Нью-Йорк Космос: История футбольного клуба

American former soccer club
the new team

The New York Cosmos (simply the Cosmos in 1977–1978) were an American professional soccer club based in New York City and its suburbs. The team played home games in three stadiums around New York, including Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, before moving in 1977 to Giants Stadium in nearby East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the club remained for the rest of its history. Founded in December 1970, the team competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) until 1984 and was the strongest franchise in that league, both competitively and financially – based largely around its backing by Warner Communications President Steve Ross, which enabled it to sign internationally famous stars such as the Brazilian forward Pelé, Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia, the West German sweeper Franz Beckenbauer, and famous late Brazilian rightback Carlos Alberto Torres. The acquisition of these foreign players, particularly Pelé, made the Cosmos into what journalist Gavin Newsham called "the most glamorous team in world football", and contributed to the development of soccer across the United States, a country where it had previously been largely ignored. As the Cosmos declined following Pelé's retirement, so did the NASL. Attendances fell, the league's television deal was lost, and it finally folded in 1985 after playing its last season in 1984. The Cosmos attempted to continue operations in the Major Indoor Soccer League, but attendances were so low that the club withdrew without completing a season. The team attempted an independent schedule in 1985, but also canceled that because of low attendance. The Cosmos folded, though the team's youth camps continued to operate under the Cosmos name and label, run by the franchise's former general manager, G. Peppe Pinton. The Cosmos name remained very well known, even after it stopped competing. Numerous attempts were made to revive it during the 1990s and 2000s, most notably as a Major League Soccer (MLS) club. Seeking to retain the Cosmos' heritage, Pinton refused to sell the name and image rights, believing that MLS would not honor them. Following a change of attitude by MLS towards the NASL's legacy and the revival of several former NASL names, Pinton sold the rights to an international, English based consortium in August 2009. A new Cosmos team started playing in the second tier North American Soccer League during the fall 2013 season, and following the league's folding in 2017, in the third tier National Independent Soccer Association, but have been on hiatus since 2021.

The club was founded in December 1970 by Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, renowned executives at Atlantic Records, whose parent company Warner Communications acquired the Cosmos in April 1972. The team's first recruit was the Englishman Clive Toye, a former sportswriter who had moved to the United States in 1967 to become general manager of the short lived Baltimore Bays; he was given the same post in New York. Toye sought to convey the new team's ambitions within its name, and reasoned that he could outdo the "Metropolitans" label referenced by the then nine year old New York Mets baseball team by calling his team the "Cosmos", shortened from "Cosmopolitans". However, the owners preferred other possible names: the Erteguns wished to use the name originally suggested by Nesuhi, the "New York Blues"; and another part of the ownership group wanted to adopt the name "New York Lovers". Toye then staged a rigged "name the team" contest, receiving 3,000 entries and selecting one that just happened to match his pre determined winner. Two NYC teachers, Meyer Diller and Al Capelli, from Martin Van Buren High School in Queens, entered the contest and submitted the name "Cosmos". The two physical education teachers had independently used Toye's method of deriving it from "cosmopolitan". The two men were awarded a trip to Europe as a prize. The team name was officially unveiled on February 4, 1971.

The New York Cosmos entered the 1968 founded North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1970 and made their field debut in the league's fourth season in 1971. The first roster signing of the club was Gordon Bradley, an English professional who had moved to North America in 1963 and played for the New York Generals in 1968. He was made player coach, a position he would hold until 1975. In 1972, the team moved to Hofstra Stadium where they won their first league title with a 2–1 victory over the St. Louis Stars. Horton was the league's top scorer and Most Valuable Player, with 9 goals and 22 points from the 14 regular season games and two post season matches. The Cosmos reached the play offs once more in 1973, but were knocked out at the semi final stage. Before the 1974 season, the Cosmos moved again, settling at Downing Stadium on Randall's Island. In their first year at their new base, they finished bottom of their division. whom they had been attempting to sign since the team was created. Although New York finished third at season end, it was still too low a placing to reach the post season. Bradley returned as coach for the 1977 season in place of the dismissed Furphy, but was removed after half of the season to become the club's vice president of player personnel. On Pelé's farewell tour in 1977, the Cosmos made history by becoming the first Western professional sports team to play in China. They drew their opening match with the Chinese national team 1 1, and lost the second game 2 1 despite Pelé scoring a free kick.

After the retirement of Pelé in 1977, much of the progress that American soccer had made during his stay was lost; there was no star at the same level to replace him as the NASL's headline act.

Following the collapse of the NASL, the team competed in the Major Indoor Soccer League during the 1984–85 season, with Klivecka briefly returning as coach, but withdrew after 33 games due to low attendance. Although the organization did not field a team following that season except for an aborted independent schedule in 1985 the Cosmos' youth soccer camps, which the team had started in 1977, remained in operation. The camps were run by former Cosmos general manager G. Peppe Pinton, who retained ownership of the Cosmos name, logo and records. Pinton continued the youth programs at Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey. Summer camps program existed since 1978 after one year Pelé's retirement. Then Pinton took over with the Cosmos camps and became team's coach from 1989 to 2003, replacing Ken Medaska and Peter Valente.

Since the original New York Cosmos club stopped competing in 1985, there had been attempts to revive it. With the rise of Major League Soccer (MLS), various New York area entities—including two different ownership groups from the Metrostars/New York Red Bulls—lobbied Pinton for the acquisition of the Cosmos name. Pinton refused to sell to an MLS team, believing that the league would not acknowledge the Cosmos' legacy. However, when old NASL names such as the San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps were revived as MLS franchises, he reconsidered. He sold the Cosmos name and brand to English businessman Paul Kemsley in 2009, whose group announced a new team with the Cosmos' name in August 2010. The new Cosmos initially intended to become an MLS expansion franchise, but ultimately turned down the invitation to apply. Kemsley's team instead joined the new second tier incarnation of the North American Soccer League, starting play in its 2013 Fall season.

Quote box|align=right|width=30%|quote=Sometimes, in the dressing room, I think I am in Hollywood.|source=<small>Franz Beckenbauer on the atmosphere surrounding the Cosmos caused many of the remaining overseas stars—lured to America by fat pay packets—to return to the European and South American leagues.

For the team's initial uniform Cosmos general manager Clive Toye chose the green and yellow of the Brazil national team as part of his strategy to lure Pelé, one of that country's star players, to the United States. The club's initial uniform was all green with yellow trim, with the colors reversed on the road uniform. Coincidentally, the colors were the same as those of the previous New York NASL team, the New York Generals, which had folded after the 1968 season. The text on the logo was shortened to "Cosmos" in 1977, concurrently with the team's dropping of the "New York" label. The city name was restored two years later, but the badge remained unchanged.

Ahmet Ertegun used his connections to recruit Atlantic Records artists the Average White Band to create a theme song for the Cosmos. The resulting "The Cosmos Theme" was written by band members Alan Gorrie and Steve Ferrone, and recorded by the band under the pseudonym "The Cosmic Highlanders". Team management originally wanted to use "We Are the Champions" by Queen as the club's theme, but were convinced to use The Cosmos Theme in part by the cheerleaders, who enjoyed dancing to it. The Cosmos Theme was played extensively at Giants Stadium, and on television broadcasts of Cosmos games.