John Toshack’s Perfect XI
The Welsh icon picks a dream team of the best footballers he ever worked with, over a hugely successful career in which he played for Liverpool and managed Real Madrid
RAY CLEMENCE “I handed Iker Casillas his debut at Real Madrid and managed big Neville Southall for Wales, but I’ve got a soft spot for Ray – we won so much together at Liverpool. Everyone speaks about how terrific that Liverpool team were going forward, but Ray saved us on many occasions. He was like a modern keeper, a sweeper-keeper. Bill Shankly invented that!”
CARLOS XAVIER “He was one of the most skilful players I ever managed, and I managed a few! He first played for me at Sporting, then I took him to Real Sociedad. Carlos was a joy to watch, and some of his passing was incredible.”
JOHN CHARLES “To train with John as a young player at Cardiff was such an honour. He’d advise me to head the ball back in the direction it came from to wrong-foot the keeper, and I remembered that throughout my career. The biggest compliment I could possibly give him is that I’d have hated to play against him at centre-half.”
NOUREDDINE NAYBET “A great Morocco international I had at Deportivo. He spent a brief spell at Spurs at the end of his career too, and was one of the best centre-halves I’ve ever seen – two-footed, a fantastic organiser, and he could do all the physical stuff. He should have a better reputation.”
ROBERTO CARLOS “He was one of our most potent attacking threats at Real Madrid – what control and what a shot on him! Roberto [right] loved football, loved training and loved the ball at his feet. In fact, if he had his way, the rest of the Madrid players would train with one ball while he practised with one of his own.”
EMLYN HUGHES “‘Crazy Horse’ was a huge favourite with Kopites, right from his first game when he rugby-tackled an opponent. I owned a sports shop with him up in Liverpool – Emlyn was the face and left the business side of things to me.”
XABI ALONSO “I made him captain at Real Sociedad when he was 20. What a football brain! He had no pace, so I used to put poles down for him to tiptoe through to make him faster. He didn’t really need speed, though. Not with his ability on the ball.”
RIVALDO “I had him at Deportivo – he wasn’t that well known when we got him. He walked in as this tall, gangly kid and I wondered what I’d been given. He looked anything but a top player, but then the ball arrived at his feet and my God, that left foot!”
KEVIN KEEGAN “We had an immediate connection, but I can’t put my finger on why we worked so well together. We just had something about us. In those days, ‘big man, little man’ partnerships were the norm, but there weren’t many better than ours.”
BEBETO “He was so laid back, but he practised his art. He once scored a great first-half goal for Deportivo, then went missing. I threatened to take him off unless he got more involved, so he went back out and scored another four!”
GARETH BALE “At Southampton, we knew from the off he was special. You could argue his career might have been even better had he not suffered injuries, but what a footballer.”