extra time, with all three goals coming in the added half-hour. Steve Heighway opened ...
, losing 2–1 to Arsenal. The following year, Kevin Keegan joined Liverpool from Scunthorpe United and the pair struck up a successful partnership, which was often referred to as being telepathic, with Toshack winning balls in the air and Keegan finishing the knock downs. After defeat in the 1971 FA Cup final and missing out on the league title by a single point in 1972, Toshack won his first major honour with Liverpool in 1973 despite missing 20 league matches due to injury.
Don Revie Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England manage ...
's Leeds United visited Anfield on Easter Monday for a match involving two of the three
1972–73 Football League The 1972–73 season was the 74th completed season of The Football League. Liverpool championship win meant they claimed their first trophy since 1966 in Bill Shankly's penultimate season as manager despite competition from Arsenal, Leeds Unite ...
title challengers. Two minutes after the break
Peter Cormack Peter Barr Cormack (born 17 July 1946) is a Scottish former international football player and manager. His greatest success was with Liverpool in the early 1970s, for whom he played 178 times, winning two league championships, one FA Cup and t ...
put Liverpool ahead before Keegan added a late second to seal the win. With Arsenal only drawing in their match against
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, Liverpool duly closed out the title with a final game 0–0 draw against
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
to claim their first major trophy since 1966. Toshack also helped the side to win the 1972–73 UEFA Cup against German team Borussia Mönchengladbach. The
1973 UEFA Cup Final The 1973 UEFA Cup Final was an association football match played over two-legs between Liverpool of England and Borussia Mönchengladbach of West Germany. The first leg was played at Anfield, Liverpool on 10 May 1973 and the second leg was played ...
first leg at Anfield was abandoned due to a torrential downpour after 27 minutes and rescheduled to be played again the next day. The 27 minutes that had been played had given Liverpool manager Bill Shankly an insight into Borussia Mönchengladbach's defensive vulnerability in the air. To exploit this, he brought tall forward Toshack into the starting team demoting the small build of Brian Hall to appearing only as a late substitute. Keegan profited with two goals set up by Toshack headers in a 3–0 win. Liverpool lost 2–0 away in the second leg but won the tie 3–2 on aggregate. Toshack also played in the
1974 FA Cup Final The 1974 FA Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United on Saturday, 4 May 1974 at Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 1973–74 FA Cup, the 93rd season of England's primary cup competiti ...
when Liverpool defeated Newcastle United 3–0, having scored winning goals in the quarter and semi-final matches against
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
and Leicester City. However, he found himself out of the first-team at the start of the following season after the club signed
Ray Kennedy Raymond Kennedy (28 July 1951 – 30 November 2021) was an English footballer who won every domestic honour in the game with Arsenal and Liverpool in the 1970s and early 1980s. Kennedy played as a forward for Arsenal, and then played as a le ...
from Arsenal. Frustrated with the situation, Toshack looked to move and the club accepted a £160,000 bid from Leicester City in November 1974. Although he stated of his desire to remain with Liverpool, he was reluctant to be only playing reserve matches. However, the deal later collapsed after he failed a medical and, at the age of 25, Toshack was told by specialist doctors that he only had around twelve months left to play due to mounting injuries. He was able to force his way back into the first-team soon after, but his training time was restricted in an effort to prolong his playing career. He won a further league and UEFA Cup double in 1976 and enjoyed his most prolific season with Liverpool, scoring 23 goals in all competitions. He ended his medal haul with a further league title in 1977 but increasing injury concerns limited his appearances and a proposed £60,000 transfer to Belgian side Anderlecht broke down after a medical discovered
calcification Calcification is the accumulation of calcium salts in a body tissue. It normally occurs in the formation of bone, but calcium can be deposited abnormally in soft tissue,Miller, J. D. Cardiovascular calcification: Orbicular origins. ''Nature Ma ...
in some muscle tissue. Toshack eventually negotiated his release from his contract at Liverpool in order to move into management. During his time with Liverpool, Toshack scored 96 goals in 247 appearances in all competitions. He was voted in at No.34 on the Liverpool website poll ''
100 Players Who Shook The Kop Liverpool Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, who currently play in the Premier League. They have played at their current home ground, Anfield, since their foundation in 1892. Liv ...
'', in which thousands of fans worldwide voted for their top 100 Liverpool players.


International career

Toshack played for Wales at schoolboy and under-23 level before making his senior debut on 26 March 1969 in a 1–1 draw with
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. He scored his first senior goal in his following match, a 2–1 defeat to
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
a month later. He was part of the Welsh side that topped their qualifying group for
UEFA Euro 1976 The 1976 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Yugoslavia. This was the fifth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 16 and 20 June 1976. Only f ...
, scoring three times during qualifying, before losing a two-legged play-off match against
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. He went on to earn 40 caps and scored 13 goals, including a hat trick against
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
in the 1979 British Home Championship.


