New York Cosmos

As the sky darkened and the rain fell over the Giants stadium, the weather was more fitting for a funeral than a game of football. In many regards though, this was a send-off of the highest order. The occasion? The final match of Pele’s extraordinary career. Pele was a superstar, more a global brand than a footballer especially towards the later end of his career; he was the perfect fit for the Cosmos. A superstar should be immune to emotions and his machine like nature made him the finest player the world has ever seen but Pele was the outlier. Having been overcome by emotion after winning the World Cup aged 17 in 1958, the same thing happened 19 years later after appearing in a half each for both the Cosmos and his first club Santos (his only other club in his career) in his last game. He had tears flowing down his face as he addressed the crowd, with one newspaper proclaiming that “even the sky is crying.”

Pele was the trailblazer for the New York Cosmos, the catalyst even, for foreign invasion to the fairly new North American Soccer League (NASL). The Cosmos eventually become a global phenomenon, a brand known all over the world. So how could a team of this stature ever possibly feature in a forgotten clubs article? Their ascendency to the top was almost as quick as their decline. This is the story of the New York Cosmos, America’s first great football team (or should I say soccer?)

Pele playing for New York Cosmos.

New York City in the 70’s was, quite frankly, not the prettiest place to visit or stay in comparison to now. The city was reeling from a nationwide economic recession and an unemployment rate that topped 10%, the big apple was in a massive rut. Crime rates continued to grow and financial crisis was the main topic throughout the decade. Many people were dependent on welfare due to the mass unemployment and this created social divisions in which many of the middle and upper classes moved into the suburbs. The city needed a spark, something to wake it up from this slumber and provide entertainment.

Football was never big in America, post war the three major sports were arguably baseball, horse racing and boxing, with these providing entertainment for the masses during the lean years after WW2. Basketball still hadn’t achieved its 80’s boom so the city of New York didn’t have many teams to cheer for compared to the vast number in 2020. Considering USA’s early ventures into the World Cup, semi-finalists in 1930 and the famous win over England in 1950 (in which their whole team was comprised of amateur players), the country still didn’t have a professional league leading up to the 70’s.

NASL was formed in 1968; the market for a fully functioning professional league was massive and as aforementioned, football was way down in the list of sports that Americans were passionate about. However, this was about to change.
Everything was in place for the league to be a success but the initial few seasons didn’t go quite to plan. There were a large number of non-American players playing in the league. Combine this with high salaries and dwindling crowds and the league was on the verge of a major collapse!

The league needed a brand, a team with global potential that could seduce the best players to come across to America and wow the crowds and what the league wanted, the league got. The New York Cosmos were founded in December 1970.

New York Cosmos Squad, 1971.

The man behind the formation of the Cosmos was Steve Ross, the founder of Warner Communications - arguably one of the most influential men in America at the time. As the team took off, it was filled with journeymen and amateur players. Despite finishing second in their first season in the NASL, then winning their first title in 1972, a transformation was needed in order to make them the global brand Ross envisioned. Attendances were low and overheads kept on rising, even a downsizing of stadiums didn’t help. There was only one player capable of revolutionising the Cosmos and starting the trend of foreign invasion to the league, Pele.

Pele ended his relationship with Santos in 1975 and joined the Cosmos for a deal worth nearly $4.5 million, signing the contract in the famous 21 club in Manhattan. This was a start of a new era for the club, one in which everyone wanted to be associated with the Cosmos. The appeal for players to come to the NASL to play with and against Pele was enormous.

Signing Pele, although coming towards the end of his glittering career, was a marketing dream; everyone wanted a slice of the cake. Plenty of exhibition tours followed to promote the team; even a light hearted game of football with the then president Gerald Ford couldn’t hurt the team’s chances of gaining some welcome publicity.

