List of New York Cosmos players

The New York Cosmos were an American soccer club based in New York. The club was formed in 1971 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. An English-led group, headed by Paul Kemsley, created a new Cosmos team in 2010 with the intent of entering it into Major League Soccer.[3][4]

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.

Contents

Key

Regular season players

Name Country Position Years Notes
Abrahams, LaurieLaurie Abrahams  England FW 1984–85 –
Agoliati, ChrisChris Agoliati  United States MF 1977 –
Aitken, CharlieCharlie Aitken  Scotland DF 1976–77 –
Alberti, DinoDino Alberti  Canada GK 1980–82 –
Alberto, CarlosCarlos Alberto  Brazil DF 1977–80
1982		 –
Alberto, LuisLuis Alberto  United States MF 1984–85 –
Aly, AmrAmr Aly  United States FW 1984–85 –
Anastasio, AngeloAngelo Anastasio  United States DF 1974–75 –
Atanasio, RonRon Atanasio  United States FW 1978–79 –
Ayre, GarryGarry Ayre  Canada DF 1978–79 –
Bandov, BorisBoris Bandov  United States MF 1979–82 –
Barczewski, DominickDominick Barczewski  United States DF 1981–82 –
Beckenbauer, FranzFranz Beckenbauer  West Germany DF 1977–80
1983		 –
Birkenmeier, HubertHubert Birkenmeier  West Germany GK 1979–85 –
Blackmore, RichardRichard Blackmore  England GK 1972 –
Bogićević, VladislavVladislav Bogićević  Yugoslavia MF 1978–84 –
Borja, ChicoChico Borja  United States FW 1981–82
1984		 –
Bradley, GordonGordon Bradley  United States DF 1971–75 [A]
Brand, JackJack Brand  Canada GK 1978 –
Brcic, DavidDavid Brcic  United States GK 1977–79
1981–84		 –
Buljan, IvanIvan Buljan  Yugoslavia DF 1981–82 –
Cabañas, RobertoRoberto Cabañas  Paraguay FW 1980–84 –
Caetano, OmarOmar Caetano  Uruguay MF 1975 –
Canter, DanDan Canter  United States DF 1984–85 –
Carbognani, AntonioAntonio Carbognani  Argentina MF 1979 –
Carrette, EmanuelEmanuel Carrette  Brazil FW 1974 –
Caszely, CarlosCarlos Caszely  Chile FW 1984 –
Chardin, DelicesDelices Chardin  Haiti DF 1971 –
Chinaglia, GiorgioGiorgio Chinaglia  Italy FW 1976–85 –
Chinapoo, RichardRichard Chinapoo  Trinidad and Tobago DF 1982–83 –
Chinesinho, Chinesinho  Brazil MF 1971 –
Clements, DaveDave Clements  Northern Ireland MF 1976–77 –
Comrie, ElvisElvis Comrie  United States FW 1984–85 –
Correa, JulioJulio Correa  Uruguay MF 1975 –
Cummings, EveraldEverald Cummings  Trinidad and Tobago MF 1972–73 –
Damiani, OscarOscar Damiani  Italy FW 1984 –
Davis, RickRick Davis  United States MF 1978–84 –
Dawes, MalcolmMalcolm Dawes  England DF 1973–74 –
De, De  Brazil DF 1975 –
De Oliveira, RobertoRoberto De Oliveira  United States FW 1977 –
DeBrito, PedroPedro DeBrito  United States MF 1984 –
Delgado, JaimeJaime Delgado  Ecuador FW 1971 –
de Matthaeis, FerdinandoFerdinando de Matthaeis  Italy FW 1982
1983–84		 –
DiBernardo, AngeloAngelo DiBernardo  United States FW 1980–85 –
Dillon, MikeMike Dillon  England DF 1975–77 –
Dimitrijević, VitoVito Dimitrijević  Yugoslavia MF 1977–78 –
Donlavey, FrankFrank Donlavey  Canada DF 1971
1974		 –
Donlic, TonyTony Donlic  United States FW 1975–78 –
Durgan, JeffJeff Durgan  United States DF 1980–82