Managerial career


Swansea City

Having secured his release from his contract at Liverpool, Toshack looked to move into management and approached his former club Cardiff City over a coaching position but was rejected by manager Jimmy Andrews who questioned his qualifications for the role. Toshack instead received a phone call from Swansea City chairman Malcolm Struel and was invited to a meeting at the club. Following this, he was appointed
player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
of Fourth Division club Swansea on 1 March 1978, becoming the youngest manager in the Football League at the age of 29. Succeeding Harry Griffiths who stepped down to become his assistant, Toshack's appointment was seen as a significant coup for Swansea and the crowd for his first match in charge, a 3–3 draw with
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
, more than doubled from the club's previous home match with over 15,000 in attendance. He overhauled numerous aspects of the club's day-to-day routine including changing players' diets, moderating their alcohol intake and revising travel arrangements for away matches. He was an immediate success at the
Vetch Field The Vetch Field was a football stadium in Swansea, Wales. It was used for football matches and was the home ground of Swansea City until the club moved to the newly built Liberty Stadium in 2005. Opened in 1912, the ground held around 12,000 ...
, winning promotion from the Fourth Division in his first season in charge after finishing third. However, the club's celebrations were muted following the death of Griffiths from a heart attack prior to a match against Scunthorpe United in April 1978. Toshack praised Griffiths for his role in helping the club win promotion, stating "Most of the hard work had been done .. chiefly by Harry. Gaining promotion would be a memorial to him". The following season, Toshack convinced several of his former Liverpool teammates, such as
Ian Callaghan Ian Robert Callaghan MBE (born 10 April 1942) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He holds the record for most appearances for Liverpool. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) ...
,
Phil Boersma Philip Boersma (born 24 September 1949 in Kirkby) is an English former professional footballer, who played as a midfield/striker for Liverpool and Middlesbrough among others. Life and playing career He began his career with Liverpool, signin ...
and Tommy Smith, to join the club. Smith and Callaghan had both received offers to stay with Liverpool, although with limited playing time, but approached Toshack over a move and would train at Liverpool's
Melwood Melwood, in West Derby, Liverpool, was Liverpool Football Club's training ground from the 1950s until November 2020. It was not attached to The Liverpool F.C. Academy, which is at Kirkby. Melwood was bought by affordable housing development c ...
training ground before travelling to Swansea for matchdays. Toshack led the club to a second consecutive promotion in 1979, sealing their place in the Second Division with a 2–1 win over Chesterfield on the final day of the season with Toshack himself scoring the winning goal that confirmed promotion after bringing himself on as a substitute. After finishing mid-table in their first season in the Second Division, Swansea claimed a third promotion in four seasons in 1981 after beating Preston North End 3–1 on 2 May 1981 and won the Welsh Cup for the first time in fifteen years soon after by defeating
Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...
. After achieving promotion, Toshack's former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly heaped praise on his achievements, stating "he's done a remarkable job, I would say he's possibly manager of the century." Once they reached the top flight, Swansea were predicted by many to be relegated, but in their first match in the First Division they claimed a 5–1 victory over
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
after a hat-trick from newly arrived club-record signing Bob Latchford. In recognition of his achievements at the club, Toshack was awarded an MBE midway through the season. Swansea topped the league at several stages of the season, leading the division with only three months remaining, but injuries to key-players Latchford and another former Liverpool teammate of Toshack's Ray Kennedy, saw a downturn in results and they won just one of their final six matches before finishing their first campaign in the top flight in sixth position. During this period, he was told by the Liverpool board that he was their choice to replace current manager Bob Paisley when he chose to retire. Toshack had openly coveted the position stating "When I went to Swansea the thing I wanted in the long term was to end up at Liverpool". However, Paisley remained longer than expected and the position eventually went to
Joe Fagan Joseph Francis Fagan (12 March 1921 – 30 June 2001) was an English footballer and manager. He was a coach and manager at Liverpool for twenty seven years under Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley. As a manager he was the first English manager to wi ...
. Swansea were relegated the following year as the club suffered financial difficulties after relatively big spending under Toshack's tenure and then suffered a second successive relegation. He resigned in October 1983 but returned eight weeks later, remaining with the club for a further three months before departing again in March 1984. The heavy spending during Toshack's years at Swansea were often cited as a key factor in the severe financial issues that affected the club, being issued with a winding up order due to unpaid debts in December 1985.


