List of New York Cosmos (1970–85) all-stars

Pelé, pictured in 1960, 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. Originally 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]

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: US 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

Positions GK = Goalkeeper DF = Defender MF = Midfielder FW = Forward

Statistics A = Appearances G = Goals P = Points In the NASL, goals counted for two points; assists counted for one.

NASL all-stars

Franz Beckenbauer in 1974

Name	Country	Position	Cosmos career	A	G	P	A	G	P	A	G	P	NASL all-star appearances	NASL MVP	Notes
				(Regular season)			(Play-offs)			(Total)
Stritzl, SiegfriedSiegfried Stritzl	United States	MF	1971–73	18	2	8	4	0	0	22	2	8	1971	–
Horton, RandyRandy Horton	Bermuda	FW	1971–74	88	51	125	5	1	2	93	52	127	1971, 1972	1972	[9]
Kerr, JohnJohn Kerr	Canada	MF	1972–75	52	5	15	2	1	2	54	6	17	1972	–
Roth, WernerWerner Roth	United States	DF	1972–79	125	2	10	17	0	2	142	2	12	1975	–	[10]
Pelé, Pelé	Brazil	FW	1975–77	56	31	89	8	6	17	64	37	106	1975, 1976, 1977	1976	[9][10]
Eddy, KeithKeith Eddy	England	DF	1976–77	30	9	20	1	0	0	31	9	20	1976	–
Mifflin, RamónRamón Mifflin	Peru	MF	1975–78	44	7	20	5	0	1	49	7	21	1976	–
Chinaglia, GiorgioGiorgio Chinaglia	Italy	FW	1976–85	213	193	467	41	49	111	254	242	578	1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982	1981	[9][11]
Beckenbauer, FranzFranz Beckenbauer	West Germany	DF	1977–80 1983	105	19	85	27	4	14	142	23	99	1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983	1977	[9][11]
Yasin Özdenak	Turkey	GK	1977–79	41	0	0	2	0	0	43	0	0	1978	–	^[B]
Wilson, GiuseppeGiuseppe Wilson	Italy	DF	1978–79	16	0	0	6	0	0	22	0	0	1978	–
Alberto, CarlosCarlos Alberto	Brazil	DF	1977–80 1982	100	6	34	26	0	5	126	6	39	1978, 1979, 1980	–	[11]
Bogićević, VladislavVladislav Bogićević	Yugoslavia	MF	1978–84	203	31	209	33	8	35	236	39	244	1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984	–	[11]
Rijsbergen, WimWim Rijsbergen	Netherlands	DF	1979–83	86	2	18	16	1	5	102	3	23	1979, 1981	–	[10]
Neeskens, JohanJohan Neeskens	Netherlands	MF	1979–84	94	17	62	13	3	8	107	20	70	1979, 1984	–	[12]
Eskandarian, AndranikAndranik Eskandarian	Iran	MF	1979–85	142	0	21	22	0	4	164	0	25	1982, 1983, 1984	–	[11]
Cabañas, RobertoRoberto Cabañas	Paraguay	FW	1980–84	86	60	151	13	3	14	99	63	165	1983	1983	[9][11]
Birkenmeier, HubertHubert Birkenmeier	West Germany	GK	1979–85	145	0	0	23	0	0	168	0	0	1984	–	[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]

References

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

• Player statistics 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: Telegraph Media Group Ltd. 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. Lapitch, John (1984-02-09). "An All-star effort". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois: Tribune Company: section 4.
8. Litterer, David. "All-time top USA goalscorers - USA Division 1 Leagues". American Soccer History Archives. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
9. Litterer, David. "NASL Awards and Honors". American Soccer History Archives. Retrieved 2011-01-29.
10. Litterer, David. "Top international stars in the NASL, 1967–1984, P–Z". American Soccer History Archives. Retrieved 2011-01-29.
11. Litterer, David. "Top international stars in the NASL, 1967–1984, A–H". American Soccer History Archives. Retrieved 2011-01-29.
12. Litterer, David. "Top international stars in the NASL, 1967–1984, I–O". American Soccer History Archives. Retrieved 2011-01-29.
13. Litterer, David. "The Year in American Soccer - 1977". American Soccer History Archives. Retrieved 2011-01-20.