ZURICH:  Jakob ‘Kobi’ Kuhn, one-time national team schemer and later national coach, has died at 76. He had been ill for several years.

The former Switzerland midfielder was born on October 12, 1943 in Zürich-Wiedikon.

He made his name as a creative player with FC Zurich with whom he was six times Swiss champion and five times a cup winner.

They were European Champions Cup semi-finals twice, losing to Real Madrid in 1964  and Liverpool in 1977.

Kuhn played 63 times for the Swiss national team. It would have been 64 but he and a team-mate were dropped from the first match of the 1966 World Cup finals in England by coach Alfredo Foni for breaking curfew.

He coached the national team from 2001 to 2008 and led Switzerland to the finals of the World Cup once and of the European Championship twice.

He was elected Swiss sports personality of the year in 2007.

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