Toshack takes Murcia seat

By Andy Hall

When professional football spread over Europe, British coaches were a sought-after breed. These days it is UK clubs who are looking to the continent, but one British trainer remains much in demand and last week John Toshack landed his latest Spanish assignment.

Cosmopolitan experience
The former Welsh international - and briefly national coach - has taken charge of teams in Portugal, Turkey, France, Italy and Wales, but has always been most coveted in Spain. Three spells at Real Sociedad de Fútbol, two with Real Madrid CF and a stint at RC Deportivo La Coruña preceded his appointment last week by Real Murcia CF.

New task
Rock bottom of the Primera División, Murcia turned to the experience of Toshack, a distinguished player whose heyday was in the 1970s with a Liverpool FC team beginning to dominate English football. But, as he admitted to uefa.com, his task is far from simple.

Complicated situation
"I got a call from a good friend of mine, [Murcia president] Jesús Samper, asking if I could help them out," Toshack said. "So I said I would come along and see what I could do. But the situation is very, very complicated to say the least.

Transfer policy
"The team was promoted last season, and signed a number of players in the summer and in January before I arrived. Wherever I have been involved, I have always needed to know exactly who I am signing and what I need him for. It has to be done on a serious basis."

Team spirit
First of all, Toshack is looking to inject some team spirit. "This team has won one game in 21 matches so something obviously has not functioned well," he said. "You have to look at the communication between the players, there are a lot of nerves about, which is logical in this situation. I do not put it down to bad luck. We certainly have got no margin for error."

New culture
So how did Toshack end up coaching outside Britain? "I came abroad in 1984," he said. "I had a year at Sporting [Clube de Portugal] after a spell at Swansea [City FC] where we went right through the divisions, ending up in the [English] first division. Then I had this offer from Sporting, and I thought 'yes OK, I will have a crack at that' and I thoroughly enjoyed it - different culture, different language, different kind of football."

Real success
But it was Spain that proved his long-term destination. "I had an offer from Real Sociedad, who I knew from a 1976 UEFA Cup tie with Liverpool. That was a very, very interesting job because I could not sign any players at that time, could only play with Basque players and I had four great years. We reached two cup finals, won the cup for the first time and finished runners-up in the league to Madrid. Maybe that is what prompted Real Madrid to come in for me in 1989. So ten years just went by, as quick as that."

Management legends
Toshack won three English titles and two UEFA Cups as a Liverpool player, and is quick to praise Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley, the masterminds behind that success. "Everything I learnt and took into management I learnt under Bill and Bob. Obviously the game has changed over the years but the most important things now were important 50 years ago and they will be important 50 years from now as well."