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Cosmos
1978 season
Manager Italy Eddie Firmani [1]
Stadium Giants Stadium
NASLDivision: 1st
Overall: 1st
Playoffs: Champions
National
Challenge Cup		Did not enter
CONCACAF
Champions' Cup		Did not enter
Top goalscorerLeague: Italy Giorgio Chinaglia (34? goals)
All: Italy Giorgio Chinaglia (goals)
Highest home attendance74,901
vs. TB (August 27)
Lowest home attendance26,325
vs. BJR (September 9)
Average home league attendance47,856 [2]
←  1977
1979 →

The 1978 New York Cosmos season was the eighth season for the Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. It was also the second and final year in which "New York" was dropped from their name. The double-winning club set records for most wins and points in an NASL season, thanks to their 24-6 regular-season mark (shared with the Vancouver Whitecaps) and 212 points, securing their second premiership on the way to their third championship. They beat the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 7–0 on opening day [3] and never looked back, scoring 88 times while losing just three games in regulation. Giorgio Chinaglia scored 34 goals and 79 points, setting league records in the process. In Soccer Bowl '78, the Cosmos defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies in front of 74,901 fans at Giants Stadium, still to this day a record for attendance at a North American championship soccer game.

Squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK Canada  CAN Jack Brand
1 GK Turkey  TUR Erol Yasin
2 DF United States  USA Bobby Smith
3 MF Brazil  BRA Nelsi Morais
4 DF United States  USA Werner Roth
5 DF Brazil  BRA Carlos Alberto
6 DF Germany  GER Franz Beckenbauer
7 FW England  ENG Dennis Tueart
8 MF Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia  YUG Vladislav Bogićević
9 FW Italy  ITA Giorgio Chinaglia
11 FW England  ENG Steve Hunt
12 FW Portugal  POR Seninho
14 MF England  ENG Terry Garbett
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 MF Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia  YUG Vito Dimitrijević
16 FW United States  USA Tony Donlic
17 MF United States  USA Rick Davis
18 FW United States  USA Fred Grgurev
19 DF Canada  CAN Robert Iarusci
20 GK United States  USA David Brcic
21 FW United States  USA Gary Etherington
22 MF United States  USA Jim Millinder
23 DF Italy  ITA Giuseppe Wilson
24 DF Canada  CAN Garry Ayre
25 DF United States  USA Santiago Formoso
26 FW United States  USA Ron Atanasio
27 FW United States  USA Joe Filian

Source: [4]

Results

Source: [5]

Preseason

Regular season

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).

National Eastern Division Standings

Pos Club Pld W L GF GA GD Pts
1 Cosmos 30 24 6 88 39 +49 212
2 Washington Diplomats 30 16 14 55 47 +8 145
3 Toronto Metros-Croatia 30 16 14 58 47 +11 144
4 Rochester Lancers 30 14 16 47 52 -5 131

Overall League Placing

Pos Club Pld W L GF GA GD Pts
1 Cosmos 30 24 6 88 39 +49 212
2 Vancouver Whitecaps 30 24 6 68 29 +39 199
3 Detroit Express 30 20 10 68 36 +32 176
4 Portland Timbers 30 20 10 50 36 +14 167
5 New England Tea Men 30 19 11 62 39 +23 165

Source: [6]

Season matches


Postseason

Overview

Conference Quarterfinals Conference Semifinals Conference Championships Soccer Bowl '78
            
A1 Detroit Express 1
A8 Philadelphia Fury 0
A1 Detroit Express 1
A7 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2
A2 New England Tea Men 1
A7 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3
A7 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1
A4 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2
A3 San Diego Sockers 2
A6 California Surf 1
A3 San Diego Sockers 1
A4 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2
A4 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3
A5 Chicago Sting 1
A4 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1
N1 Cosmos 3
N1 Cosmos 5
N8 Seattle Sounders 2
N1 Cosmos 2
N3 Minnesota Kicks 1
N3 Minnesota Kicks 3
N6 Tulsa Roughnecks 1
N1 Cosmos 2
N4 Portland Timbers 0
N2 Vancouver Whitecaps 4
N7 Toronto Metros-Croatia 0
N2 Vancouver Whitecaps 0
N4 Portland Timbers 2
N4 Portland Timbers 2
N5 Washington Diplomats 1


