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1977 New York Cosmos season

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Cosmos
1977 season
ManagerGordon Bradley[1]
(Until July 7)
Eddie Firmani[2]
(After July 7)
StadiumGiants Stadium
NASLDivision: 2nd
Overall: 3rd
Playoffs: Champions
National
Challenge Cup		Did not enter
Top goalscorerLeague: Giorgio Chinaglia (15 goals)
All: Giorgio Chinaglia (42+ goals)
Highest home attendance77,691
vs. Fort Lauderdale (August 14)
Lowest home attendance7,212
vs. Victory Sportif Club (April 2)
Average home league attendance34,142[3]
← 1976
1978 →

The 1977 New York Cosmos season was the seventh season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. The Cosmos' seventh year of existence saw them drop "New York" from the club name (it would be restored in 1979), move into Giants Stadium (where they would play until their dissolution in 1985), and win their second NASL championship in Pelé's final year as a professional footballer. Pelé's last match was on October 1, 1977, in front of a capacity crowd at Giants Stadium: in an exhibition match between New York and his former club Santos, Pelé appeared for both sides, playing one half for each. The Cosmos won the game 2–1.[4] The Cosmos finished second in the 4-team Eastern Division and third out of 18 teams league-wide on their way to the 1977 championship.

Squad

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Shep Messing
2 DF Canada CAN Robert Iarusci
2 DF Canada CAN Bruce Twamley
3 MF Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia YUG Vito Dimitrijevic
4 DF United States USA Werner Roth
5 DF England ENG Keith Eddy
6 DF Germany GER Franz Beckenbauer
7 FW England ENG Tony Field
8 MF England ENG Terry Garbett
9 FW Italy ITA Giorgio Chinaglia
10 FW Brazil BRA Pelé
11 FW England ENG Steve Hunt
12 DF United States USA Bobby Smith
14 MF Brazil BRA Nelsi Morais
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 MF Peru PER Ramon Mifflin
16 FW United States USA Tony Donlic
17 DF Scotland SCO Charlie Aitken
18 FW Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia YUG Jadranko Topić
19 GK Turkey TUR Erol Yasin
20 DF England ENG Mike Dillon
21 FW United States USA Gary Etherington
22 FW South Africa RSA Jomo Sono
23 DF Brazil BRA Rildo
25 DF Brazil BRA Carlos Alberto
26 DF Canada CAN Paul Hunter
28 MF United States USA Tommy Lang
33 MF United States USA Chris Agoliati
34 FW United States USA Roberto de Oliveira

Source:[5]

Results

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Source:[6]

Preseason

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
March 11, 1977 Bermuda Bermuda U23 A 0–4 626 Chinaglia (4)
March 13, 1977 Bermuda Bermuda A 0–1 3,769 Chinaglia
March 19, 1977 Switzerland Xamax A 1–0 3,000
March 20, 1977 Switzerland Zürich A 3–1 7,000 Chinaglia
March 24, 1977 Italy Lazio A 1–2 20,000 Chinaglia, N/A
April 2, 1977 Haiti Victory H 9–0 7,212 Chinaglia (5), Field, Garbett, Pelé (2)
April 3, 1977 United States Tampa Bay Rowdies H 2–1 11,098 Chinaglia, Dimitrijevic

Regular season

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Pld = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
6 points for a win, 1 point for a shootout win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each goal scored (up to three per game).

Eastern Division Standings

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Pos Club Pld W L GF GA GD Pts
1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 26 19 7 49 29 +20 161
2 Cosmos 26 15 11 60 39 +21 140
3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 26 14 12 55 45 +10 131
4 Washington Diplomats 26 10 16 32 49 -17 92

Overall League Placing

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Pos Club Pld W L GF GA GD Pts
1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 26 19 7 49 29 +20 161
2 Dallas Tornado 26 18 8 56 37 +19 161
3 Cosmos 26 15 11 60 39 +21 140
4 Minnesota Kicks 26 16 10 44 36 +8 137
5 Tampa Bay Rowdies 26 14 12 55 45 +10 131

Source:[7]

Matches

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
April 9, 1977 Las Vegas Quicksilvers A 1–0 11,896
April 13, 1977 Team Hawaii A 1–2 12,877 Topic, Hunt
April 17, 1977 Rochester Lancers H 2–0 26,752 Chinaglia, Pelé
April 24, 1977 Dallas Tornado H 1–1 (SOL) 13,527 Smith
May 1, 1977 St. Louis Stars H 2–2 (SOL) 20,112 Dillon, Morais
May 8, 1977 Connecticut Bicentennials A 2–3 17,302 Chinaglia, Eddy, Dimitrijevic
May 11, 1977 Chicago Sting A 1–2 21,108 OG, Dimitrijevic
May 15, 1977 Fort Lauderdale Strikers H 3–0 21,782 Pelé (3)
May 22, 1977 Chicago Sting H 1–2 20,407 Chinaglia
May 29, 1977 Tampa Bay Rowdies A 4–2 45,288 Beckenbauer, Field
June 5, 1977 Toronto Metros-Croatia H 6–0 31,208 Sono, Chinaglia (2), Hunt (3)
June 8, 1977 Fort Lauderdale Strikers A 0–3 14,358 Beckenbauer, Pelé, Chinaglia
June 12, 1977 Minnesota Kicks H 1–1 (SOW) 36,816 Chinaglia
June 16, 1977 Toronto Metros-Croatia A 1–2 21,793 Field, Chinaglia
June 19, 1977 Tampa Bay Rowdies H 3–1 62,394 Pelé (3)
June 23, 1977 St. Louis Stars A 2–0 32,605
June 26, 1977 Los Angeles Aztecs H 5–2 57,191 Pelé (3), Mifflin, Dimitrijevic
June 30, 1977 Vancouver Whitecaps A 5–3 30,277 Roth, Chinaglia, Field
July 2, 1977 Los Angeles Aztecs A 4–1 32,165 Chinaglia
July 6, 1977 San Jose Earthquakes H 3–0 31,875 Hunt, Dimitrijevic, Field
July 10, 1977 Seattle Sounders H 1–0 41,270
July 15, 1977 Rochester Lancers A 0–0 (SOL) 17,572
July 17, 1977 Portland Timbers H 2–0 41,205 Hunt, Chinaglia
July 27, 1977 Washington Diplomats H 8–2 34,189 Beckenbauer (2), Chinaglia (3),
Hunt (2), Field
July 31, 1977 Connecticut Bicentennials H 3–1 46,389 Chinaglia, Pelé, Field
August 6, 1977 Washington Diplomats A 2–1 31,283 Pelé

