New York Cosmos? Not another silly suggestion. Here's an article claiming that Pele is already in negotiations with MLS/AEG to ressurect the New York Cosmos. It doesn't say whether that means buying and rebranding the Metros or starting a second New York team. Frankly, I'd love to see the Cosmos come to MLS, in any form, but especially with Pele as owner. http://www.planetfootball.com/article.asp?id=131561&cpid=98&title=Pele+trying+to+revive+Cosmos"/> -Tron
Looks like at least the third thread so far. Here's the full article from Jornal da Tarde: http://www.jt.estadao.com.br/editorias/2003/02/07/esp034.html English translation of the main points here: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32419
Cosmos was a great team, so many superstars, they were popular drawing large number of fans, their average attendance was over 40 k. Having said all that, the only way i think Cosmos revival would be beneficial to MLS and US Soccer is by applying as an expansion team in MLS somewhere in the City (as the second NY team , or first as the Metros are in NJ. ). I am against any other form or gimmick with this.
I think that if Pele really was attached to this, it would legitimize it in a way that could not be done any other way. Can you imagine the marketing possibilities?
This would be a great idea. The only way the world would of course take the resurectin of this great club would be to have the man himself that made it one of the most famous clubs in the world the owner.
      To watch the San Jose Earthquakes play the New York Cosmos again... ah, that would bring back memories! -G
Wasn't the Cosmos the main reason the NASL folded? Too many teams in the NASL tried to compete with the Cosmos spending habits and the league folded... Would be bad mojo to have a team named Cosmos in the league...
Still a good story, but... I doubt we'll see this story develop much further after the March discussions between AEG (Tim Leiweke) and Pele Pro (Pele and Celso Grellet). So far, we have that Pele Pro visited the Galaxy's new digs and negotiated (perhaps just chatted, perhaps discussed more seriously) with AEG about the possibility of an MLS expansion team in NYC with the old Cosmos name, logo, and colors. Pele reportedly owns those rights. Tim reportedly was enthsusiastic about the idea. Celso reportedly has big global soccer ideas that would involve the Cosmos. All of this was reported with quotes from Celso in a real paper in Sao Paulo. While it's flattering to MLS that Pele thinks highly enough of the league that he'd like to get in on it, I think the barriers will unfortunately prove a bit much. In March, when Tim takes Pele and Celso out to that nice rodizio in Burbank for caipirinhas and churrasco, he'll need to raise a couple of problematic issues. First, there's the stadium situation. Pele Pro reportedly likes the idea of playing in Shea. Given Pele's experience in the NASL - playing home games, and a fair number of road games, on old-school astroturf and a lot of road games on baseball diamonds - that option may not seem alien to him. But that's clearly not what MLS would like. Tim will have to explain the stadium issues. Second, Tim will need to go into some detail about all the various MLS niceties that aren't commonly encountered elsewhere. The salary cap and foreign player limits aren't bizarre, but Tim will still have to explain allocations, discoveries, special discoveries, superdrafts, supplemental drafts, P-40, developmental rosters, transitional internationals, weighted lotteries, and probably a few other subtleties that I'm forgetting. Celso will want some detail about profit and loss allocation in MLS LLC. By the time they start bringing the pudim around for dessert, Pele and Celso will turn to each other and say, "poooooooorra!", then offer Tim their obrigados and urge him to give them a call for dinner next time he's in Sao Paulo as they quickly check their Varig flight schedules.
Re: Still a good story, but... Pele Pro does NOT own the rights to the Cosmos name, logo, and colors. The trademark is owned by Soccer Camps of America, Inc. and Peppe Pinton, the owner supposedly wants $2 million from MLS for the use of the trademark. http://www.soccernova.com/html/activism/cosmos_campaign/cosmos_campaign.htm http://www.nycosmos.com/cosmos/chstage.html
Re: Re: Still a good story, but... That's not a major problem. Read anderson's great post above to see the real issues.
IP rights Jamie Trecker, of all people, has this to say on that question: http://sports.yahoo.com/mls/news?slug=pelecosmos&prov=st&type=lgns That contradicts what Celso said outright in the article in yesterday's Jornal da Tarde, but it's quite consistent with your post. I'll try to track down the Brazilian papers to which Jamie refers above.
Re: Re: Re: Still a good story, but... No, I didn't think this would be a major problem. I even said so in a previous post in the DCU/Cosmos thread on the United boards. I did read anderson's post and I agree with much of it. I was only pointing out what I knew to be true about the ownership of the trademark, that's all.
"The team will come back with some of the best players in the world," Chinaglia said. "We want to create some buzz. We don't want to be part of a league; that's laughable. We want to play a limited number of games over, say, a three-year period. We don't want to overdo things" IE We want to milk some money by finding a group of old players that will play for cheap and get a few sell outs at Giant's Stadium by pitting them against Madrid, Bayern, Brazil, and such... Yeah, everybody LOVES friendlies...
I'm trying to think of a way this could be good for soccer in the US and for our domestic league's future and I can't come up with anything. Can anyone?
Pele I would much prefer to see the Cosmos in the MLS under Pele than involved with Champion World. Their plan sounds dreadful & will do nothing to help the sport here in the U.S. Who wants to see a non-competitive team play others for a no-prize. It's interesting that Chinagalia would say Pele's only in it for the money when his setup sounds totally mercenary and ripping off the fans to see playes. It sounds like he is creating the Harlem Globe Trotters rather than the Cosmos of old. Another MLS team in NYC--IN NYC--would be great for the league. Let's hope the story of Pele's interest is true.
I am not quite sure what's going on, can someone please explain, are they going to be an MLS team or an exhibition team that plays in New York once in while???? Please explain.... -PB20
Re: Pele no offense to pele, but i would imagine that at least 95% of his interest dies with the name
IF this happens...kiss ANY credibilty that MLS has earned GOODBYE. "International Stars such as Roberto Baggio and Gabriel Batistuta" ...umm on an MLS squad? Those guys earn the per team salary cap in about what...20 minutes? Don't f*** with MLS Pele...don't do it...
It appears he would be hiring big stars during the off season in Europe and using them for this new Cosmos team to play against big clubs trying to draw big crowds in exhibition games. Like the Roma vs Real Madrid deal at Giant's Stadium except one team would be the new Cosmos. Perhaps also a short tournement.. That's what it looks like to me.