New York Cosmos
1976 season
ManagerEngland Ken Furphy
(Until June 28)
United States Gordon Bradley[1]
(After June 28)
StadiumYankee Stadium
NASLDivision: 2nd
Overall: 2nd
Playoffs: Conf. Semifinals
National
Challenge Cup		Did not enter
Top goalscorerLeague: Italy Giorgio Chinaglia (19 goals)
All: Italy Giorgio Chinaglia (23+ goals)
Highest home attendance28,536
vs. CHI (May 2)
Lowest home attendance6,917
vs. ROC (June 30)
Average home league attendance18,227[2]

The 1976 New York Cosmos season was the sixth season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. In the Cosmos' sixth year of existence the club finished second only to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in both the five-team Eastern Division and the 20-team league. The Cosmos returned to the playoffs for the first time in two years, but were eliminated in the conference semifinals by the rival Rowdies. 1976 marked the first year for Giorgio Chinaglia with the club; Chinaglia would go on to become the all-time leading scorer in both Cosmos and NASL history.

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
1 GK United States USA Kurt Kuykendall
1 GK United States USA Shep Messing
1 GK United States USA Bob Rigby
2 DF United States USA Barry Mahy
3 DF Scotland SCO Brian Rowan
4 DF United States USA Werner Roth
5 DF England ENG Keith Eddy
6 MF Northern Ireland NIR Dave Clements
7 FW England ENG Tony Field
8 MF England ENG Terry Garbett
9 FW Italy ITA Giorgio Chinaglia
No. Pos. Nation Player
9 FW England ENG Tommy Ord
10 FW Brazil BRA Pelé
11 FW United States USA Jorge Siega
12 DF United States USA Bobby Smith
14 MF Brazil BRA Nelsi Morais
15 MF Peru PER Ramon Mifflin
16 FW United States USA Tony Donlic
17 DF Scotland SCO Charlie Aitken
18 FW England ENG Brian Tinnion
19 DF Scotland SCO Charlie Mitchell
20 DF England ENG Mike Dillon

Source:[3]

Results

Source:[4]

Preseason

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
March 21, 1976 San Diego Jaws A 1–1 N/A N/A
March 28, 1976 Dallas Tornado A 0–1 20,214 N/A
March 31, 1976 San Antonio Thunder A 1–0 20,000
April 4, 1976 Los Angeles Aztecs N 0–0 15,000
April 7, 1976 Honda F.C. N 5–0 N/A N/A
April 8, 1976 Honda F.C. N 5–0 21,705 N/A
April 9, 1976 Seattle Sounders A 1–2 58,125 Pelé, Clements
April 11, 1976 Los Angeles Aztecs A 0–1 29,232 Pelé

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).

Eastern Division Standings

Pos Club Pld W L GF GA GD Pts
1Tampa Bay Rowdies 241865830+28154
2New York Cosmos 241686534+31148
3Washington Diplomats 2414104638+8126
4Philadelphia Atoms 248163249−1780
5Miami Toros 246182958−2963

Overall League Placing

Pos Club Pld W L GF GA GD Pts
1Tampa Bay Rowdies 241865830+28154
2New York Cosmos 241686534+31148
3Minnesota Kicks 241595433+21138
4Chicago Sting 241595232+20132
5Washington Diplomats 2414104638+8126

Source:[5]

