The Cosmos before playing a friendly match v. Club Cipolletti in Argentina, March 1980. Giorgio Chinaglia (9), Franz Beckenbauer (6) and Carlos Alberto Torres (5) were part of the line up The New York Cosmos were an American soccer club based in New York . The club was formed in 1970 by brothers Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun , with the support of Warner Brothers president Steve Ross , and entered into the North American Soccer League (NASL), which had itself been founded in 1968. Backed by Ross's company, Warner Communications , the Cosmos became the league's strongest club, both on and off the field.[1] The team won five titles while drawing attendances unprecedented in American club soccer.[2] The Cosmos' commercial and on-field success declined during the early 1980s, along with the NASL itself, and after the league folded in 1984 the club dissolved a year later.[3] A new Cosmos team , formed in 2010,[4] is scheduled to begin play in the new second-tier North American Soccer League (contested since 2011) during the 2013 season.[5] [6]
All players who played at least one league match for the Cosmos are given below. A total of 155 outfield players did so, along with 17 goalkeepers, giving a total of 172. Including the United States and Canada, a total of 34 nations from across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa were represented on the team's rosters over the course of its history. After the United States, the most common nation of origin was England, with 17 Cosmos players; Canada followed with 15. NASL all-star teams included 18 of the club's players in total. Eleven players who appeared as guests in exhibition games are listed separately below.
Regular season players [ edit ] Pelé is the only player to have his number retired when the team put his #10 out of circulation in 1977 Franz Beckenbauer with Argentine Diego Maradona in 1980 Giorgio Chinaglia , Cosmos' all-time leading scorer Charlie Aitken , seen in 2006 Ron Atanasio , pictured in 2010 with Cosmos memorabilia Carlos Alberto Torres had two tenures on the Cosmos, 1977–80, and 1982 Mordechai Spiegler , right, pictured in 2008 with broadcaster Yoram Arbel Władysław Żmuda , seen in 2007 Shep Messing , the Cosmos' goalkeeper from 1973 to 1974, then again from 1976 to 1977 and finally for three games in 1984, reports on a New York Red Bulls – Philadelphia Union match in 2010 Name Country Pos. Tenure No. Ref. Laurie Abrahams England FW 1984–85 14
Norberto Luna United States FW 1982-84
Chris Agoliati United States MF 1977 33
– Charlie Aitken Scotland DF 1976–77 17
– Dino Alberti Canada GK 1980–82 27
– Carlos Alberto Brazil DF 1977–80, 1982 25, 5
– Luis Alberto United States MF 1984–85 18
– Amr Aly United States FW 1984–85 13
– Angelo Anastasio United States DF 1974–75 22
– Ron Atanasio United States FW 1978–79 26
– Garry Ayre Canada DF 1978–79 24
– Boris Bandov United States MF 1979–82 18
– Dominick Barczewski United States DF 1981–82 25
– Franz Beckenbauer West Germany DF 1977–80, 1983 6
– Hubert Birkenmeier West Germany GK 1979–85 1, 19
– Richard Blackmore England GK 1972 0
– Vladislav Bogićević Yugoslavia MF 1978–84 8
– Chico Borja United States FW 1981–82, 1984 28
