List of New York Cosmos (1970–1985) all-stars

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Pele, pictured in 1977, played for the New York Cosmos from 1975 to 1977. He was named the North American Soccer League's Most Valuable Player in 1976, and appeared in the league's all-star team in each of his three seasons there Pele libro elegido.jpg
Pelé, pictured in 1977, played for the New York Cosmos from 1975 to 1977. He was named the North American Soccer League's Most Valuable Player in 1976, and appeared in the league's all-star team in each of his three seasons there

The New York Cosmos were an American soccer club based in New York. The team was founded in 1970 by brothers Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, with the support of Warner Brothers president Steve Ross. The Cosmos joined the North American Soccer League (NASL), which was in its fourth season. Backed by the financial resources of Warner Communications, the Cosmos became the league's "marquee club", [1] winning five championships and drawing unprecedented crowds for American club soccer. [2] The side's commercial and on-field success declined during the early 1980s, along with the NASL itself, and it ceased operations in 1985, a year after the league folded. [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]

Contents

The NASL all-star teams selected by the league at the end of each season included a total of 18 Cosmos players. [A] [7] These include numerous well-known players from outside the United States, signed from European or South American clubs. [4] Examples of these are erstwhile West Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer and the former Brazil international players Pelé and Carlos Alberto; there were many others. [3] Among the American players representing the Cosmos were two players born in Yugoslavia: U.S. international defender Werner Roth and Siegfried Stritzl, a midfielder. Canada international John Kerr, originally from Scotland, also turned out for New York during the early 1970s. Former Italy forward Giorgio Chinaglia holds many of the side's records pertaining to individual performance, appearing in the most matches, scoring the most goals and points, [8] and sharing the record for most all-star appearances (six) with Vladislav Bogićević, a member of the Yugoslavia national team before his time with the Cosmos.

Each Cosmos player named to a NASL all-star team is named below, along with his regular season and play-off statistics. The nationality given for each player is based on the national team represented, or his birthplace if he is uncapped. No NASL all-star from the Cosmos was born in the United States or Canada. During the club's 14 NASL seasons, the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award was won by a Cosmos player on five occasions, which are also detailed below.

Key

NASL all-stars

NameCountryPos.Cosmos careerAGPAGPAGPNASL all-star appearancesNASL MVPRef.
(Regular season)(Playoffs)(Total)
Siegfried Stritzl Flag of the United States.svg  United States MF197173182840022281971
Randy Horton Flag of Bermuda 1910.svg  Bermuda FW197174885112551293521271971, 19721972 [9]
John Kerr Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada MF19727552515212546171972
Werner Roth Flag of the United States.svg  United States DF19727912521017021422121975 [10]
Pelé Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil FW197577563189861764371061975, 1976, 19771976 [9] [10]
Keith Eddy Flag of England.svg  England DF19767730920100319201976
Ramón Mifflin Flag of Peru.svg  Peru MF19757844720501497211976
Giorgio Chinaglia Flag of Italy.svg  Italy FW19768521319346741491112542425781976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 19821981 [9] [11]
Franz Beckenbauer Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany DF197780
1983
10519852741414223991977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 19831977 [9] [11]
Yasin Özdenak Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey GK197779410020043001978 [B]
Giuseppe Wilson Flag of Italy.svg  Italy DF197879160060022001978
Carlos Alberto Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil DF197780
1982
10063426051266391978, 1979, 1980 [11]
Vladislav Bogićević Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia MF1978842033120933835236392441978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 [11]
Wim Rijsbergen Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands DF1979838621816151023231979, 1981 [10]
Johan Neeskens Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands MF197984941762133810720701979, 1984 [12]
Andranik Eskandarian State Flag of Iran (1964).svg  Iran MF19798514202122041640251982, 1983, 1984 [11]
Roberto Cabañas Flag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay FW198084866015113314996316519831983 [9] [11]
Hubert Birkenmeier Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany GK197985145002300168001984 [11]

Footnotes

A.  ^ Counting multiple all-star selections separately, these 18 players made 41 NASL all-star appearances.
B.  ^ Yasin Özdenak played in the United States under the name Erol Yasin, and is generally referred to as such in NASL records. [13]

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References

Bibliography
General
Notes
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  2. Newsham, Gavin (2005-06-10). "When Pele and Cosmos were kings". The Guardian . London: Guardian News & Media. Archived from the original on 2014-05-17. 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. 1 2 Lindgren, Hugo (2006-06-25). "Pinup Goalie: Shep Messing". New York Movies. New York, New York: New York Media LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
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  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. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
  7. Lapitch, John (1984-02-09). "An All-star effort". Chicago Tribune . Chicago, Illinois: Tribune Company: section 4.
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