1983–85		 –
Eagan, KevinKevin Eagan  United States DF 1979 –
Eddy, KeithKeith Eddy  England DF 1976–77 –
Eskandarian, AndranikAndranik Eskandarian  Iran DF 1979–85 –
Etherington, GaryGary Etherington  United States FW 1977–79 –
Ferguson, DrewDrew Ferguson  Canada MF 1984–85 –
Fernandez, VidalVidal Fernandez  United States MF 1980 –
Field, TonyTony Field  England FW 1976–77 –
Fink, JoeyJoey Fink  United States FW 1973–75 –
Fitilis, KyriakosKyriakos Fitilis  Greece MF 1971 –
Formoso, SantiagoSantiago Formoso  United States DF 1978–79 –
Fox, MikeMike Fox  United States MF 1983–84 –
Fry, ChanceChance Fry  United States FW 1984–85 –
de la Fuente, LuisLuis de la Fuente  Spain DF 1975 –
Garbett, TerryTerry Garbett  England MF 1976–79 –
Gee, DarrylDarryl Gee  United States FW 1980–84 –
Gray, GerryGerry Gray  Canada MF 1983–84 –
Green, AlanAlan Green  United States FW 1983–85 –
Grgurev, FredFred Grgurev  United States FW 1978 –
Hannigan, ErnieErnie Hannigan  Scotland FW 1971 –
Hasekidis, TheodoreTheodore Hasekidis  Greece FW 1971 –
Herrera, HelenioHelenio Herrera  Spain FW 1972 –
Horton, RandyRandy Horton  Bermuda FW 1971–74 –
Hulcer, LarryLarry Hulcer  United States MF 1980–81 –
Hunt, StephenStephen Hunt  England FW 1977–78
1982		 [B]
Hunter, PaulPaul Hunter  Canada DF 1977 –
Iarusci, RobertRobert Iarusci  Canada DF 1977–78
1981–83		 –
Ingram, GodfreyGodfrey Ingram  England FW 1979 [C]
Jarman, HaroldHarold Jarman  England MF 1974 –
Jelinek, JosefJosef Jelinek  Czechoslovakia FW 1972–73 –
Kapcinski, KarolKarol Kapcinski  Poland DF 1971–73 –
Kapp, ErhardtErhardt Kapp  United States DF 1981–83 –
Kerr, JohnJohn Kerr  Canada MF 1972–75 –
Kofie, EmmanuelEmmanuel Kofie  Ghana GK 1971–72 –
Kornek, ConradConrad Kornek  Poland GK 1971 –
Kozić, RefikRefik Kozić  Yugoslavia DF 1983–84 –
Kuykendall, KurtKurt Kuykendall  United States GK 1975–76 –
Lamas, AlfredoAlfredo Lamas  Uruguay MF 1975 –
Landi, RobertoRoberto Landi  Italy GK 1983 –
Lawson, DocDoc Lawson  United States DF 1984–85 –
Liveric, MarkMark Liveric  United States FW 1974–75 –
Lund, FlemmingFlemming Lund  Denmark FW 1985 –
Mahy, BarryBarry Mahy  United States DF 1971–75 –
Marcantonio, CarmineCarmine Marcantonio  Canada MF 1984 –
Marderescu, GilGil Marderescu  Romania MF 1975 –
Maria, ManoelManoel Maria  Brazil FW 1975 –
Marinho, Marinho  Brazil DF 1979 –
Masnik, Juan CarlosJuan Carlos Masnik  Uruguay DF 1975 –
Mate, AndyAndy Mate  United States MF 1971 –
McCully, CharlieCharlie McCully  United States FW 1971–72 –
McCully, HenryHenry McCully  United States FW 1973 –
McLeod, WesWes McLeod  Canada MF 1984–85 –
Meschbach, RobertRobert Meschbach  United States MF 1985 –
Messing, ShepShep Messing  United States GK 1973–74
1976–77
1984		 –
Meyer, HorstHorst Meyer  West Germany DF 1971 –
Mfum, WilberforceWilberforce Mfum  Ghana FW 1971–72 –
Mifflin, RamónRamón Mifflin  Peru MF 1975–78 –
Minieri, MaurizioMaurizio Minieri  Italy GK 1971 –
Mitchell, CharlieCharlie Mitchell  Scotland DF 1976 –
Mitrovic, RadiRadi Mitrovic  Yugoslavia DF 1971 –
Monoki, BelaBela Monoki  Hungary MF 1974 –
Morais, NelsiNelsi Morais  Brazil MF 1975–80 –