– Gordon Bradley United States DF 1971–75 24
[A] Jack Brand Canada GK 1978 0
– David Brcic United States GK 1977–79, 1981–84 20, 21
– Ivan Buljan Yugoslavia DF 1981–82 22
– Roberto Cabañas Paraguay FW 1980–84 19, 9
– Omar Caetano Uruguay MF 1975 15
– Dan Canter United States DF 1984–85 3, 18
– Antonio Carbognani Argentina MF 1979 16
– Emanuel Carrette Brazil FW 1974 12
– Carlos Caszely Chile FW 1984 16
– Delices Chardin Haiti DF 1971 12
– Giorgio Chinaglia Italy FW 1976–85 – Richard Chinapoo Trinidad and Tobago DF 1982–83 14, 30, 33
– Chinesinho Brazil MF 1971 7
– Dave Clements Northern Ireland MF 1976–77 6, 26
– Elvis Comrie United States FW 1984–85 11
– Julio Correa Uruguay MF 1975 7
– Everald Cummings Trinidad and Tobago MF 1972–73 20
– Oscar Damiani Italy FW 1984 7, 31
– Rick Davis United States MF 1978–84 17, 6
– Malcolm Dawes England DF 1973–74 5, 8, 6
– Dé Brazil DF 1975 14
– Roberto De Oliveira United States FW 1977 34
– Pedro DeBrito United States MF 1984 22
– Jaime Delgado Ecuador FW 1971 7
– Ferdinando De Matthaeis Italy FW 1982, 1983–84 29
– Angelo DiBernardo United States FW 1980–85 16
– Mike Dillon England DF 1975–77 20
– Vito Dimitrijević Yugoslavia MF 1977–78 3, 15
– Frank Donlavey Canada DF 1971, 1974 4, 3
– Tony Donlic United States FW 1975–78 7, 16
– Jeff Durgan United States DF 1980–82, 1983–85 4, 24, 25
– Kevin Eagan United States DF 1979 22
– Keith Eddy England DF 1976–77 5
– Andranik Eskandarian Iran DF 1979–85 2
– Gary Etherington United States FW 1977–79 21
– Drew Ferguson Canada MF 1984–85 17
– Vidal Fernandez United States MF 1980 26
– Tony Field England FW 1976–77 7
– Joey Fink United States FW 1973–75 12
– Kyriakos Fitilis Greece MF 1971 19
– Santiago Formoso USA DF 1978–79 5, 25
– Mike Fox United States MF 1983–84 23
– Chance Fry United States FW 1984–85 7
– Luis de la Fuente Spain DF 1975 22, 23
– Terry Garbett England MF 1976–79 8, 14
– Darryl Gee United States FW 1980–84 24, 5
– Gerry Gray Canada MF 1983–84 25
– Alan Green United States FW 1983–85 15
– Fred Grgurev United States FW 1978 18
– Ernie Hannigan Scotland FW 1971 6
– Theodor Hasekidis Greece FW 1971 5
– Helenio Herrera Spain FW 1972 9
– Randy Horton Bermuda FW 1971–74 16
– Larry Hulcer United States MF 1980–81 12
– Stephen Hunt England FW 1977–78, 1982 11, 17
[B] Paul Hunter Canada DF 1977 26
– Robert Iarusci Canada DF 1977–78, 1981–83 3, 19
– Godfrey Ingram England FW 1979 30
Harold Jarman England MF 1974 7
– Josef Jelinek Czechoslovakia FW 1972–73 10
– Karol Kapciński Poland DF 1971–73 19
– Erhardt Kapp United States DF 1981–83 26, 17
– John Kerr Canada MF 1972–75 6, 18
– Emmanuel Kofie Ghana GK 1971–72 21, 1
– Konrad Kornek Poland GK 1971 1
– Refik Kozić Yugoslavia DF 1983–84 22
– Kurt Kuykendall United States GK 1975–76 0, 1
– Alfredo Lamas Uruguay MF 1975 5
– Roberto Landi Italy GK 1983
Doc Lawson United States DF 1984–85 19, 32
– Mark Liveric United States FW 1974–75 8, 29
– Flemming Lund Denmark FW 1985 30, 15
– Barry Mahy United States DF 1971–75 2
– Carmine Marcantonio Canada MF 1984 27
– Gil Mărdărescu Romania MF 1975 14
– Manoel Maria Brazil FW 1975 19
– Marinho Brazil DF 1979 3
– Juan Carlos Masnik Uruguay DF 1975 3
– Andy Mate United States MF 1971 9
– Charlie McCully United States FW 1971–72 3
