November 1, 2026 marks the 93rd anniversary of the birth of Antoine Kohn, the Luxembourgish footballer and manager whose career carried him through Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Remembered by the nickname “Spitz”, he represented Luxembourg as a player before guiding clubs on some of Dutch football’s biggest stages.
Kohn’s biography links that nickname to his ferocity and instinct for scoring goals. His international career began with an immediate contribution: he scored on his Luxembourg debut in a World Cup qualifying match in September 1953. His final international appearance came in September 1965, giving his national-team story a span of 12 years.
Much of his playing career unfolded abroad. Germany and Switzerland were stops before the Netherlands, where his later work as a manager brought him to FC Twente and Ajax.
Kohn took charge of Twente in July 1972. In May 1975, the club reached the UEFA Cup final, finishing runners-up after a 5–1 aggregate defeat by Borussia Mönchengladbach. That European final remains a prominent chapter in the career described in his biography. His return to Twente during the 1982–83 season brought a harder outcome: he could not prevent relegation.
At Ajax, Kohn served as assistant coach between June 1984 and June 1990. Following Aad de Mos’s dismissal, he took responsibility for the final five rounds of the 1984–85 season and guided the team to the Dutch championship. He would take charge again during the 1988–89 campaign, with Louis van Gaal as his assistant.
Kohn died on November 24, 2012. His birth anniversary offers Luxembourg an occasion to remember a football life that connected national-team service, a playing career across borders and managerial responsibility at leading Dutch clubs.