European management

In 1984, Toshack was appointed manager of the Portuguese side Sporting Clube de Portugal, but he only lasted one season in the post during which he led the team to second place in the league. He instead moved to Spain, taking a position as manager of Real Sociedad where he led the side to victory in the
1986–87 Copa del Rey The 1986–87 Copa del Rey was the 85th staging of the Copa del Rey. The winners, Real Sociedad, qualified for the 1987–88 European Cup Winners' Cup. The competition began on 17 September 1986 and concluded on 27 June 1987 with the final. First ...
and were the league runners-up in 1988. Although their following season was disappointing, finishing the
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
season in eleventh position, Toshack was appointed manager of Real Madrid in 1989. Madrid were reigning La Liga champions having won their fourth consecutive title the previous year and their squad was described by club president Ramón Mendoza as the "best Real Madrid side for the past 25 years". Nevertheless, Toshack strengthened defensively by adding
Oscar Ruggeri Oscar Alfredo Ruggeri (born 26 January 1962) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as centre-back. Nicknamed ''El Cabezón'' ("The Big-Headed One"), Ruggeri achieved success at the international level with the Argentina nati ...
and
Fernando Hierro Fernando Ruiz Hierro (; born 23 March 1968) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, sweeper or defensive midfielder. He is the current sporting director of Liga MX club C.D. Guadalajara. He won five L ...
to the club's ranks but endured a difficult start after losing to rivals
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and being eliminated from the European Cup in the second round and was under pressure from local press despite leading the La Liga table after ten matches. However, the side soon discovered their form and they eventually claimed the league title after scoring a record 107 league goals during the season, becoming only the second team to score 100 or more goals during a single season at the time. A disappointing start to the following season and a three-match losing streak led to him being sacked by the club after eleven matches in November 1990 and he returned to Sociedad, initially in an advisory role before taking charge soon after. In Spain, Toshack became known as "John Benjamin"–nicknamed "JB"–as there was a common misunderstanding that his middle name was a Spanish-style paternal surname. He was noted for a habit of literally translating
English-language idioms English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
into Spanish during his press conferences, to the confusion of Spanish journalists.


Wales national football team

In 1994, Toshack was appointed as manager of the Wales national team on a part-time basis, taking the job alongside his position in charge of Sociedad after approaches for
Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...
and
Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...
were rejected. Although the ten scheduled competitive matches the team were due to play coincided with a break in Spanish league fixtures, he stated his intention that Sociedad would remain his first priority if any other international matches should clash with domestic ones. He was appointed to succeed Terry Yorath who had narrowly missed out on qualification to the 1994 FIFA World Cup and had expressed his desire to remain in the role but was not offered a new contract by the Football Association of Wales (FAW). On 9 March 1994, Toshack took charge of his first game for Wales, a 3–1 defeat to Norway national football team, Norway at Ninian Park in Cardiff. Toshack had already come under scrutiny over his commitment to the role after arriving in Wales only two nights before the match and taking a single training session with the team beforehand. With support for Yorath still strong among Welsh fans over his dismissal by the FAW, a disappointing performance against Norway saw the team jeered off at both half and full-time and Toshack resigned from the role after just 47 days in charge. He later claimed that there was a political "war" surrounding the team following Yorath's acrimonious departure and he decided to "wash his hands" of the situation.


Besiktas and return to Real Madrid

After leaving Sociedad, he spent two years in charge of Deportivo de La Coruña, resigning after the board signed two players without his knowledge, before moving to Turkey to join Beşiktaş on the recommendation of Bobby Robson, finishing sixth in his first season in charge. Although Toshack led the club to victory in the Turkish Cup in 1998, he endured a difficult time at the club as he clashed with the board on several occasions and had threatened to quit in October 1998. In February 1999, he returned to Real Madrid following the sacking of Guus Hiddink. Madrid agreed to pay £372,671 compensation to Beşiktaş in order to secure the move. With the club in sixth position on his arrival, they eventually finished the season in fifth under Toshack. However, the start of the following season saw Madrid again struggle and, following a 3–2 defeat to Rayo Vallecano that left them in eighth position, Toshack publicly criticised his players, particularly Albano Bizzarri commenting that the goalkeeper conceded goals "that made me weep". Toshack claimed that his words were meant as a motivational tactic and refused club president Lorenzo Sanz's request that he withdraw his comments, saying "there's more chance of a pig flying over the Bernabeu". The Real Madrid board dismissed him soon after. Toshack would later take Madrid to court over his dismissal and was awarded over £700,000 in compensation. He later spent short periods with French side AS Saint-Étienne, a third spell in charge of Real Sociedad, and Italian team Calcio Catania, Catania before returning to Spain again with Real Murcia.