Friendlies

Cosmos in Argentina
vs Argentina U-20: Franz Beckenbauer and Diego Maradona
vs Belgrano in Córdoba
vs Boca Juniors at Mar del Plata
Date Opponent Venue Result Att. Scorers Ref.
Feb 2 United States FIU [n 1] A 2–0 300 Chinaglia (2) [7]
March 5   Bermuda A 4–1 7,000 Grgurev, Chinaglia (2), Tueart [7]
March 8 Bermuda Bermuda U-23 A 3–0 4,000 Chinaglia (2), Millinder [7]
March 11   Bermuda A 4–1 5,000 Tueart (2), Chinaglia, Bogicevic [7]
March 22 United States Adelphi University H 11–0 n/a Chinaglia (2), Bogicevic (2), n/a [7]
Apr 4 United States Los Angeles Aztecs A 0–0 15,000 –
August 30 United Nations World All-Stars [n 2] H 2–2 50,757 Seninho, Chinaglia [7]
September 4 Spain Atlético Madrid H 1–3 35,140 Rivellino [n 3] [8] [7]
September 9 Argentina Boca Juniors H 2–2 23,000 Chinaglia (2) [9] [7]
September 12 Germany Bayern Munich A 1–7 75,000 Chinaglia [7]
September 14 Italy Brescia A 2–1 30,000 Tueart, Chinaglia [7]
September 19 Germany VfB Stuttgart A 1–6 55,000 Chinaglia [7]
September 21 Germany Freiburger FC A 0–2 18,000 – [7]
September 26 England Chelsea A 1–1 39,659 Tueart [7]
October 1 Spain Atlético Madrid A 3–2 45,000 Seninho, Chinaglia, Bogicevic [7]
October 4 Greece AEK Athens A 5–3 n/a Chinaglia (3), Tueart, Seninho [7]
October 9 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade A 4–6 23,500 Tueart, Chinaglia, Seninho [7]
November 1 Ecuador Barcelona A 1–1 50,000 Chinaglia [7]
November 3   Argentina U-20 A [n 4] 1–2 n/a Chinaglia [9] [7]
November 7 Argentina Belgrano (C) A [n 5] 1–1 n/a Chinaglia [9] [7]
November 13 Argentina Independiente Rivadavia A [n 6] 2–1 n/a Davis, Beckenbauer [9] [7]
November 16 Argentina Boca Juniors A [n 7] 2–4 35,000 Chinaglia, Seninho [9] [7]
November 18 Bolivia Bolívar/ Always Ready [n 8] A [n 9] 0–2 n/a – [7]
November 22 Brazil Vila Nova A 3–2 25,000 Chinaglia (2), Tueart [7]
Notes
  1. ^ Athletics of Florida International University.
  2. ^ Johan Cruyff played (as guest star) for the Cosmos wearing #30, being his last match in the United States.
  3. ^ Special guest star for NY Cosmos.
  4. ^ Held in Estadio La Ciudadela, home of San Martín de Tucumán.
  5. ^ Held in El Gigante de Alberdi (home of C.A. Belgrano).
  6. ^ Held in Estadio Malvinas Argentinas.
  7. ^ Held in Estadio José María Minella, Mar del Plata.
  8. ^ Combined team with players from both clubs.
  9. ^ Held in Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz.

See also

References

  1. ^ "From Cape Town to NY, via Charlton: The footballing life of Eddie Firmani". TheGuardian.com. May 19, 2010.
  2. ^ "North American Soccer League".
  3. ^ "The Evening Independent - Google News Archive Search".
  4. ^ "NASL New York Cosmos Rosters".
  5. ^ "All-time American soccer statistics | SoccerStats.us".
  6. ^ "The Year in American Soccer - 1978". Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w North American Soccer League: Friendlies
  8. ^ New York Cosmos 1-3 Atlético de Madrid (1978) on Renaldinhos.com
  9. ^ a b c d e Cómo le fue a Beckenbauer jugando contra Boca, River, Racing y todo el fútbol argentino by Cristian Dellocchio on Página 12, 10 Jan 2024
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