Matches

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
April 18, 1976 Miami Toros A 0–1 9,457 Clements
May 2, 1976 Chicago Sting H 1–2 28,536 Pelé
May 5, 1976 Connecticut Bicentennials H 3–1 8,439 Pelé, Tinnion, Eddy
May 8, 1976 Philadelphia Atoms H 1–2 14,287 Pelé
May 15, 1976 Connecticut Bicentennials A 0–3 8,933 Field (2), Tinnion
May 17, 1976 Los Angeles Aztecs H 6–0 24,292 Eddy (2), Chinaglia (2), Pelé (2)
May 19, 1976 Boston Minutemen A 1–2 7,367 Chinaglia (2)
June 6, 1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies A 5–1 42,611 Field
June 9, 1976 Minnesota Kicks A 1–2 46,164 Chinaglia, Field
June 12, 1976 Portland Timbers A 0–3 32,247 Chinaglia (2), Eddy
June 16, 1976 Boston Minutemen H 2–2 (SOL) 15,101 N/A
June 18, 1976 Toronto Metros-Croatia H 3–0 18,612 Tinion, Chinaglia, Clements
June 23, 1976 Chicago Sting A 4–1 28,000 Tinnion
June 27, 1976 Washington Diplomats A 3–2 11,004 Tinnion, Pelé
June 30, 1976 Rochester Lancers H 2–0 6,917 Field (2)
July 2, 1976 St. Louis Stars H 3–1 10,123 Mifflin (2), Eddy
July 7, 1976 Toronto Metros-Croatia A 0–3 12,123 N/A
July 10, 1976 Philadelphia Atoms A 1–2 25,311 Pelé, Garbett
July 14, 1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies H 5–4 27,892 Eddy, Mifflin, Field, Pelé (2)
July 18, 1976 Washington Diplomats H 5–0 27,398 Mifflin, Chinaglia (2), Pelé, Tinnion
July 23, 1976 Rochester Lancers A 2–1 5,728 Chinaglia
July 28, 1976 Dallas Tornado H 4–0 19,119 Chinaglia (3), Mifflin
August 7, 1976 San Jose Earthquakes A 2–1 23,048 Eddy
August 10, 1976 Miami Toros H 8–2 18,103 Dillon, Chinaglia (5), Pelé (2)

Postseason

Overview

First round
August 17 Washington Diplomats 0–2 New York Cosmos New York City, Shea Stadium
August 18 Los Angeles Aztecs 0–2 Dallas Tornado Irving, Texas Stadium
August 18 Vancouver Whitecaps 0–1 Seattle Sounders Seattle, Kingdome
August 18 Rochester Lancers 1–2 Toronto Metros-Croatia Toronto, Varsity Stadium
Conference semifinals
August 20 Toronto Metros-Croatia 3–2 Chicago Sting Chicago, Soldier Field
August 20 New York Cosmos 1–3 Tampa Bay Rowdies Tampa, Tampa Stadium
August 20 Dallas Tornado 0–2 San Jose Earthquakes San Jose, Spartan Stadium
August 21 Seattle Sounders 0–3 Minnesota Kicks Bloomington (MN), Metropolitan Stadium
Conference Championships
August 24 Toronto Metros-Croatia 2–0 Tampa Bay Rowdies Tampa, Tampa Stadium
August 25 San Jose Earthquakes 1–3 Minnesota Kicks Bloomington (MN), Metropolitan Stadium
Soccer Bowl '76
August 28 Toronto Metros-Croatia 2–0 Minnesota Kicks Seattle, Kingdome

Matches

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
August 17, 1976 Washington Diplomats H 2–0 22,698 Garbett, Pelé
August 20, 1976 Tampa Bay Rowdies A 3–1 36,863 Pelé

Friendlies

DateOpponentVenueResultAtt.AttendanceScorersRef.
March 24United States San Diego JawsA1–118,128Ord[6]
March 28United States Dallas TornadoA1–020,214Pelé[6]
March 31United States San Antonio ThunderA0–114,800–[6]
April 4United States Los Angeles AztecsN [n 1]0–015,800–[6]
April 8Japan Honda FCN [n 2]5–021,705Pelé (4), ?[6]
April 9United States Seattle SoundersA3–158,125Pelé (2), Clements[6]
April 11United States Los Angeles AztecsA1–029,232Pelé[6]
June 3Haiti VioletteA2–1n/an/a[6]
September 1United States Dallas TornadoN [n 3]2–214,000Chinaglia (2)[6]
September 5United States Dallas TornadoN [n 4]2–112,500Roth, Mifflin[6]
September 6United States Dallas TornadoN [n 5]3–223,682Pele, Morais, Donlic[6]
September 8Canada Soccer CanadaA1–114,826Chinaglia[6]
September 10Canada Soccer CanadaA3–114,366Chinaglia (3)[6]
September 14France PSGA1–318,000Field[6]
September 16 Belgium Royal AntwerpA1–325,000Pelé[6]
September 24Japan West Japan All-StarsA0–011,000n/a[6]
September 25Japan East Japan All-StarsA2–250,000Dillon, Chinaglia[6]
Notes

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bell, Jack (May 2008). "Gordon Bradley, Who Nurtured U.S. Soccer, Dies at 74". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ "North American Soccer League".
  3. ↑ "NASL New York Cosmos Rosters".
  4. ↑ "All-time American soccer statistics | SoccerStats.us".
  5. ↑ "The Year in American Soccer – 1976". Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1976 Friendlies on NASL Jerseys.com
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