Wales (second spell)

In November 2004, Toshack was appointed as manager of the Wales national team for the second time after being named as the "unanimous" choice of the FAW. He was named in a three-man shortlist for the role alongside Frenchman Philippe Troussier and Welsh former international player Dean Saunders. Toshack's appointment was unpopular with some senior players with Robbie Savage claiming he could face a player mutiny if appointed. In total, seven players announced their international retirement within months of Toshack's appointment, including Savage, captain Gary Speed, who had been critical of Toshack's opinions previously, Mark Pembridge and Andy Melville. Former Wales manager Mark Hughes also questioned Toshack's suitability for the role, stating that UEFA coaching qualifications which Toshack did not possess should be considered a prerequisite for the job. One of his first acts as manager was to place Brian Flynn (footballer), Brian Flynn in charge of Wales' various youth levels, replacing Ian Rush and Neville Southall, and the pair set about rebuilding an ageing squad and uncovering players with the eligibility to play for Wales, such as Ashley Williams (footballer), Ashley Williams. His first match in charge was a Exhibition game, friendly against Hungary national football team, Hungary on 9 February 2005 which ended in a 2–0 win for Wales, both goals being scored by Craig Bellamy. His first competitive match in charge came one month later when they suffered a 2–0 defeat to Austria national football team, Austria, where Toshack was blamed for making a late substitution with the match at 0–0 that allowed Austria into contention and conceded two late goals. A second defeat to Austria four days later ended Wales' slim remaining hopes of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6, 2006 FIFA World Cup. In his first full qualifying campaign, Toshack's squad was plagued by withdrawals, so much so that he chose to issue a letter to 36 Welsh players for them to show "total commitment to the cause". With the noted retirements and regular withdrawals, Toshack was forced to use a relatively youthful side for a difficult qualifying campaign in which Wales finished fifth out of seven teams and failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group D, UEFA Euro 2008. A defeat to Poland national football team, Poland in February 2009 caused anger among supporters as captain Craig Bellamy clashed verbally with fans and a further defeat to Finland national football team, Finland a month later saw the side jeered off the pitch at full-time. In October 2009, Wales were unable to fill a squad for a friendly match against Finland following four retirements in the months prior to the match. One of the players, Paul Parry, cited being made to feel like a "spare part" as the reason for his decision to make himself unavailable for selection. Despite mounting pressure to resign, Toshack remained in charge for the start of the next qualifying campaign. However, on 5 September 2010, he offered his resignation from the Wales job following a 1–0 away defeat to Montenegro national football team, Montenegro in their first Euro 2012 qualifying match. He left the job by mutual consent on 9 September 2010, although he had stated his desire to remain in the job for the two following qualifying matches. During his six-year tenure with Wales, a total of 18 players retired from international duty but he also handed debuts to numerous players, including many of the side that would go on to reach the semi-final of UEFA Euro 2016.


Macedonian national team

Eleven months after resigning from his role with Wales, Toshack was appointed manager of the Macedonia national football team on 7 August 2011. However, Macedonia won one of his eight matches in charge and his contract with the national side was terminated on 13 August 2012 after he refused the request of Football Federation of Macedonia president Ilčo Gjorgioski to relocate to the country.


Khazar Lankaran

On 8 March 2013, it was announced that Toshack would take over as manager of FK Khazar Lankaran, Khazar Lankaran of the Azerbaijan Premier League on 15 March 2013. At the time of his appointment, Khazar Lankaran were eighth in the league and competing in the 2012–13 Azerbaijan Premier League#Relegation group, relegation group for the final 10 games of the season. Toshack's first game in charge of Khazar Lankaran was a one all home draw against AZAL PFC, AZAL. Toshack's first win came in his second game in charge, a 1–2 away victory against bottom of the table FC Kəpəz, Kəpəz. Khazar Lankaran ended the season in eighth position, with a league record under Toshack of three games out of nine won, with an equal number of three matches drawn or lost. Toshack also guided Khazar Lankaran to the final of the 2012–13 Azerbaijan Cup with a 2–1 aggregate victory over FC Baku in the semi-finals, resulting in a game against 2012–13 Azerbaijan Premier League, Premier League champions Neftchi Baku PFC, Neftchi Baku which Khazar lost 5–3 on penalties. As a result of Neftchi Baku PFC, Neftchi Baku winning both the 2012–13 Azerbaijan Premier League, Premier League and 2012–13 Azerbaijan Cup, Cup, Khazar qualified for the 2013-14 UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa League. Toshack won his first trophy with Khazar Lankaran on 23 October 2013, defeating Neftchi Baku PFC, Neftchi Baku in the 2013 Azerbaijan Supercup. On 22 November 2013, Toshack resigned as manager of Khazar Lankaran following 14 points in the first 14 games of the season, leaving Khazar in eighth place in the league.


