List of New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players

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]

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

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

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Keys

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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 BullsPhiladelphia 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
  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
Farouk Gaafar   Egypt MF 1979–80
4
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
Notes
  1. ^ Chinaglia's #9 would be retired in June 2014 by the current Cosmos franchise.[8][9]
  2. ^ When Pelé retired from football in 1977, the number was put out of circulation by the franchise.[12] and retired again in July 2013 by the second club of the same name.[13]
  3. ^ Played only in the indoor soccer team.

By nationality

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Country Number of
players
  Argentina
1
  Belgium
  Bermuda
  Brazil
  Canada
  Chile
  Czechoslovakia
  Denmark
  Ecuador
  England
  West Germany
  Ghana
  Greece
  Haiti
  Hungary
  Iran
  Ireland
  Israel
  Italy
  Jamaica
  Netherlands
  Northern Ireland
  Paraguay
  Peru
  Poland
  Portugal
  Romania
  Scotland
  South Africa
  Spain
  Trinidad and Tobago
  Turkey
  United States
  Uruguay
  Yugoslavia

Guest players

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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.

Name Country Position Year
John Coyne   England FW 1975
Gordon Banks   England GK 1976
Clyde Best   Bermuda FW 1976
Clodoaldo   Brazil MF 1977
Rivellino   Brazil MF 1978
Alan Willey   England FW 1978
Stewart Jump   England DF 1978
Joe Horváth   Hungary MF 1978
Laszlo Harsanyi   Hungary DF 1978
Arsène Auguste   Haiti DF 1978
Johan Cruyff   Netherlands MF 1978 [n 1]
Notes
  1. ^ Only played in two exhibition matches.

Footnotes

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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

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Bibliography
  • Jose, Colin (2003). North American Soccer League Encyclopedia. Haworth, New Jersey: St. Johann Press. ISBN 1-878282-25-5.
  • Newsham, Gavin (2006). Once in a Lifetime: The Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos. New York, New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-4288-5.
  • Toye, Clive (2006). A Kick in the Grass. Haworth, New Jersey: St Johann Press. ISBN 978-1-878282-47-7.
General
  • Players sourced to: Jose (2003).
  • Background sourced to: Jose (2003), Newsham (2006) and Toye (2006).
Notes
  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Lindgren, Hugo (2006-06-25). "Pinup Goalie: Shep Messing". New York Movies. New York, New York: New York Media LLC. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ O'Brien, Seamus (2012-07-12). "New York Cosmos Returns to NASL". nycosmos.com. New York City: New York Cosmos. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ a b c NASL NY Cosmos rosters on NASL jerseys.com
  8. ^ "Cosmos retiring Giorgio Chinaglia's No. 9 shirt". Goal. 5 June 2014.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Roberto Landi: "Per crescere il calcio sammarinese ha bisogno di allenatori professionisti" on RTV San Marino, 23 Jan 2023
  11. ^ Yasin Özdenak (New York Cosmos) at Giants Stadion, New York, US, 19 Aug 1979 – Photo by Masahide Tomikoshi
  12. ^ "Heritage". New York Cosmos.
  13. ^ Wright, Chris (15 July 2013). "Cosmos honor Pele by retiring number - almost 37 years after they already did". ESPN. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  14. ^ 2009 MCCC Men's Soccer Hall of Fame Inducts, 3 Oct 2009
  15. ^ Litterer, David. "The Year in American Soccer - 1977". American Soccer History Archives. Archived from the original on 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2011-01-20.