Postseason

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First round

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August 10 San Jose Earthquakes 1–2 Los Angeles Aztecs Los Angeles, Memorial Coliseum
August 10 Tampa Bay Rowdies 0–3 Cosmos New York City, Yankee Stadium
August 10 Rochester Lancers 1–0 St. Louis Stars St. Louis, Busch Memorial
August 10 Seattle Sounders 2–0 Vancouver Whitecaps Burnaby (BC), Swangard Stadium

Conference semifinals

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Game 1 Game 2
Cosmos – Ft. Lauderdale Strikers 8–3 3–2 August 14, 17
Los Angeles Aztecs – Dallas Tornado 3–1 5–1 August 14, 17 1977
Minnesota Kicks – Seattle Sounders 1–2 0–1 August 14, 17
Rochester Lancers – Toronto Metros-Croatia 1–0 1–0 August 14, 17

Conference Championships

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Game 1 Game 2
Los Angeles Aztecs — Seattle Sounders 1—3 0—1 August 21, 25
Rochester Lancers — Cosmos 1—2 1—4 August 21, 24

Soccer Bowl '77

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August 28 Cosmos 2–1 Seattle Sounders Portland (OR), Civic Stadium

Matches

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
August 10, 1977 Tampa Bay Rowdies H 3–0 57,828 Pelé (2), Chinaglia
August 14, 1977 Fort Lauderdale Strikers H 8–3 77,691 Chinaglia (3), Hunt (2), Etherington,
Beckenbauer, Field
August 17, 1977 Fort Lauderdale Strikers A 2–2 (SOW) 14,152 Pelé, Chinaglia
August 21, 1977 Rochester Lancers A 1–2 20,005 Hunt, Chinaglia
August 24, 1977 Rochester Lancers H 4–1 73,669 Chinaglia (2), Pelé, Dimitrijevic
August 28, 1977 Seattle Sounders N 2–1 35,548 Hunt, Chinaglia

Friendlies

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Pelé's farewell at Giants Stadium, Cosmos 2 v Santos FC 1
Fltr: Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto, Bellini, Mauro, Bobby Moore, the captains of World Cup champion squads during Pelé's farewell
Date Opponent Venue Result Att. Scorers
March 11 Bermuda Bermuda U23 A 4–0 626 Chiaglia (4)
March 13  Bermuda A 1–0 3,769 Chiaglia
March 19 Switzerland Neuchâtel A 0–1 3,000 –
March 20 Switzerland FC Zürich A 1–3 7,000 Chinaglia
March 24 Italy Lazio A 2–1 15,000 Chinaglia, Hunt
April 2 Haiti Victory A 9–0 15,000 Chinaglia (4), Pelé, Field, Garbett, Sono
April 3 United States Tampa Bay Rowdies A 2–1 11,098 Chinaglia, Dimitrijevic
June 1 Italy Lazio H 3–2 25,803 Chinaglia, Rildo, Wilson
September 1 Caribbean Community Caribbean All-Stars A 5–2 30,000 Dimitrijevic, Chinaglia, Topic, Pelé
September 4 Venezuela Portuguesa A 1–1 15,000 Smith
September 10 Japan Furukawa A 4–2 30,000 Chinaglia, Field, Pelé
September 14  Japan A 3–1 65,000 Topic, Morais, Chinaglia
September 17  China A 1–1 80,000 Field
September 20  China A 1–2 50,000 Pelé
September 25 India Mohun Bagan A 2–2 65,000 Carlos Alberto, Chinaglia
October 1 Brazil Santos [n 1] H 2–1 75,646 Mifflin, Pelé
October 5 Brazil Santos N [n 2] 1–1 24,689 Chinaglia
October 8  China H 1–1 33,712 Chinaglia
October 14 Brazil Flamengo A 1–4 14,000 Field
Notes
  1. ^ Pelé's farewell game. After his #10 was retired by the franchise at halftime, Pelé played the second half for Santos.[8]
  2. ^ Held in Detroit.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bell, Jack (May 2008). "Gordon Bradley, Who Nurtured U.S. Soccer, Dies at 74 (Published 2008)". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "From Cape Town to NY, via Charlton: The footballing life of Eddie Firmani". TheGuardian.com. May 19, 2010.
  3. ^ "North American Soccer League".
  4. ^ "ESPN.com - E-Ticket: When Soccer Ruled The USA". www.espn.com.
  5. ^ "NASL New York Cosmos Rosters".
  6. ^ "All-time American soccer statistics | SoccerStats.us".
  7. ^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1977". Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  8. ^ "Heritage". New York Cosmos.
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