– Henry McCully United States FW 1973 3
– Wes McLeod Canada MF 1984–85 8
– Robert Meschbach United States MF 1985 32
– Shep Messing United States GK 1973–74, 1976–77, 1984 1, 33
– Horst Meyer West Germany DF 1971 6
– Wilberforce Mfum Ghana FW 1971–72 17
– Ramón Mifflin Peru MF 1975–78 15
– Maurizio Minieri Italy GK 1971 23
– Charlie Mitchell Scotland DF 1976 19
– Radi Mitrovic Yugoslavia DF 1971 12
– Bela Monoki Hungary MF 1974 15, 22
– Nelsi Morais Brazil MF 1975–80 14, 3, 31, 23, 30
– Steve Moyers United States FW 1982–84 12
– Johan Neeskens Netherlands MF 1979–84 13
– Robert Neubauer West Germany DF 1972 5
– Mickey Niblock Northern Ireland FW 1973 7
– David Norris Canada FW 1981–82 23
– Sam Nusum Bermuda GK 1975 1
– Yasin Özdenak Turkey GK 1977–79 1
[11] Alan O'Neill England MF 1971 8
– Tommy Ord England FW 1975–76 23, 9
– Oscar Brazil DF 1980 4
– Andy Papoulias United States MF 1985 31
– Américo Paredes Uruguay FW 1975 9
– Andrew Parkinson United States FW 1984–85 20
– Rudolph Pearce Jamaica DF 1971 18, 24
– Pelé Brazil FW 1975–77 – Tony Picciano United States DF 1975 5, 18
– Denny Poe United States MF 1977–78
David Primo Israel DF 1975 22
– Karim Abdul Razak Ghana MF 1979–81 28
– Gerry Reardon Ireland MF 1984 30
– Len Renery United States DF 1973–74 23
– Bob Rigby United States GK 1976 0, 1
– Wim Rijsbergen Netherlands DF 1979–83 15
– Rildo Brazil DF 1977 23
– Germy Rivera Ecuador MF 1974 20
– Julio César Romero Paraguay MF 1980–83 7
– Werner Roth United States DF 1972–79 4
– Karol Rotner Israel DF 1973 2
– Brian Rowan Scotland DF 1975–76 17, 3
– Greg Ryan United States DF 1979 12
– Carlos Scott United States MF 1974–75 10, 17
– Seninho Portugal FW 1978–82 11, 12
– Steve Sharp [n 3] United States FW 1985
Mordechai Spiegler Israel FW 1974–77 21
– Jorge Siega United States FW 1971–76 11
– Bobby Smith United States DF 1976–78 12
– Jomo Sono South Africa FW 1977 22
– Scoop Stanisic United States GK 1984–85 0
Stan Startzell United States MF 1972 14
– Jan Steadman Trinidad and Tobago DF 1971 20
– Scott Strasburg United States FW 1977 30
– Siegfried Stritzl United States MF 1971–73 15
– Jerry Sularz Poland GK 1973–75 0
– Stanisław Terlecki Poland FW 1983–84 14
– Brian Tinnion England FW 1976 18
– Jadranko Topić Yugoslavia FW 1977 18
– Dennis Tueart England FW 1978–79 7
– Bruce Twamley Canada DF 1977 22, 2
– François Van der Elst Belgium FW 1980–81 20
– Tibor Vigh Canada FW 1973 18
– Geoff Vowden England FW 1974 19
– Dragan Vujovic Yugoslavia FW 1983–85 11, 13
– Michael Wardrop England MF 1974 14
– Steve Wegerle South Africa FW 1981–82 14
– Bruce Wilson Canada DF 1980 3
– Giuseppe Wilson Italy DF 1978–79 23
– Ralph Wright England DF 1973 14
– Ceyhan Yazar Turkey FW 1971 8
– John Young Scotland MF 1971 5
– Roby Young Israel FW 1972–73 8
– Dieter Zajdel Poland MF 1972–73 22
– Władysław Żmuda Poland DF 1984 6, 34
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Notes By nationality [ edit ] Guest players [ edit ] Some well-known players from other teams turned out for the Cosmos in exhibition matches on a game-by-game basis when New York traveled on overseas tours. These guest players are listed below, along with the year they appeared in Cosmos colors.