More and more people began attending the NASL after Pele’s arrival. In fact, the average attendance almost doubled from around 7, 000 pre Pele, to 14, 000 in 1980, 3 years after he left. Combining the expanding gates and the general public’s perception of soccer; the league was heading towards its apex. More and more players were arriving from overseas - George Best, Alan Ball, Eusebio and even Bobby Moore. Despite this upturn in fortunes, it didn’t help the Cosmos reach the playoffs in 1975 but the wheels were in motion and soon the floodgates would burst open.

Eusébio playing for the Las Vegas Quicksilvers.

The Cosmos suddenly became ‘Americanised’, everything was bigger than the rest of the clubs; the stadium, the players and the salaries. Even the kit was designed by Ralph Lauren! This wasn’t just the most recognisable club in America, this was a global phenomenon. Steve Ross had achieved what he set out to do - make the Cosmos a worldwide brand!

If Pele was the most important signing in the club’s history from a marketing point of view, then the capture of Lazio forward Giorgio Chinaglia was vital from a footballing perspective. Unlike the rest of the players who joined the Cosmos from abroad, Chinaglia was still well in his prime years as a footballer. His goals inspired the Cosmos to the 1977 Soccerball (wherever could they have gotten that idea from?) to face the Seattle Sounders. Chinaglia scored the winner as the team won 2-1 and claimed their second championship.

Pele played his last game for the team in October 1977, although the Cosmos signed Carlos Alberto and Franz Beckenbauer to soften the blow, both being World Cup winners. However, the league had lost an icon. His retirement sparked a decline in the league, nobody had the same appeal as the great man and attendance figures dropped post 1980. All the credibility and personality the league had built up during Pele’s time with the Cosmos disappeared in a puff of smoke.

As the years went on, the Cosmos kept winning titles and further success followed in ‘78, ‘80 and ‘82 and they eventually became the most successful team in NASL history. Chinaglia finished his career with the team and remains the division’s highest ever goal scorer, notching a crazily impressive 193 goals in 213 games. 1982 would be as good as it would ever get for the Cosmos, the glitz and the glam and the showbiz nature of the franchise that had been apparent in the mid to late 70’s was slowly ebbing away.

Giorgio Chinaglia playing for the New York Cosmos. He ended his career with them in 1983.

The decline was rapid, as many franchises tried to keep pace with the Cosmos in regards to spending money and trying to create a similar brand as theirs. Mismanagement was rife and plenty of clubs folded almost as soon as they were created, unable to match the success of the Cosmos or attract the calibre of player that could boost both attendances and the commercial appeal that came with it.

As the debts kept rising, there were only 14 teams competing for the championship in 1982. Steve Ross had seen enough and handed over ownership to Chinaglia in 1984. By this point, the league was on the verge of collapse, the debts becoming too high and players making their way back to Europe.

Following the collapse of the league, the Cosmos competed in the Major Indoor Soccer League during 1984-1985; they withdrew after only 33 games however due to the low attendances. After 15 years, five NASL titles, multiple World Cup winners signing for the club and global appeal that reached heights no one could have thought possible, the dream was over.

Fast forward to August 2010 and the Cosmos are back, well sort of. The new team is more of a rebirth of the previous club that competed in the NASL between 1971-1985. With the MLS gradually growing in both popularity and stature since its inception in 1996, it was only going to be a matter of time before Cosmos rumours began.

The new Cosmos team currently play their trade in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), if we consider the MLS as the first division, then the NISA is the equivalent to the third division. Although the rebranded Cosmos might not reach the heights of their elder siblings 70’s peak, there is no doubting the cult impact the team has had through many generations of fans. Even now you can still purchase classic Cosmos kits and jackets when they were the team on everyone’s lips.

Current New York Cosmos Crest

As Pele finished addressing the crowd after his final appearance as a player, tears streaming and emotions running high, he might have underestimated just how much of an impact he had on American footballing history. For a team with a rather small lifespan of 14 years, it’s incredible what they managed to squeeze into that timeframe. Let’s be honest, no one can forget the New York Cosmos, can they?