TO ELL AND
Toshack landed his dream job as dad John was fighting for his life
IT was the dream job for Cameron Toshack, linking up with coaching mentor Jesse Marsch at Leeds United – only for his famous dad John to be left fighting for his life after contracting Covid.
The younger Toshack could not wait to get started after the invitation from newly installed Elland Road boss Marsch at the end of February.
“I got the call on the Saturday that Leeds were playing Tottenham,” he recalled.
“I watched the game, then was asked by Jesse to come up the next day to join him. I got the train up from Swansea.
“When I arrived at the hotel in Leeds on the Sunday evening, I was told my dad had been taken seriously ill. He was in Barcelona.
“I couldn’t speak to him, which was very difficult. So, for the first few days at Leeds, I knew he was very poorly, but not how bad he really was.
“He had developed Covid and then pneumonia. I then had a decision to make.
“I spoke to my mum and a few other people close to me and they all said the same thing – that he wouldn’t want me sitting by his bedside while he was unconscious.
“The first thing he would say when he woke up, knowing my situation at Leeds, would be, ‘What do you think you are doing here?’
“He’s always been the one to take opportunities and give it his best shot. But when he was on a ventilator, we feared the worst.”
Thankfully, the man who is still revered in Spain for winning La Liga, while in charge of Real Madrid, pulled through after spending five weeks in hospital.
“The support from the club was terrific. If I needed to go at any time to see him, all I had to do was ask,” added Toshack, who is the assistant manager and coach of a club that rejected his dad as a youngster. Not that did him any harm. Boss Bill Shankly took him under his wing at Liverpool where a striking partnership with Kevin Keegan blossomed.
His son revealed: “Don Revie, who was the manager at the time, wrote him a personal letter saying they weren’t taking him on after a trial. My mum still has the letter and showed it to me the other day.
“I think that was motivation for him.
“He always used to say Liverpool v Leeds in the 70s was – if not the biggest game – one of the biggest.
“I was telling him what a super place Leeds is and he said it’s a good job Bill Shankly didn’t hear me say that!
“But, on the other hand, there is the John Charles stand. He knew him very well, with my dad coming up the ranks at Cardiff aged 16 and 17 when John was finishing his career. He played alongside him.
“I also mentioned to him there were other stands named after Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter. ‘Woah!’ he said, ‘They did leave a bit on me!’
“But he added that he gave a bit back as well – great days.”
Cameron knew his dad (below) was on the mend when he offered some advice before a game against Chelsea earlier this season.
“He said that they play with a back three. He gave me a few tips and insight about the best way to play against Cesar Azpilicueta, Kalidou Koulibaly and the like. We won 3-0 and I’m not saying his advice had anything to do with that, but some of the points he mentioned did play out,” Toshack said, with a smile.
“Dad has promised to come over and, hopefully, he can see a game at Elland Road.”
It is where Leeds face Aston Villa today and Toshack will be in the dug-out alongside Marsch.
Their paths first crossed six years ago when Toshack shared coaching duties with Swansea City’s first team and Under-23s.
He said: “I had got my pro coaching licence and I was keen to go and have a little look at how people did things differently.
“I had always been fascinated by the football in the MLS.
“I went out to the USA for three weeks, going to Philadelphia Union, New York City, New York Red Bulls and Toronto. While I was in New York, I met Jesse, who was coaching the Red Bulls.
“We got on really well and seemed to share the same ideas around football. We kept in touch from there.”
That included monitoring pre-season training when Marsch moved to RB Leipzig.
“When Leeds came in for him, I got the call to join him and a great group of people who were obviously wanting to stay in the Premier League,” added Toshack.
“Luckily, we achieved the goal of staying up – on the final day.”
And, thankfully, his dad won his own battle for survival.