Jon Cameron Toshack (born 7 March 1970) is a Welsh professional football coach and former player. Toshack recently served as assistant head coach at Premier League club Leeds United.

Cameron Toshack
Personal information
Full name Jon Cameron Toshack
Date of birth (1970-03-07) 7 March 1970 (age 54)
Place of birth Cardiff, Wales
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Swansea City 0 (0)
1989–1991 Bristol City 0 (0)
1991–1992 Cardiff City 5 (0)
1992–1993 Weymouth 6 (1)
Managerial career
2011–2012 Macedonia (assistant)
2013–2014 Swansea City U18s and U19s
2014–2019 Swansea City U23s
2019–2020 Pafos FC
2022–2023 Leeds United (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Toshack is the son of former Swansea City, Real Sociedad, Real Madrid and Wales manager John Toshack.[1] After a brief playing career, Toshack began coaching the Macedonia national football team in 2011, alongside his father. He then joined Swansea City as a youth coach, winning the 2017 Premier League Cup, before making his first-team managerial debut with Cyprus club Pafos FC in 2019.

Playing career

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Toshack began his career with spells at Swansea City and Bristol City without making an appearance for either side. In February 1991, he joined Cardiff City and made three appearances as a substitute before being handed his first start in a defeat by Wrexham.[2] In 1991, at the age of 21, Toshack was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, meaning the physical demands of professional sport became increasingly challenging.[3] At the end of the 1991–92 season, Toshack was released by the club having made five league appearances.[4] He instead moved into non-League football with Weymouth, scoring the winning goal on his debut on 19 December 1992 during a 2–1 win against Halesowen Town. He made another six appearances for the club, scoring one more goal during a 3–0 victory over Bridport in the Dorset Senior Cup.[5]

Coaching career

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Macedonia

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In 2011, Toshack joined his father at Macedonia as assistant manager[6] for their 2012 UEFA Euro qualifying campaign.[deprecated source] The team made a notable improvement, rising from 103 to 81 in the FIFA world rankings,[7] underlined by a 0–0 friendly away draw with Portugal.[8]

Swansea City

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On 15 October 2013, Toshack took up a coaching position at Swansea City.[9] While Michael Laudrup was first-team manager, Toshack took the reins of the academy role following the departure of Tony Pennock, and finished with silverware as the Swans were crowned FAW U19 champions.[10]

After a brief spell at Moroccan club Wydad AC with his father in 2016,[11] Toshack returned to Swansea. He began working with the under-23 Development squad, ultimately guiding them to the Premier League 2 Division 2 title in 2017.[12] In the same season, the U23 side competed in the 2016–17 Premier League International Cup, reaching the semi-finals before being beaten 0–1 by eventual cup winners Porto. The U23s then won the Premier League Cup in May 2017.[13] In December 2017, Toshack was appointed assistant to Swansea City first-team caretaker manager Leon Britton following the club's decision to release manager Paul Clement.[14]

In May 2018, Toshack led the Swansea City U23s to a second successive Premier League Cup final. They lost to Aston Villa on penalties after a goalless draw.[15] Under Toshack's stewardship of the U23 squad, several players made the transition to the main squad including Oli McBurnie, Joe Rodon, Daniel James, Connor Roberts, Jay Fulton and George Byers.[16] Toshack was able to make Swansea's U23s highly competitive, gaining three Premier League medals in four years.[17]

Pafos FC

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In December 2019, Toshack was appointed manager of Pafos FC.[18] When he joined, the club had achieved only three wins in 13 games[17][19] and was battling for survival in the Cypriot First Division.[17] Toshack had just 14 fit players available for his first three matches.[17] He prompted a revival for Pafos, picking up 16 of the 18 points on offer.[17] Before his arrival, the club averaged 0.9 points per game in the 2019–20 league season but, under Toshack, this doubled to 1.8 points.[17] Notable victories included a 2–0 win over APOEL FC, the Cypriot First Division leaders and champions of the last seven seasons.[17][20] In February 2020, Toshack won the Cypriot First Division's Manager of the Month award.[21] He left the club in October 2020, having claimed the highest win percentage in the club's history.[22]

