1978 New York Cosmos season

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Cosmos
1978 season
ManagerItaly Eddie Firmani[1]
StadiumGiants 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

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

  • April 2 = New York Cosmos 7, Fort Lauredale Strikers 0 Giants Stadium 44,442
  • April 9 = New York Cosmos 1, Los Angeles Aztecs 0 Rose Bowl 23,681
  • April 16 = New York Cosmos 1,
    Tulsa Roughnecks
    0 Giants Stadium 41,216
  • April 23 = New York Cosmos 3, Dallas Tornado 1 Giants Stadium 50,127
  • April 30 = New York Cosmos 5, Tampa Bay Rowdies 2 Tampa Stadium 41,888
  • May 7 = New York Cosmos 2, Detroit Express 0 Giants Stadium 45,321
  • May 14 = New York Cosmos 4,
    Colorado Caribous 3 Mile High Stadium
    15,041
  • May 17 = New York Cosmos 1, Portland Timbers 1 (Portland wins in a shootout) Civic Stadium 12,484
  • May 21 = New York Cosmos 5, Seattle Sounders 1 Giants Stadium 71,219
  • May 24 = Memphis Rogues 1, New York Cosmos 0 Liberty Bell Memorial Stadium 11,222
  • May 28 = New York Cosmos 5, Rochester Lancers 1 Giants Stadium 41,305
  • June 1 = New York Cosmos 5,
    Toronto Metros-Croatia 1 Varsity Stadium
    16,233
  • June 4 = New York Cosmos 3, Vancouver Whitecaps 2 Giants Stadium 44,675
  • June 11 = New York Cosmos 1, Philadelphia Fury 0 Giants Stadium 42,385
  • June 13 = New York cosmos 4, Minnesota Kicks 2 Metropolitan Stadium 46,370
  • June 18 = New York Cosmos 6, Washington Diplomats 1 Giants Stadium 47,700
  • June 21 = New York Cosmos 3,
    Colorado Caribous
    1 Giants Stadium 32,476
  • June 24 = Fort Lauderdale Strikers 5, New York Cosmos 3 Lockhart Stadium Attendance 13,569
  • June 28 = New York Cosmos 2, Los Angeles Aztecs 1 Giants Stadium Attendance 42,231
  • July 2 = New York Cosmos 4, California Surf 1 Giants Stadium Attendance 42,140
  • July 5 = New England Tea Men 1, New York Cosmos 0 Foxboro Stadium Attendance 30,126
  • July 7 = New York Cosmos 2, Rochester Lancers 0 Holleder Memorial Stadium Attendance 12,504
  • July 12 = New England Tea Men 3, New York Cosmos 1 Giants Stadium Attendance 62,497
  • July 15 = New York Cosmos 3, Philadelphia Fury 0 Veterans Stadium Attendance 19,279
  • July 21 = New York Cosmos 5,
    Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
    Attendance 20,704
  • July 22 = New York Cosmos 2, Seattle Sounders 1 Kingdome Attendance 36,610
  • July 26 = New York Cosmos 3,
    Toronto Metros-Croatia
    1 Giants Stadium Attendance 50,178
  • July 30 = New York Cosmos 2, Tampa Bay Rowdies 1 Giants Stadium Attendance 60,032
  • August 2 = New York Cosmos 2, Washington Diplomats 1 Robert F. Kennedy Stadium Attendance 17,095
  • August 5 = Dallas Tornado 5, New York Cosmos 3 Ownby Stadium Attendance 11,213
  • August 9 = New York Cosmos 5, Seattle Sounders 2 Giants Stadium Attendance 47,780


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
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
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