The club that brought Pelé and Raúl to America have shed their staff and players. So why does their chairman insist the team has a future?There are few American soccer brands that rival the global resonance of the New York Cosmos. The name alone conjures images of Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia trouncing opponents in packed stadiums across America.They were the rebels. The pioneers. The original galácticos. In short, the Cosmos are one of the most romantic and important clubs in the history of American soccer. And for the second time in a generation, they are teetering on the brink of extinction. Related: Messi, Lahm and ... Sidwell? How much would Pelé's New York Cosmos cost today? Related: The...
When the first HBCU to win a Division I championship was stripped of their title, Howard University’s multi-national barrier-breakers made history all over againThe way coach Lincoln ‘Tiger’ Phillips recalls it, there was not much point in playing one period of overtime to decide the 1974 NCAA men’s soccer championship, let alone four – though, that’s what it eventually took for his Howard University Bison to defeat Saint Louis University Billikens, 2-1, and claim the national championship for the only time in the school’s history. Why? Because fate, Phillips recently told the Guardian, had already decided the outcome of the match long before a ball was even kicked on that freezing cold December day 42 years ago this week, when...
Pedro Garay only stood 5ft 6in but he protected the world’s greatest player during his whirlwind career with the New York CosmosIt was 1975, and in his wildest imagination, Pedro Garay never dreamed he would wind up in the middle of this wild, almost surreal scenario. There he was, draped over the greatest football player to ever walk the Earth, protecting him from a horde of pitch invaders. The Cuban refugee was guarding American soccer’s most precious jewel at the time, the incomparable Pelé. Pelé’s shirt, shorts and sneakers had been ripped off by the over-zealous fans who had come to Boston’s Nickerson Field stadium to watch the New York Cosmos superstar in his first season in North American Soccer...
As the New York Cosmos prepare to take on Indy Eleven in Sunday’s final, one NASL owner is set to take legal action alleging ties to ‘dirty money’ – another blow to a league that has suffered more than its fair share of problemsAs the North American Soccer League gears up for its championship final between New York Cosmos and Indy Eleven in New York on Sunday, Tampa Bay Rowdies owner Bill Edwards has warned he is poised to take legal action against the league, alleging ties to “dirty money”. Related: America's Azteca: how a small Columbus stadium became a fortress for US soccer The politics of soccer in the United States is pretty volatile at the moment and NASL...