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Cosmos

1978 season
Manager	Eddie Firmani
Stadium	Giants Stadium
NASL	Division: 1st Overall: 1st Playoffs: Champions
National Challenge Cup	Did not enter
CONCACAF Champions' Cup	Did not enter
Top goalscorer	League: Giorgio Chinaglia (34? goals) All: Giorgio Chinaglia (goals)
Highest home attendance	74,901 vs. TB (August 27)
Lowest home attendance	26,325 vs. BJR (September 9)
Average home league attendance	47,856
Home colors Away colors
← 19771979 →

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 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; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 0 GK  CAN Jack Brand 1 GK  TUR Erol Yasin 2 DF  USA Bobby Smith 3 MF  BRA Nelsi Morais 4 DF  USA Werner Roth 5 DF  BRA Carlos Alberto 6 DF  GER Franz Beckenbauer 7 FW  ENG Dennis Tueart 8 MF  YUG Vladislav Bogićević 9 FW  ITA Giorgio Chinaglia 11 FW  ENG Steve Hunt 12 FW  POR Seninho 14 MF  ENG Terry Garbett

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 MF  YUG Vito Dimitrijević 16 FW  USA Tony Donlic 17 MF  USA Rick Davis 18 FW  USA Fred Grgurev 19 DF  CAN Robert Iarusci 20 GK  USA David Brcic 21 FW  USA Gary Etherington 22 MF  USA Jim Millinder 23 DF  ITA Giuseppe Wilson 24 DF  CAN Garry Ayre 25 DF  USA Santiago Formoso 26 FW  USA Ron Atanasio 27 FW  USA Joe Filian

Source:

Results

Source:

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

Overall League Placing

Source:

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 Stompers 1 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

Friendlies

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Att.	Scorers	Ref.
Feb 2	FIU	A	2–0	300	Chinaglia (2)
March 5	Bermuda	A	4–1	7,000	Grgurev, Chinaglia (2), Tueart
March 8	Bermuda U-23	A	3–0	4,000	Chinaglia (2), Millinder
March 11	Bermuda	A	4–1	5,000	Tueart (2), Chinaglia, Bogicevic
March 22	Adelphi University	H	11–0	n/a	Chinaglia (2), Bogicevic (2), n/a
Apr 4	Los Angeles Aztecs	A	0–0	15,000	–
August 30	World All-Stars	H	2–2	50,757	Seninho, Chinaglia
September 4	Atlético Madrid	H	1–3	35,140	Rivellino
September 9	Boca Juniors	H	2–2	23,000	Chinaglia (2)
September 12	Bayern Munich	A	1–7	75,000	Chinaglia
September 14	Brescia	A	2–1	30,000	Tueart, Chinaglia
September 19	VfB Stuttgart	A	1–6	55,000	Chinaglia
September 21	Freiburger FC	A	0–2	18,000	–
September 26	Chelsea	A	1–1	39,659	Tueart
October 1	Atlético Madrid	A	3–2	45,000	Seninho, Chinaglia, Bogicevic
October 4	AEK Athens	A	5–3	n/a	Chinaglia (3), Tueart, Seninho
October 9	Red Star Belgrade	A	4–6	23,500	Tueart, Chinaglia, Seninho
November 1	Barcelona	A	1–1	50,000	Chinaglia
November 3	Argentina U-20	A	1–2	n/a	Chinaglia
November 7	Belgrano (C)	A	1–1	n/a	Chinaglia
November 13	Independiente Rivadavia	A	2–1	n/a	Davis, Beckenbauer
November 16	Boca Juniors	A	2–4	35,000	Chinaglia, Seninho
November 18	Bolívar/Always Ready	A	0–2	n/a	–
November 22	Vila Nova	A	3–2	25,000	Chinaglia (2), Tueart

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

• 1978 North American Soccer League season

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. ^ North American Soccer League: Friendlies
8. New York Cosmos 1-3 Atlético de Madrid (1978) on Renaldinhos.com
9. ^ Cómo le fue a Beckenbauer jugando contra Boca, River, Racing y todo el fútbol argentino by Cristian Dellocchio on Página 12, 10 Jan 2024

• American soccer clubs 1978 season
• New York Cosmos seasons
• 1978 North American Soccer League season
• 1978 in sports in New Jersey
• Soccer Bowl champion seasons