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1976 New York Cosmos season

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New York Cosmos
1976 season
ManagerEngland Ken Furphy
(Until June 28)
United States Gordon Bradley[1]
(After June 28)
StadiumYankee Stadium
NASLDivision: 2nd
Overall: 2nd
Playoffs: Conf. Semifinals
National
Challenge Cup		Did not enter
Top goalscorerLeague: Italy Giorgio Chinaglia (19 goals)
All: Italy Giorgio Chinaglia (23+ goals)
Highest home attendance28,536
vs. CHI (May 2)
Lowest home attendance6,917
vs. ROC (June 30)
Average home league attendance18,227[2]
← 1975
1977 →

The 1976 New York Cosmos season was the sixth season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. In the Cosmos' sixth year of existence the club finished second only to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in both the five-team Eastern Division and the 20-team league. The Cosmos returned to the playoffs for the first time in two years, but were eliminated in the conference semifinals by the rival Rowdies. 1976 marked the first year for Giorgio Chinaglia with the club; Chinaglia would go on to become the all-time leading scorer in both Cosmos and NASL history.

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 Kurt Kuykendall
1 GK United States USA Shep Messing
1 GK United States USA Bob Rigby
2 DF United States USA Barry Mahy
3 DF Scotland SCO Brian Rowan
4 DF United States USA Werner Roth
5 DF England ENG Keith Eddy
6 MF Northern Ireland NIR Dave Clements
7 FW England ENG Tony Field
8 MF England ENG Terry Garbett
9 FW Italy ITA Giorgio Chinaglia
No. Pos. Nation Player
9 FW England ENG Tommy Ord
10 FW Brazil BRA Pelé
11 FW United States USA Jorge Siega
12 DF United States USA Bobby Smith
14 MF Brazil BRA Nelsi Morais
15 MF Peru PER Ramon Mifflin
16 FW United States USA Tony Donlic
17 DF Scotland SCO Charlie Aitken
18 FW England ENG Brian Tinnion
19 DF Scotland SCO Charlie Mitchell
20 DF England ENG Mike Dillon

Source:[3]

Results

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Source:[4]

Preseason

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
March 21, 1976 San Diego Jaws A 1–1 N/A N/A
March 28, 1976 Dallas Tornado A 0–1 20,214 N/A
March 31, 1976 San Antonio Thunder A 1–0 20,000
April 4, 1976 Los Angeles Aztecs N 0–0 15,000
April 7, 1976 Honda F.C. N 5–0 N/A N/A
April 8, 1976 Honda F.C. N 5–0 21,705 N/A
April 9, 1976 Seattle Sounders A 1–2 58,125 Pelé, Clements
April 11, 1976 Los Angeles Aztecs A 0–1 29,232 Pelé

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 Tampa Bay Rowdies 24 18 6 58 30 +28 154
2 New York Cosmos 24 16 8 65 34 +31 148
3 Washington Diplomats 24 14 10 46 38 +8 126
4 Philadelphia Atoms 24 8 16 32 49 −17 80
5 Miami Toros 24 6 18 29 58 −29 63

Overall League Placing

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Pos Club Pld W L GF GA GD Pts
1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 24 18 6 58 30 +28 154
2 New York Cosmos 24 16 8 65 34 +31 148
3 Minnesota Kicks 24 15 9 54 33 +21 138
4 Chicago Sting 24 15 9 52 32 +20 132
5 Washington Diplomats 24 14 10 46 38 +8 126

Source:[5]

Matches

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
April 18, 1976 Miami Toros A 0–1 9,457 Clements
May 2, 1976 Chicago Sting H 1–2 28,536 Pelé
May 5, 1976 Connecticut Bicentennials H 3–1 8,439 Pelé, Tinnion, Eddy
May 8, 1976 Philadelphia Atoms H 1–2 14,287 Pelé
May 15, 1976 Connecticut Bicentennials A 0–3 8,933 Field (2), Tinnion
May 17, 1976 Los Angeles Aztecs H 6–0 24,292 Eddy (2), Chinaglia (2), Pelé (2)
May 19, 1976 Boston Minutemen A 1–2 7,367 Chinaglia (2)
June 6, 1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies A 5–1 42,611 Field
June 9, 1976 Minnesota Kicks A 1–2 46,164 Chinaglia, Field
June 12, 1976 Portland Timbers A 0–3 32,247 Chinaglia (2), Eddy
June 16, 1976 Boston Minutemen H 2–2 (SOL) 15,101 N/A
June 18, 1976 Toronto Metros-Croatia H 3–0 18,612 Tinion, Chinaglia, Clements
June 23, 1976 Chicago Sting A 4–1 28,000 Tinnion
June 27, 1976 Washington Diplomats A 3–2 11,004 Tinnion, Pelé
June 30, 1976 Rochester Lancers H 2–0 6,917 Field (2)
July 2, 1976 St. Louis Stars H 3–1 10,123 Mifflin (2), Eddy
July 7, 1976 Toronto Metros-Croatia A 0–3 12,123 N/A
July 10, 1976 Philadelphia Atoms A 1–2 25,311 Pelé, Garbett
July 14, 1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies H 5–4 27,892 Eddy, Mifflin, Field, Pelé (2)
July 18, 1976 Washington Diplomats H 5–0 27,398 Mifflin, Chinaglia (2), Pelé, Tinnion
July 23, 1976 Rochester Lancers A 2–1 5,728 Chinaglia
July 28, 1976 Dallas Tornado H 4–0 19,119 Chinaglia (3), Mifflin
August 7, 1976 San Jose Earthquakes A 2–1 23,048 Eddy
August 10, 1976 Miami Toros H 8–2 18,103 Dillon, Chinaglia (5), Pelé (2)

