John Toshack

Infobox Football biography
playername = John Toshack


fullname = John Benjamin Toshack
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1949|3|22|df=y
cityofbirth = Cardiff
countryofbirth = Wales
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height =
position = Striker (retired)
currentclub = Wales (Manager)
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1965–1970
1970–1978
1978–1984
clubs = Cardiff City
Liverpool
Swansea City
Total
caps(goals) = 162 0(74)
246 0(96)
063 0(25)
471 (195)
nationalyears = 1968-1969
1969–1980
nationalteam = Wales Under-23
Wales
nationalcaps(goals) = 004 00(0)
040 0(12)
manageryears = 1978–1983
1983–1984Toshack left Swansea in October 1983, only to return in December.]
1984–1985
1985–1989
1989–1990
1991–1994
1994
1995–1997
1997–1999
1999
2000–2001
2001–2002
2002–2003
2004
2004–
managerclubs = Swansea City
Swansea City
Sporting C.P.
Real Sociedad
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Sociedad
Wales
Deportivo
Beşiktaş J.K.
Real Madrid C.F.
Saint-Étienne
Real Sociedad
Catania
Real Murcia
Wales

John Benjamin Toshack OBE (born 22 March 1949) is a Welsh football manager and former player. He is the current manager of the Welsh national football team, having taken on this role in late 2004, and briefly managed the national side once before in the early 1990s. He has also managed several others clubs including Swansea City, who he took from the Fourth Division to the First in three seasons.

As a player, he is best remembered for being part of the great Liverpool side of the 1970s, where he formed a formidable forward partnership with Kevin Keegan.

Life and playing career

Born in Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, Toshack started his footballing career with Cardiff City, signing for them as a 16 year old. He became the youngest ever player to play in a league match for the club when he came off the bench to make a goalscoring debut during a 3-1 win over Leyton Orient on 13 November, 1965 at the age of 16 years and 236 days old, a record which would stand for 42 years until it was broken by Aaron Ramsey in 2007 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/cardiff_city/6607983.stm "Jones hails record breaker Ramsey"] BBC Sport Retrieved on 3 May, 2007] . He would go on to form one of Cardiff's most lethal striker partnerships in the clubs history alongside Brian Clark. After four years at Cardiff City, he was signed by Bill Shankly for Liverpool on the 11 November 1970. Already a full international, Shankly paid £110,000 for the giant striker. Toshack made his debut 3 days later on the 14th in the goalless league draw with Coventry City at Anfield. His first goal came a week later on the 21st in a remarkable Merseyside derby at Anfield. With the game 0-0 at half-time Everton thundered into a 2-0 lead just after the start of the second half. 69 minutes in Steve Heighway pulled a goal back, this seemed to spring the Reds into life, Toshack's goal in the 76th minute completely turned the game around, then when Chris Lawler prodded home the 84th minute winner the fans almost lifted the roof off the Kop. Toshack's goal instantly made him a hit amongst the Anfield faithful, which was a good thing as they had initially voiced their concerns in paying so much for the Welshman.

In 1971 Kevin Keegan joined Liverpool from Scunthorpe United. Toshack and Keegan struck up an almost telepathic partnership with Toshack winning everything in the air and Keegan finishing the knock downs. They were a delight for commentators as their names rolled off the tongue easily, one famous piece of commentary by David Coleman went "Toshack, Keegan, one nil!" Such was their fame, the football magazine Shoot likened them to the comic book crimebusters Batman and Robin even taking a photograph of the pair dressed in the Dynamic Duo's costumes! By the time Keegan left for German side Hamburg SV he had scored exactly 100 goals with a great percentage of them being set up by Toshack.

During his time with Liverpool Toshack scored 96 goals, he was part of the team that won the Football League Championship in 1973, 1976 and 1977, the FA Cup in 1974, and the UEFA Cup in 1973 and 1976. He played for the Welsh national football team at schoolboy, under-23 and full international level earning 40 caps and scoring 12 goals, including a hat trick against Scotland in the 1979 British Home Championship. However, his playing career was blighted by injuries and he was transferred to Swansea City A.F.C. as player-manager in 1978 (he already passed his coaching badge at the age of 18), where he succeeded Harry Griffiths.

Toshack is still held in high regard by the supporters of Liverpool and was voted in at No.34 on the Liverpool Football Club web-site poll 100 Players Who Shook The Kop, in which thousands of fans worldwide voted for their top 10 Liverpool players.

Management career

He was an immediate success at the Vetch Field, taking them from the Fourth Division all the way to the First Division in three successive seasons. It was around this time that Toshack received the OBE for his services to football.

In 1984, Toshack was appointed manager of the Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon, but he only lasted one season in the post. His greatest success as a manager so far came in Spain, where he managed Real Madrid twice, Real Sociedad three times, Deportivo La Coruna and Real Murcia. He has also managed the Turkish side Beşiktaş J.K., French side AS Saint-Étienne and Italian side Catania. He was appointed manager of Wales for the first time in 1994, but only spent 41 days in the post, resigning after a 3-1 defeat to Norway. Despite this, he was appointed to the post for a second time in November 2004. This was greeted with scepticism by many Welsh fans, as Toshack had often spoken negatively about the national side during the reign of his predecessor Mark Hughes (1999-2004), despite Hughes having taken Wales to within one game of the European Championship. He is good friends with former Wales international and pundit Leighton James.

In Spain he is particularly well known for his bizarre 'philosophical' phrases during press conferences, often translating stock phrases into Spanish that only make sense in the original English. "Hay más posibilidades de ver a un cerdo volando por encima del Bernabéu" ('you're more likely to see a pig flying over the Bernabéu'), "es como agua que resbala en espalda de pato" ('like water off a duck's back') and "La Liga es el pan y la mantequilla y la nata es la Copa del Rey" ('The League is the bread and butter and the Cup is the cream') have been enjoyed by the Spanish press over the years. [http://www.terra.com/deportes/articulo/html/fox78725.htm EFE]

Honours

As a player

* Welsh Cup: 1967, 1968, 1969
* Division 1 (Level 1): 1973, 1976, 1977
* UEFA Cup: 1973, 1976
* FA Cup: 1974; Runner-up: 1971
* Charity Shield: 1976; Runner-up: 1971
* European Super Cup: 1977
* European Cup 1976–77

As player/manager

* Division 4 (Level 4): Third place (promoted) 1978
* Division 3 (Level 3): Third place (promoted) 1979
* Division 2 (Level 2): Third place (promoted) 1982
* Welsh Cup: 1981, 1982, 1983

As a manager

* Copa del Rey: 1987; Runner-up: 1988, 1990
* La Liga: 1990
* Supercopa de España: 1995
* Turkish Cup: 1998; Runner-up: 1999

References

External links

* [http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/past_players/players/toshack/ Official past players at Liverpoolfc.tv]
* [http://www.lfchistory.net/player_profile.asp?player_id=429 Player profile at LFChistory.net]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=2126 Football heroes part 1 at Sporting-heroes.net]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=2127 Football heroes part 2 Sporting-heroes.net]
* [http://www.squarefootball.net/article/article.asp?aid=1248 Manager profile at squarefootball.net]