Jump to content

List of New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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]

Keys

[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
A cropped profile shot of an older, white-haired man
Charlie Aitken, seen in 2006
A middle-aged, bespecatacled man smiles in front of a wall covered with New York Cosmos memorabilia
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
An out-of-focus portrait shot of a dark-haired man in a lime-green v-neck sweater
Władysław Żmuda, seen in 2007
A grey-haired man in a black suit and yellow tie looks to his right, a microphone marked "MSG" held to his mouth
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
[7]
Norberto Luna  United States FW 1982-84
[7]
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
9 [n 1]
–
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  United States 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
[7]
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
[10]
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
10 [n 2]
 –
Tony Picciano  United States DF 1975
5, 18
 –
Denny Poe  United States MF 1977–78
[14]
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
[citation needed]
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

[edit]
Country Number of
players
 Argentina
1
 Belgium
1
 Bermuda
2
 Brazil
10
 Canada
15
 Chile
1
 Czechoslovakia
1
 Denmark
1
 Ecuador
2
 Egypt
1
 England
17
 West Germany
4
 Ghana
3
 Greece
2
 Haiti
1
 Hungary
1
 Iran
1
 Ireland
1
 Israel
4
 Italy
6
 Jamaica
1
 Netherlands
2
 Northern Ireland
2
 Paraguay
2
 Peru
1
 Poland
6
 Portugal
1
 Romania
1
 Scotland
5
 South Africa
2
 Spain
2
 Trinidad and Tobago
3
 Turkey
2
 United States
57
 Uruguay
5
 Yugoslavia
7

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.

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

[edit]
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
  • 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.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_New_York_Cosmos_(1970–1985)_players&oldid=1256654910"