Postseason

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Overview

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First round
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August 17 Washington Diplomats 0–2 New York Cosmos New York City, Shea Stadium
August 18 Los Angeles Aztecs 0–2 Dallas Tornado Irving, Texas Stadium
August 18 Vancouver Whitecaps 0–1 Seattle Sounders Seattle, Kingdome
August 18 Rochester Lancers 1–2 Toronto Metros-Croatia Toronto, Varsity Stadium
Conference semifinals
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August 20 Toronto Metros-Croatia 3–2 Chicago Sting Chicago, Soldier Field
August 20 New York Cosmos 1–3 Tampa Bay Rowdies Tampa, Tampa Stadium
August 20 Dallas Tornado 0–2 San Jose Earthquakes San Jose, Spartan Stadium
August 21 Seattle Sounders 0–3 Minnesota Kicks Bloomington (MN), Metropolitan Stadium
Conference Championships
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August 24 Toronto Metros-Croatia 2–0 Tampa Bay Rowdies Tampa, Tampa Stadium
August 25 San Jose Earthquakes 1–3 Minnesota Kicks Bloomington (MN), Metropolitan Stadium
Soccer Bowl '76
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August 28 Toronto Metros-Croatia 2–0 Minnesota Kicks Seattle, Kingdome

Matches

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
August 17, 1976 Washington Diplomats H 2–0 22,698 Garbett, Pelé
August 20, 1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies A 3–1 36,863 Pelé

Friendlies

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Date Opponent Venue Result Att.Attendance Scorers Ref.
March 24 United States San Diego Jaws A 1–1 18,128 Ord [6]
March 28 United States Dallas Tornado A 1–0 20,214 Pelé [6]
March 31 United States San Antonio Thunder A 0–1 14,800 – [6]
April 4 United States Los Angeles Aztecs N [n 1] 0–0 15,800 – [6]
April 8 Japan Honda FC N [n 2] 5–0 21,705 Pelé (4), ? [6]
April 9 United States Seattle Sounders A 3–1 58,125 Pelé (2), Clements [6]
April 11 United States Los Angeles Aztecs A 1–0 29,232 Pelé [6]
June 3 Haiti Violette A 2–1 n/a n/a [6]
September 1 United States Dallas Tornado N [n 3] 2–2 14,000 Chinaglia (2) [6]
September 5 United States Dallas Tornado N [n 4] 2–1 12,500 Roth, Mifflin [6]
September 6 United States Dallas Tornado N [n 5] 3–2 23,682 Pele, Morais, Donlic [6]
September 8 Canada Soccer Canada A 1–1 14,826 Chinaglia [6]
September 10 Canada Soccer Canada A 3–1 14,366 Chinaglia (3) [6]
September 14 France PSG A 1–3 18,000 Field [6]
September 16 Belgium Royal Antwerp A 1–3 25,000 Pelé [6]
September 24 Japan West Japan All-Stars A 0–0 11,000 n/a [6]
September 25 Japan East Japan All-Stars A 2–2 50,000 Dillon, Chinaglia [6]
Notes
  1. ^ Held in Tempe, Arizona.
  2. ^ Held in Honolulu, Hawaii.
  3. ^ Held in Cleveland, Ohio.
  4. ^ Held in New Orleans.
  5. ^ Held in Pontiac, Michigan.

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". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "North American Soccer League".
  3. ^ "NASL New York Cosmos Rosters".
  4. ^ "All-time American soccer statistics | SoccerStats.us".
  5. ^ "The Year in American Soccer – 1976". Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 1976 Friendlies on NASL Jerseys.com
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