Wydad Casablanca

On 20 June 2014, Toshack was appointed as manager of Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca. He led the club to a league title in his first season in charge and a second-place finish the following year, but on 16 September 2016, after suffering a heavy defeat to Zamalek SC, Zamalek in the first leg of the 2016 CAF Champions League semi-finals, Toshack and Wydad Casablanca parted ways.


Tractor

In June 2018, he was appointed manager of Iranian side
Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...
until 2021. He left the club in September 2018.


Personal life

On 7 June 1969, Toshack married Susan Bann from Grangetown, Cardiff, at the age of 20 at St John the Evangelist Church, Cardiff, St John Church in Canton. After 43 years of marriage, the pair divorced in 2012 with his wife citing "unreasonable behaviour". Toshack's son Cameron Toshack, Cameron is also a former professional footballer, having made five appearances for Cardiff City, and with Swansea City for the 1989–90 in English football, 1989–90 season. In 1976, while playing for Liverpool, Toshack composed and published a book of poems entitled ''Gosh, it's Tosh''. In 1981, Toshack won the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year and received the Order of the British Empire, MBE for his services to football in the 1982 New Year Honours list. He was the subject of an episode of ''This Is Your Life (UK TV series), This Is Your Life'' in 1982 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the Roehampton Club in London. On 27 February 2022, Toshack was reported to be seriously ill with COVID-19 despite being fully COVID-19 vaccine, vaccinated, on a ventilator in hospital in Spain.


Career statistics


Honours


Player

Cardiff City *
Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...
: 1967–68, 1968–69 Liverpool *Football League First Division: 1972–73 Football League#First Division, 1972–73, 1975–76 Football League First Division, 1975–76, 1976–77 Football League First Division, 1976–77 *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
: 1974 FA Cup Final, 1973–74 *FA Charity Shield: 1976 FA Charity Shield, 1976 * European Cup: 1976–77 European Cup, 1976–77 *
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
: 1972–73 UEFA Cup, 1972–73, 1975–76 UEFA Cup, 1975–76 *
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
: 1977 European Super Cup, 1977


Player-manager

Swansea City * Football League Fourth Division Third-place promotion: 1977–78 Football League, 1977–78 * Football League Third Division Third-place promotion: 1978–79 Football League, 1978–79 * Football League Second Division Third-place promotion: 1980–81 Football League, 1980–81 *
Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...
: 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83


Manager

Real Sociedad *
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
: 1986–87 Copa del Rey, 1986–87 Real Madrid *
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
: 1989–90 La Liga, 1989–90 Deportivo *Supercopa de España: 1995 Supercopa de España, 1995 Beşiktaş *Turkish Cup: 1997–98 *Turkish Super Cup: 1998 Presidential Cup, 1998 Khazar Lankaran *Azerbaijan Supercup: 2013 Azerbaijan Supercup, 2013 Wydad Athletic Club *Botola: 2014–15 Botola, 2014–15


Individual honours

*Don Balón Award, La Liga Coach of the Year – Don Balón Award: 1989, 1990


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toshack, John 1949 births AS Saint-Étienne managers Association football forwards Association football player-managers Beşiktaş J.K. managers Botola managers Cardiff City F.C. players Catania S.S.D. managers Deportivo de La Coruña managers Expatriate football managers in Azerbaijan Expatriate football managers in France Expatriate football managers in Iran Expatriate football managers in Italy Expatriate football managers in Morocco Expatriate football managers in North Macedonia Expatriate football managers in Portugal Expatriate football managers in Spain Expatriate football managers in Turkey FA Cup Final players Footballers from Cardiff Khazar Lankaran FK managers La Liga managers Liverpool F.C. players Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire North Macedonia national football team managers Persian Gulf Pro League managers Real Madrid CF managers Real Murcia managers Real Sociedad managers Sporting CP managers Swansea City A.F.C. managers Swansea City A.F.C. players Süper Lig managers Tractor S.C. managers UEFA Cup winning players Wales international footballers Wales national football team managers Wales under-23 international footballers Welsh expatriate football managers Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan Welsh expatriate sportspeople in France Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Iran Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Morocco Welsh expatriate sportspeople in North Macedonia Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Spain Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Welsh football managers Welsh footballers Welsh people of Scottish descent Wydad AC managers