Notes ^ Only played in two exhibition matches. A. ^ Bradley held the position of player-coach . B. ^ Hunt's 1982 spell was on loan from Coventry City (England). C. ^ Ingram played for the Cosmos on loan from Luton Town (England). D. ^ Yasin Özdenak played in the United States under the name Erol Yasin, and is generally referred to as such in NASL records.[15] E. ^ Although Eskandarian signed permanently for the Cosmos in 1979, he is counted as a guest player for 1978, and so appears on both lists. References [ edit ] Bibliography General Players sourced to: Jose (2003). Background sourced to: Jose (2003), Newsham (2006) and Toye (2006). Notes ^ Bell, Jack (2008-05-01). "Gordon Bradley, Who Nurtured U.S. Soccer, Dies at 74" . The New York Times . New York , New York . Retrieved 2011-01-21 . ^ Newsham, Gavin (2005-06-10). "When Pele and Cosmos were kings" . The Guardian . London : Guardian News & Media. Retrieved 2011-01-20 . Owned by Warner Communications, the New York Cosmos were, like many other franchises, a team going nowhere fast. A ragbag assembly of students, foreigners and part-timers, they played their football at a high school athletics ground in front of row after row of empty seats. Nobody knew about them, let alone cared. ... On the road the Cosmos sold out every game ("like travelling with the Rolling Stones," says the club's travelling secretary Steve Marshall). In New York they were media darlings, idols of 77,000 fans (including Mick Jagger, Henry Kissinger, Robert Redford and Steven Spielberg) and virtual residents at Studio 54. In two years, they became an organisation with the cultural visibility no other arm of the Warner portfolio could boast. It mattered not that the club did not make a single cent in their 15-year history. The Cosmos had become the hottest ticket in town; Ross even had a seat belt installed in his spot in the upper tier, just in case he got overexcited and toppled over the edge. ^ Lindgren, Hugo (2006-06-25). "Pinup Goalie: Shep Messing" . New York Movies . New York , New York : New York Media LLC. Retrieved 2009-06-16 . ^ Ogden, Mark (2011-01-19). "Eric Cantona's appointment at the New York Cosmos part of battle to restore football to heart of the Big Apple" . The Daily Telegraph . London . Retrieved 2011-01-29 . ^ O'Brien, Seamus (2012-07-12). "New York Cosmos Returns to NASL" . nycosmos.com . New York City: New York Cosmos. Retrieved 2012-07-12 . ^ O'Mard, Marcus Kwesi (2012-07-12). "Report: New York Cosmos Plan to Make NASL Return in 2013" . Watertown, Massachusetts: New England Sports Network . Retrieved 2012-07-12 . ^ a b c NASL NY Cosmos rosters on NASL jerseys.com ^ "Cosmos retiring Giorgio Chinaglia's No. 9 shirt" . Goal. 5 June 2014. ^ Martinez, Dave (25 April 2014). "Cosmos to honor Chinaglia, retire number in season-ending ceremony" . Empire of Soccer.com . Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. ^ Roberto Landi: "Per crescere il calcio sammarinese ha bisogno di allenatori professionisti" on RTV San Marino, 23 Jan 2023 ^ Yasin Özdenak (New York Cosmos) at Giants Stadion, New York, US, 19 Aug 1979 – Photo by Masahide Tomikoshi ^ "Heritage" . New York Cosmos . ^ Wright, Chris (15 July 2013). "Cosmos honor Pele by retiring number - almost 37 years after they already did" . ESPN. Retrieved 30 November 2021 . ^ 2009 MCCC Men's Soccer Hall of Fame Inducts , 3 Oct 2009 ^ Litterer, David. "The Year in American Soccer - 1977" . American Soccer History Archives . Archived from the original on 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2011-01-20 .
The Club Stadiums Culture Retired numbers Key personnel