Once in a Lifetime - The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (2006) from http://www.amazon.com/Once-Lifetime...1-9695213?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1173811494&sr=8-6 http://www.davebrett.com/fave.htm there are some other sites i can't think of now I have a few Cosmos games i taped back then. I think it was the Transantlantic Cup but they on VHS, maybe one day i'll have some time to look them over and convert it to DVD. I just have to clean up my attic.
I thought your trainer Jerry Carter scored that goal! Bob Stetler was a great guy who played for Memphis with Paul Child in 1979.
Speaking of Memphis reminded me of this story....We were watching a tape the day after a game in 78 or 79...The Tornado vs Memphis....it was a feed off Memphis TV (I guess) complete with commentary..at one point the color man, referring to a Rogues player said..."He suffered a groin injury......shortly after getting married" followed by a very uncomfortable silence from the play by play guy.... we about pissed ourselves laughing....
The Rogues were incredible at community outreach. As a kid growing up in Memphis, I had clinics with ythe likes of Bobby Thomson, Tony Field & Charlie Cooke. Aside from their run in the 1980 indoor season/tournament, they didn't accomplish much, but they were a lovable lot.
Franz St. Lot was also great (at coaching, promoting). Actually, I believe he also played for the Cosmos for a year...but I have no clue where he is now. He had a magnetic personality. That 79-80 indoor season (losing to Tampa in the final) was a big deal at the time. The town was really supporting the team (more sellouts than not at the Mid-South Coliseum- around 9,000 capacity). In fact, that 'success' later led to Memphis getting the MISL team- also the local church (!) community [if some here don't recall, the original owners of the Memphis Americans were actually affiliated with Athletes-in-Action + other Christian sports ministry groups. Maybe a first in pro sports?]
best memory from the olde' daze: attending '78 (?) Soccer Bowl held in Giants Stadium. Vancouver vs Tampa Bay, I think..., though, Cosmos were definitely not there. Play became pretty boring at some point and the mostly NY metropolitan crowd (somewhere around 60,000) began to sing "Cozzzzzmoes.......Cozzzzmoes....." which you could actually get going without being prompted by the "big screen" or the official fan support group. It was sweet music and it was authentic and the US hasn't produced anything quite like it since.
Vancouver vs Tampa played in the 1979 Soccer Bowl with Phil Parkes being the hero for Vancouver! Vancouver had elimanted the Cosmos in a shootout in the mini game at Giants Stadium. I think it was either Nelsi Morais or Terry Garbett that missed their final attempts, but I can't recall for sure.
I posted this in the NASL thread also so excuse the repetition. This picture was superimposed with a picture of a packed Giants Stadium in the back ground when Pele made his famous speech (LOVE , LOVE, LOVE!) right before he played his last match Cosmos vs. Santos where he played a half for each side. Pele's Farewell
thanks on the correction...I knew it was around the late 1970's. I was a couple of years out of college and back then if you saw someone wearing a pair of sambas, there was no doubt he was a soccer player. No wannabe's, no retro-fashion statement. The only reason to wear 'em back then was because you played indoors somewhere. My only question is why did Adidas begin to make them with the crazy long tongue???? The originals were K-leather with a short tongue and comfy beyond words... I can compare the sell-out crowds at the '94 WC at Giants Stadium for the quarterfinals and semifinals to the Cosmos games that also drew 60,000+ fans...there is none. The Cosmos created a real soccer response with a fan base that was not so far removed from its first generation immigrant base as today's is (at least a generation and a half or so) or even as it was all of 13 years ago at US '94. The crowds at Giants Stadium for the quarter's and semi's were so diverse there was no spontaneous singing to lift the spirit. When the crowd sang in '79, in remorse for the lack of a Cosmos-ian presence, it was spiritual in its resourcefulness and cheeky in it's announcement to the players on the field that they needed to provide more, in terms of the soccer on display, than what was happening in the championship match that day. And as for Nelsi Morais, he once punched me squarely in the chest while going for a 50-50 ball in a Cosmopolitan League match in 1990...he had already pretty much gained possession...the punch was instinctive and made a clear statement to me on the Brazilian mentality...one that is rarely mentioned. We hear about the beautiful game ad nauseum...however, they also know how to take full advantage of all the slight negative nuances of play. Not to add insult to injury, but as part and parcel of how they are taught to play. Thanks Nelsi for a lesson I'll never forget.
I saw it in the documentary...he didn't miss, the ball went over the line too late. A shot clock with football...crazy, but fun. I wrote a review about the film here, btw check it out if you like
he must have got the shot off too late.....as long as the shot was off before the whistle/air horn went off then it could have taken 5 minutes to reach the goal and it would have counted.
yeah i can do 1 better my uncle is alan green and he is living in his home town of worcester england . its nice to see he hasnt been forgotten and if possible is there any videos of him in action cheers alan green jr
I worked with Santiago Formoso with the Metrostars 1996 to 2001. The guy is really great. I remember sitting in the office with the other sales guys working our buts off calling people. Santi would go to his famous lunches in Newark and come back with BIG checks. This was day after day. He taught me a huge lesson. When you go and try to sell soccer to the immigrants, you never do it over the phone. You go "BREAK BREAD WITH THEM". Working with him was an absolute pleasure and Nick Sakiewicz made a huge mistake of letting him go.
Here is a picture from Minnesota - NY Cosmos loss (9-2) playoff game on Monday night August 14, 1978 at Metroplitan Stadium in Minnesota. Alan Willey is waering #9 scored 5 goals in this match. Former Lazio defender Guiseppe "Pino" Wilson #23 and #25 Santiago Formoso is behind. Chico Hamilton #15 is looking on.
the guy on the right though undoubtely great, was one of the most brutally dirty players to ever play the game and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Like Claudio Gentile used to say, "non e' un gioco da signorine" or rather "its not a little girls game"! Well at least its not in every other place on earth with the exception of the USA!
Your uncle was a counselor of mine at a soccer camp the Diplomats ran where the players taught. Most of the bigger players wanted nothing to do with it but Alan Green, who was one of the team's leading scorers, was there, too, and was really cool to us kids and because he was a small guy, we could all relate to him and a lot of us wanted to be him. Tell your uncle I have a lot of fond memories of watching him play and of those soccer camps and that a life-long passion for soccer was greatly influenced by him and his teammates in the late 70's and early 80's.
So you would be considered a 'Dip', Sandon? I do remember the Diplomats, circa 1981-1982, as being one helluva exciting team to watch. I think I saw a national/regional broadcast vs the Cosmos, in which the first 30 minutes were as electrifying as any game I had ever seen. Of course, watching Cruyff regularly must have been amazing..
Make that 1980-1981 I looked up the results on a Cosmos history page, and the match I referred to was the 3-2 Diplomats win in 1981, in which (I believe) all 5 goals were scored in the first 30 minutes.
Terevor Francis of the Detroit Express also scored 5 goals in 1 match against my San Jose Earthquakes in a 10-0 win! Arggghhhh!