Moyers, SteveSteve Moyers  United States FW 1982–84 –
Neeskens, JohanJohan Neeskens  Netherlands MF 1979–84 –
Neubauer, RobertRobert Neubauer  West Germany DF 1972 –
Niblock, MichaelMichael Niblock  Ireland FW 1973 –
Norris, DavidDavid Norris  Canada FW 1981–82 –
Nusum, SamSam Nusum  Bermuda GK 1975 –
Yasin Özdenak  Turkey GK 1977–79 [D]
O'Neill, AlanAlan O'Neill  England GK 1971 –
Ord, TommyTommy Ord  England FW 1975–76 –
Oscar, Oscar  Brazil DF 1980 –
Papoulias, AndyAndy Papoulias  United States MF 1985 –
Paredes, AmericoAmerico Paredes  Uruguay FW 1975 –
Parkinson, AndrewAndrew Parkinson  United States FW 1984–85 –
Pearce, RudolphRudolph Pearce  Jamaica DF 1971 –
Pelé, Pelé  Brazil FW 1975–77 –
Picciano, TonyTony Picciano  United States DF 1975 –
Poe, DennyDenny Poe  United States MF 1977–78 –
Primo, DavidDavid Primo  Israel DF 1975 –
Razak, Karim AbdulKarim Abdul Razak  Ghana MF 1979–81 –
Reardon, GerryGerry Reardon  Ireland MF 1984 –
Renery, LenLen Renery  United States DF 1973–74 –
Rigby, BobBob Rigby  United States GK 1976 –
Rijsbergen, WimWim Rijsbergen  Netherlands DF 1979–83 –
Rildo, Rildo  Brazil DF 1977 –
Rivera, GermyGermy Rivera  Ecuador MF 1974 –
Romero, Julio CésarJulio César Romero  Paraguay MF 1980–83 –
Roth, WernerWerner Roth  United States DF 1972–79 –
Rotner, KarolKarol Rotner  Israel DF 1973 –
Rowan, BrianBrian Rowan  Scotland DF 1975–76 –
Ryan, GregGreg Ryan  United States DF 1979 –
Scott, CarlosCarlos Scott  United States MF 1974–75 –
Seninho, Seninho  Portugal FW 1978–82 –
Sharp, SteveSteve Sharp  United States FW 1985 –
Spiegler, MordechaiMordechai Spiegler  Israel FW 1974–77 –
Siega, JorgeJorge Siega  United States FW 1971–76 –
Smith, BobbyBobby Smith  United States DF 1976–78 –
Sono, JomoJomo Sono  South Africa FW 1977 –
Stanisic, ScoopScoop Stanisic  United States GK 1984–85 –
Startzell, StanStan Startzell  United States MF 1972 –
Steadman, JanJan Steadman  Trinidad and Tobago DF 1971 –
Strasburg, ScottScott Strasburg  United States FW 1977 –
Stritzl, SiegfriedSiegfried Stritzl  United States MF 1971–73 –
Sularz, JerryJerry Sularz  Poland GK 1973–75 –
Tambi, KazbekKazbek Tambi  United States MF 1983–85 –
Terlecki, StanisławStanisław Terlecki  Poland FW 1983–84 –
Tinnion, BrianBrian Tinnion  England FW 1976 –
Topić, JadrankoJadranko Topić  Yugoslavia FW 1977 –
Tueart, DennisDennis Tueart  England FW 1978–79 –
Twamley, BruceBruce Twamley  Canada DF 1977 –
Van der Elst, FrançoisFrançois Van der Elst  Belgium FW 1980–81 –
Vigh, TiborTibor Vigh  Canada FW 1973 –
Vowden, GeoffGeoff Vowden  England FW 1974 –
Vujovic, DraganDragan Vujovic  Yugoslavia FW 1983–85 –
Waldrop, MichaelMichael Waldrop  England MF 1974 –
Wegerle, SteveSteve Wegerle  South Africa FW 1981–82 –
Wilson, BruceBruce Wilson  Canada DF 1980 –
Wilson, GiuseppeGiuseppe Wilson  Italy DF 1978–79 –
Wright, RalphRalph Wright  England DF 1973 –
Yazar, CeyhanCeyhan Yazar  Turkey FW 1971 –
Young, JohnJohn Young  Scotland MF 1971 –
Young, RobyRoby Young  Israel FW 1972–73 –
Zajdel, DieterDieter Zajdel  Poland MF 1972–73 –
Żmuda, WładysławWładysław Żmuda  Poland DF 1984 –