Leeds United

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On February 28, 2022, Toshack was appointed assistant coach to Jesse Marsch at Leeds United, the first member of staff appointed following the sacking of Marcelo Bielsa.[23]

Qualifications

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Toshack holds a UEFA Pro Licence and UEFA A Youth Licence. He attended the University of Wales where he gained a BSc Psychology degree.[24] Toshack was the first Swansea City coach to graduate from the Premier League's Elite Coach Apprenticeship Scheme (ECAS).[25]

Honours

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Swansea City

Individual

References

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  • Toshack, John (2018). Toshack's Way: My Journey Through Football. deCoubertin Books. ISBN 978-1909245716.
  1. ^ Winter, Henry (22 August 1992). "Football diary: hot line fails to cut ice". The Independent. London. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  2. ^ Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 189. ISBN 1-85983-462-0.
  3. ^ Toshack, John (2018). Toshack's Way: My Journey Through Football. deCoubertin Books. ISBN 978-1909245716.
  4. ^ "Cardiff City: 1946/7 – 2008/09". Neil Brown. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  5. ^ "1992–93". Nigel Biddlecombe. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  6. ^ "Sedloski to become assistant under Toshack". macedonianfootball.com. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  7. ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – FYR Macedonia". FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Portugal 0–0 Macedonia: Cristiano Ronaldo and company struggle in frustrating stalemate". goal.com. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Tosh returns to Swans". 15 October 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Spirited comeback for Swans U18s". Swansea City A.F.C. 13 January 2014. Archived from the original on 15 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  11. ^ Abbandonato, Paul (13 December 2019). "The man who developed Manchester United's Dan James has just left Swansea City". Wales Online. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Swansea City U23s' draw earns them Premier League Two title". BBC Sport. 13 March 2017.
  13. ^ "Under-23s win Premier League Cup final". Swansea City A.F.C. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  14. ^ Hughes, Matt (21 December 2017). "Swansea City sack Paul Clement after dismal run of form". The Times. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  15. ^ a b Coleman, Tom (4 May 2017). "Swansea City U23's season ends in penalty shoot-out heartbreak as Aston Villa secure Premier League Cup success". Walesonline. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  16. ^ Gwilym, Andrew (18 May 2018). "Seven Swansea City youngsters who are now set for the first team next season". Wales Online. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g "The Cameron Toshack interview: Swansea City job disappointment, texts with Daniel James and Oli McBurnie and his astonishing success abroad". Walesonline.co.uk. 23 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Cameron Toshack joins Pafos FC". swanseacity.com. 13 December 2019.
  19. ^ "Team form / Pafos FC pioneers (ANO Equilibrium, Omonia, APOEL)". kerkida.net. 25 February 2020.
  20. ^ "Apoel Nicosa". Soccerway.
  21. ^ "Disappointing that we stopped in March / We were one of the most formed teams". kerkida.net. 21 May 2020.
  22. ^ "The Cameron Toshack interview: My shock Pafos FC exit explained and why I have no regrets about leaving Swansea City". Wales Online. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Jesse Marsch's first words as Leeds United head coach as American replaces 'hero' Marcelo Bielsa". Leeds Online. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Do Coaches Need to Have Played the Game?". Leaders in Sport. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  25. ^ "Toshack: ECAS is a fantastic opportunity to grow". Premier League. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  26. ^ FAW Youth Cup Final 2014 (YouTube). FA Wales. 17 April 2014. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021.
  27. ^ "FAW Youth Cup Final: Cardiff 1 Swans 3". swanseacity.com. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  28. ^ "Disappointing that we stopped in March / We were one of the most formed teams". kerkida.net. 21 May 2020.