New York Cosmos

New York Cosmos
Full name	New York Cosmos
Nickname(s)	Cosmos
Founded	1971
Dissolved	1985
Stadium	Yankee Stadium (1971, 1976);; Hofstra Stadium (1972-1973);; Downing Stadium (1974-1975);; Giants Stadium (1977-1985); (Capacity:; 78,000)
League	North American Soccer League
Home colors	Away colors

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For the South African club, see Jomo Cosmos.

The New York Cosmos (1971–1985), known simply as the Cosmos for the 1977 and 1978 seasons, was a soccer franchise based in New York City and its suburbs that operated in the North American Soccer League from 1971 to 1984. Founded by brothers Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegün as well as Warner Bros. President Steve Ross, it was without any doubt the strongest NASL franchises, both athletically and financially.

It became known around the world for signing the great Brazilian player Pelé who, though past his prime, was nonetheless one of the team's, and the league's, top gate draws during his tenure with the Cosmos. The NASL folded after the 1984 season, but the Cosmos attempted to operate as an independent team in 1985 before it ceased activity too.

[edit] Name and colors

Cosmos original crest

The name was coined by Clive Toye, the club's first general manager. Taking inspiration from the New York Mets, which references "Metropolitans", Toye took it a step further: Cosmopolitans, or Cosmos. Toye staged a "name the team" contest, choosing the entry that matched his planned team name.

For the team colors, Toye chose the green and yellow of Brazil as part of his strategy to lure Pelé to the United States.^[1] The club's initial uniform was all green with yellow trim, with the colors reversed on the road uniform - the same colors as that of the previous NASL team the New York Generals, which had folded after the 1968 season^[2]. When Pelé did come on board, the kit was all white, just like Santos, while the green top became the away kit with white shorts. ^[3]

A kit designed by Ralph Lauren was used from 1979 to the end; the home kit remained all white, though with navy and yellow trims. The away kit was made navy shirts and shorts with yellow trim, and unusual socks with then yellow and navy hoops. Later, the away socks were made all navy.

The Ralph Lauren away kit

[edit] History

Famous players to play for the club include Carlos Alberto, Ramón Mifflin, Franz Beckenbauer, Vladislav Bogićević, Giorgio Chinaglia, Hubert Birkenmeier, Rick Davis, Marinho Chagas, Andranik Eskandarian, Johan Neeskens, Dennis Tueart, Werner Roth, Julio Cesar Romero, Roberto Cabañas, Carlos Caszely, Shep Messing^[4], Yasin Özdenak, Mordechai Spiegler, Jomo Sono (who later named his own soccer club in South Africa the Jomo Cosmos) and most notably Pelé. On October 1, 1977, Pelé closed out his legendary career in front of a capacity crowd at Giants Stadium. In an exhibition match televised nationwide and worldwide, he played the first half with the Cosmos and the second half with his old team Santos.

Much of the New York Cosmos' ability to acquire big players was due to the financial resources of parent company Warner Communications. In the early 80's, Warner was the target of a hostile takeover bid by Australian media magnate Rupert Murdoch. His attempt did not succeed, but afterward Warner sold off several of its assets, among them Atari and Global Soccer, Inc., the subsidiary that operated the Cosmos. The club was sold to a syndicate led by their once star player Chinaglia. This group did not have the capital to continue to operate the team at the level kept by Warner Communications, resulting in a fire sale of many of the stars. By the last season, 1984, the Cosmos did not even make the playoffs. The precipitous decline of the Cosmos after the 1983 season became for many fans and the media proof positive of the grave condition of the whole NASL. ^[5]

The team was also a member of the Major Indoor Soccer League during the 1984–85 season, but withdrew after 33 games due to low attendance.

In 2006 a feature-length documentary about the New York Cosmos called Once In A Lifetime was released in cinemas. The film was narrated by Matt Dillon and featured interviews with many of the players and people involved in the team. ^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9]

[edit] Attempts to revive the Cosmos

Since their demise, there have been frequent attempts to revive the club - indeed the company which continues to sell Cosmos merchandise to keep the name alive has hosted a number of "Soccer Academies" for youngsters interested in the game. ^[10] ^[11]

Currently the team name, logo, and records are retained by former Cosmos general manager G. Peppe Pinton. There has been confusion as to the nature of the negotiations between various New York area entities; including past and present owners of Red Bull New York; and Pinton for the acquisition of the Cosmos name. ^[12] Rumors abounded that Pinton required a purchase price ranging anywhere from six figures to as much as 2 million dollars and part ownership or a front office position. More pointedly, there is hostility from many of the Major Soccer League clubs to the reintroduction of the name many see as synonymous with the NASL supernova.^[13] Since then, other serious movements to revive the Cosmos include a 2002 group headed by Pele which would possibly have pushed for an second New York area franchise or used the Cosmos name as a traveling all-star team similar to the Harlem Globetrotters in practice.^[14] ^[15] Supporters of the movement to revive the Cosmos point in response to the reintroduction of old NASL names San Jose Earthquakes, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps to considerable success, and the reintroduction of the Seattle Sounders name after intense fan pressure. ^[16] ^[17]

