The New York Cosmos were an American soccer club based in New York City. The side was originally created in 1971 by brothers Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, with the support of Warner Brothers president Steve Ross. The new team entered the North American Soccer League (NASL), which was in its fourth season. Bankrolled by parent company Warner Communications, the Cosmos became the NASL's most successful side, winning a record five championships in front of the league's largest crowds. The team included international stars signed from European and South American clubs, including Brazilians Pelé and Carlos Alberto, West German Franz Beckenbauer, Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia and many others.^[1][2]

When the team was sold to a Chinaglia-owned consortium in 1983, the Cosmos' financial resources were reduced dramatically; the majority of the team's key players were sold as a result. As a result, game performance declined. The Cosmos entered the Major Indoor Soccer League for the 1984–85 indoor season, but left mid-year after disappointing gates.^[3] After the NASL folded in March 1985, owners attempted to operate the team independently, but the team was dissolved later that year.^[4] A new incarnation of the Cosmos, formed in 2010,^[2] made its debut in the new North American Soccer League during the 2013 season.^[5]

List of seasons

Seasons

Outdoor

Indoor

In the winter of 1975, the NASL organized a two-tiered, 16 team indoor tournament with four regional winners meeting in a "final-four" style championship. The New York Cosmos won their region at the Rochester War Memorial Arena by virtue of a tie-breaker, but lost both the semifinal and the third-place matches at the Cow Palace to Tampa Bay and Dallas respectively.^[6]