By nationality

Country Number of
players
 Argentina 1
 Belgium 1
 Bermuda 2
 Brazil 10
 Canada 15
 Chile 1
 Czechoslovakia 1
 Denmark 1
 Ecuador 2
 England 17
 West Germany 4
 Ghana 3
 Greece 2
 Haiti 1
 Hungary 1
 Iran 1
 Ireland 2
 Israel 4
 Italy 6
 Jamaica 1
 Netherlands 2
 Northern Ireland 1
 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 56
 Uruguay 5
 Yugoslavia 7

Guest players

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 Notes
Coyne, JohnJohn Coyne  England FW 1975 –
Banks, GordonGordon Banks  England GK 1976 –
Best, ClydeClyde Best  Bermuda FW 1976 –
Rivelino, RobertoRoberto Rivelino  Brazil MF 1978 –
Eskandarian, AndranikAndranik Eskandarian  Iran DF 1978 [E]
Willey, AlanAlan Willey  England FW 1978 –
Jump, StewartStewart Jump  England DF 1978 –
Horváth, JoeJoe Horváth  Hungary MF 1978 –
Harsanyi, LaszloLaszlo Harsanyi  Hungary DF 1978 –
Auguste, ArsèneArsène Auguste  Haiti DF 1978 –
Cruyff, JohanJohan Cruyff  Netherlands MF 1978 –

Footnotes

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.[5]
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

Bibliography
General
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). http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/sports/soccer/01bradley.html?_r=1. Retrieved 2011-01-21. 
  2. ^ Newsham, Gavin (2005-06-10). "When Pele and Cosmos were kings". The Guardian (London: Guardian News & Media). http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2005/jun/10/sport.comment. 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. http://nymag.com/movies/profiles/17396/. 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). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/8269887/Eric-Cantonas-appointment-at-the-New-York-Cosmos-part-of-battle-to-restore-football-to-heart-of-the-Big-Apple.html. Retrieved 2011-01-29. 
  5. ^ Litterer, David. "The Year in American Soccer - 1977". American Soccer History Archives. http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1977.html. Retrieved 2011-01-20. 
Founded in 1971 • Based in New York City & East Rutherford, New Jersey
Original Club
Team • Seasons • Players (All-stars) • All articles
New Club
Stadiums
Major Honors (12)
NASL Regular Season (7)
1972 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983
NASL Championship (5)
1972 • 1977 • 1978 • 1980 • 1982
Website: nycosmos.com