The rumor of Cosmos reappearance was once again came up on March 13, 2009 when it was reported New York City would be an expansion franchise in 2010 from the USL First Division. ^[18] The team leaders hope purchasing the rights to a USL First Division franchise will lead to eventual expansion in Major League Soccer in 2012. ^[19] In a recent interview G. Peppe Pinton stated that he has changed his views on the MLS and has offered the name and history to any New York expansion group that steps forward for free, going on to say that he never wanted money but rather believed that the league was not receptive to reviving or respecting the historical significance of the Cosmos. However after seeing the revival of the Sounders in Seattle as well as plans for the Timbers and Whitecaps to join the league in 2010, he now sees MLS as a league that is prepared to welcome the NASL's legacy. ^[20] ^[21]

[edit] Year-by-year season results

[edit] Outdoor

Year	League	W	L	T	PTS	Regular Season	Playoffs
1971	NASL	9	10	5	117	2nd, Northern Division	Did not qualify
1972	NASL	7	3	4	77	1st, Northern Division	Won Semifinal (Dallas) Won Championship (St. Louis)
1973	NASL	7	5	7	91	2nd, Eastern Division	Lost Semifinal (Dallas)
1974	NASL	4	14	2	58	4th, Northern Division	Did not qualify
1975	NASL	10	12	—	91	3rd, Northern Division	Did not qualify
1976	NASL	16	8	—	148	2nd, Atlantic Conference, Eastern Division	Won 1st Round (Washington) Lost Division Championship (Tampa Bay)
1977	NASL	15	11	—	140	2nd, Atlantic Conference, Eastern Division	Won Division Championship (Tampa Bay) Won Conference Championship (Ft. Lauderdale) Won Soccer Bowl '77 (Seattle)
1978	NASL	24	6	—	212	1st, National Conference, Eastern Division	Won 1st Round (Seattle) Won Conference Semifinal (Minnesota) Won Conference Championship (Portland) Won Soccer Bowl '78 (Tampa Bay)
1979	NASL	24	6	—	216	1st, National Conference, Eastern Division	Won Conference Quarterfinal (Toronto) Won Conference Semifinal (Tulsa) Lost Conference Championship (Vancouver)
1980	NASL	24	8	—	213	1st, National Conference, Eastern Division	Won 1st Round (Tulsa) Won Conference Semifinal (Dallas) Won Conference Championship (Los Angeles) Won Soccer Bowl '80 (Ft. Lauderdale)
1981	NASL	23	9	—	200	1st, Eastern Division	Bye 1st Round Won Quarterfinal (Tampa Bay) Won Semifinal (Ft. Lauderdale) Lost Soccer Bowl '81 (Chicago)
1982	NASL	23	9	—	203	1st, Eastern Division	Won 1st Round (Tulsa) Won Semifinal (San Diego) Won Soccer Bowl '82 (Seattle)
1983	NASL	22	8	—	194	1st, Eastern Division	Lost 1st Round (Montreal)
1984	NASL	13	11	—	115	3rd, Eastern Division	Did not qualify

[edit] Indoor

Year	League	W	L	Regular Season	Playoffs
1981/82	NASL Indoor	6	12	4th, American Conference, East Division	Did not qualify
1982/83	NASL Indoor	Season cancelled
1983/84	NASL Indoor	20	12	2nd	Won Playoff (Chicago) Lost Championship (San Diego)
1984/85	MISL	11	22	7th, Eastern Division	N/A - withdrew after 33 games

[edit] Honors

NASL Outdoor Championships

1972
1977
1978
1980
1982

NASL Runners Up

1981 outdoor
1984 indoor

Division Titles

1972 Northern Division
1978 Eastern Division, National Conference
1979 Eastern Division, National Conference
1980 Eastern Division, National Conference
1981 Eastern Division, National Conference
1982 Eastern Division
1983 Eastern Division

Trans-Atlantic Cup Championships

1980
1983
1984

[edit] Head coaches

Gordon Bradley 1971-75
Ken Furphy 1976
Gordon Bradley 1976-77
Eddie Firmani 1977-79
Ray Klivecka 1979
Julio Mazzei 1980
Hennes Weisweiler - Yasin Özdenak 1980-81
Julio Mazzei 1982-83
Eddie Firmani 1984

[edit] Athletic trainers

Arnold Trachtenberg 1978- 1984
John Bruno 1984-1985

[edit] 1977 squad

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Shep Messing
2	DF	Bruce Twamley
3	MF	Vitomir Dimitrijević
4	DF	Werner Roth
5	DF	Franz Beckenbauer
6	MF	Dave Clements
7	MF	Tony Field
8	MF	Terry Garbett
9	FW	Giorgio Chinaglia
10	FW	Pelé
11	FW	Stephen Hunt
12	DF	Bob Smith
14	MF	Nelsi Morais

No.	Position	Player
15	MF	Ramon Mifflin
16	MF	Mordechai Spiegler
17	DF	Charlie Aitken
18	FW	Jadranko Topić
19	GK	Yasin Özdenak
20	DF	Mike Dillon
21	FW	Gary Etherington
22	FW	Jomo Sono
23	DF	Rildo
25	DF	Carlos Alberto
26	DF	Paul Hunter
27	DF	Gregory Kourtesis
33	MF	Chris Agoliati
34	FW	Roberto de Oliveira