List of New York Cosmos (1971–1985) players

Shep Messing, the Cosmos' goalkeeper from 1973 to 1974, then again from 1976 to 1977 and finally for three games in 1984, reports on a New York Red Bulls – Philadelphia Union match in 2010

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.^[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]

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.

Key

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

Regular season players

Charlie Aitken, seen in 2006

Ron Atanasio, pictured in 2010 with Cosmos memorabilia

A 1977 Cosmos shirt bearing Franz Beckenbauer's name

Johan Neeskens scores the opening goal of the 1974 FIFA World Cup Final

Pelé, right, with US President Bill Clinton in 1997

Mordechai Spiegler, right, pictured in 2008 with broadcaster Yoram Arbel

Władysław Żmuda, seen in 2007

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	–
Druckman, HermanHerman Druckman	United States	?	19??-19??	-
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/ Spain	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	–
Mărdărescu, GilGil Mărdărescu	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	–
, ClodoaldoClodoaldo	Brazil	MF	1977	–
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.^[7]

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

• 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

• Players 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. Litterer, David. "The Year in American Soccer - 1977". American Soccer History Archives. Retrieved 2011-01-20.