John Toshack speaks for first time on 'frightening' Covid battle that put him on ventilator for two weeks
The former Wales boss was speaking on a new documentary about his life in football
Football legend John Toshack has spoken for the first time about the "frightening" Covid battle which left him on a ventilator for two weeks.
In a new documentary airing on BBC Wales, Legends of Welsh Sport, the former Wales manager addressed his recent battle with Covid and pneumonia, showing pictures of himself in hospital.
In March this year, Toshack was rushed to hospital in Barcelona, where he spent time in intensive care and on a ventilator as he struggled with breathing difficulties. "I've been seriously ill and I've recovered," Toshack said at the start of the documentary. "Thank God, I'm out okay. I was..."
Toshack then asked off-camera how long he was unconscious for in Spanish. "When somebody tells you that you were out for two weeks, it's frightening. You can win a championship in two weeks or get relegated. When I think back on it now, it's frightening. But there we are, 72 going on."
The Liverpool legend previously scored 13 times in 40 games for Wales before twice becoming national team boss, in 1994 and from 2004 to 2010. He has taken charge of more than a dozen clubs around the world, including Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, and famously led Swansea from what was Division Four to the First Division in his first managerial post.
His most recent job was as manager of Persian Gulf Pro League side Tractor, which he left in September 2018 after just three months in charge. The new documentary is part of a series celebrating Welsh football icons ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
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