New York Cosmos - Kings of New York
A team that attracted the biggest stars of the age into the stands and onto the pitch, The New York Cosmos were an icon of 1970s cool, bringing football to the forefront of American minds through the sheer force of their personality.
A team that fizzled out 25 years ago is being brought back to life with a focus on cool, swagger and inspiration.
Made famous in the 1970s as much for their star-studded fans off the pitch as the players on the pitch the relaunched New York Cosmos aims to recreate the excitement around the original club where they regularly entertained A-List names in the crowd including movie stars, sports stars, pop stars, artists and politicians.
Robert Redford, Muhammad Ali, Mick Jagger, Andy Warhol, Elton John and even Henry Kissinger were all Cosmos regulars and helped establish the club's reputation as the world's coolest club. For New York, and soccer especially, this was a big deal.
The seasons in which PelÉ and Giorgio Chinaglia led the Cosmos attack saw the club win three Championships in the late 1970s, with a record crowd of almost 78,000 fans watching one play-off match in 1977.
Perhaps the biggest individual game in the Cosmos' history was the occasion of PelÉ's retirement, where the club played against Brazilian giants Santos at the Giants Stadium. PelÉ played a half for both teams in a game televised around the world, which the Cosmos won 2-1.
Having reigned as America s greatest soccer club during the NASL era, the world- renowned New York Cosmos have returned under new ownership, continuing its tradition of greatness for the next generation with a greater goal - to inspire, develop and field world-class players.
The team behind the Cosmos hope to achieve this through the establishment of academies, camps and clinics while also attracting world-class soccer players to participate in its soccer movement, reaching those who have big dreams and the commitment to match, while building the platform for the club s ultimate vision; to be a part of Major League Soccer and compete for the championship.
As part of what will be an extensive corporate social responsibility strategy, the relaunched New York Cosmos is committed to helping improve the future of football with significant investment in grassroots and youth football.
Two elite youth academies participating in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy have already been established, one in New York and one in L.A., with former Major League Soccer stars Giovanni Savarese and Teddy Chronopoulos appointed as Academy Directors, respectively.
The New York Cosmos will also run the annual Copa NYC tournament, a World Cup-style grassroots tournament, looking to expand it both at home and abroad to encourage more grassroots participation by local communities to develop the next generation of soccer stars.
There is also a commitment to provide New York s schoolchildren with the equipment and easy access to facilities to play soccer regularly.
Umbro was a partner of The New York Cosmos during the 1970s and as part of the club s rebirth, Umbro has applied its celebrated football-tailoring ethos to a new on-field performance and off-field lifestyle line for The New York Cosmos club. You can check out the new New York Cosmos home shirt, and there is a wider range, including the green walkout jacket worn by PelÉ, which will be available from March 2011 with further apparel and equipment pieces in the pipeline, all inspired by the legacy and promise of The New York Cosmos.
