The 1977 New York Cosmos season was the seventh season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. The Cosmos' seventh year of existence saw them drop "New York" from the club name (it would be restored in 1979), move into Giants Stadium (where they would play until their dissolution in 1985), and win their second NASL championship in Pelé's final year as a professional footballer. Pelé's last match was on October 1, 1977, in front of a capacity crowd at Giants Stadium: in an exhibition match between New York and his former club Santos, Pelé appeared for both sides, playing one half for each. The Cosmos won the game 2–1. The Cosmos finished second in the 4-team Eastern Division and third out of 18 teams league-wide on their way to the 1977 championship.

Squad

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Results Source:

Preseason DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersMarch 11, 1977 Bermuda U23A0–4626Chinaglia (4)March 13, 1977 BermudaA0–13,769ChinagliaMarch 19, 1977 XamaxA1–03,000March 20, 1977 ZürichA3–17,000ChinagliaMarch 24, 1977 LazioA1–220,000Chinaglia, N/AApril 2, 1977 VictoryH9–07,212Chinaglia (5), Field, Garbett, Pelé (2)April 3, 1977 Tampa Bay RowdiesH2–111,098Chinaglia, Dimitrijevic

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 Pts1Fort Lauderdale Strikers26 19 7 49 29 +201612Cosmos26 15 11 60 39 +211403Tampa Bay Rowdies26 14 12 55 45 +101314Washington Diplomats26 10 16 32 49 -1792

Overall League Placing Pos Club Pld W L GF GA GD Pts1Fort Lauderdale Strikers26 19 7 49 29 +201612Dallas Tornado26 18 8 56 37 +191613Cosmos26 15 11 60 39 +211404Minnesota Kicks26 16 10 44 36 +81375Tampa Bay Rowdies26 14 12 55 45 +10131 Source:

Matches DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersApril 9, 1977Las Vegas QuicksilversA1–011,896April 13, 1977Team HawaiiA1–212,877Topic, HuntApril 17, 1977Rochester LancersH2–026,752Chinaglia, PeléApril 24, 1977Dallas TornadoH1–1 (SOL)13,527SmithMay 1, 1977St. Louis StarsH2–2 (SOL)20,112Dillon, MoraisMay 8, 1977Connecticut BicentennialsA2–317,302Chinaglia, Eddy, DimitrijevicMay 11, 1977Chicago StingA1–221,108OG, DimitrijevicMay 15, 1977Fort Lauderdale StrikersH3–021,782Pelé (3)May 22, 1977Chicago StingH1–220,407ChinagliaMay 29, 1977Tampa Bay RowdiesA4–245,288Beckenbauer, FieldJune 5, 1977Toronto Metros-CroatiaH6–031,208Sono, Chinaglia (2), Hunt (3)June 8, 1977Fort Lauderdale StrikersA0–314,358Beckenbauer, Pelé, ChinagliaJune 12, 1977Minnesota KicksH1–1 (SOW)36,816ChinagliaJune 16, 1977Toronto Metros-CroatiaA1–221,793Field, ChinagliaJune 19, 1977Tampa Bay RowdiesH3–162,394Pelé (3)June 23, 1977St. Louis StarsA2–032,605June 26, 1977Los Angeles AztecsH5–257,191Pelé (3), Mifflin, DimitrijevicJune 30, 1977Vancouver WhitecapsA5–330,277Roth, Chinaglia, FieldJuly 2, 1977Los Angeles AztecsA4–132,165ChinagliaJuly 6, 1977San Jose EarthquakesH3–031,875Hunt, Dimitrijevic, FieldJuly 10, 1977Seattle SoundersH1–041,270July 15, 1977Rochester LancersA0–0 (SOL)17,572July 17, 1977Portland TimbersH2–041,205Hunt, ChinagliaJuly 27, 1977Washington DiplomatsH8–234,189Beckenbauer (2), Chinaglia (3), Hunt (2), FieldJuly 31, 1977Connecticut BicentennialsH3–146,389Chinaglia, Pelé, FieldAugust 6, 1977Washington DiplomatsA2–131,283Pelé

Postseason First round August 10San Jose Earthquakes1–2Los Angeles AztecsLos Angeles, Memorial Coliseum

August 10Tampa Bay Rowdies0–3CosmosNew York City, Yankee Stadium

August 10Rochester Lancers1–0St. Louis StarsSt. Louis, Busch Memorial

August 10Seattle Sounders2–0Vancouver WhitecapsBurnaby (BC), Swangard Stadium

Conference semifinals Game 1Game 2Cosmos–Ft. Lauderdale Strikers 8–3 3–2 August 14, 17Los Angeles Aztecs–Dallas Tornado 3–1 5–1 August 14, 17 1977Minnesota Kicks–Seattle Sounders 1–2 0–1 August 14, 17Rochester Lancers–Toronto Metros-Croatia 1–0 1–0 August 14, 17

Conference Championships Game 1Game 2Los Angeles Aztecs—Seattle Sounders 1—3 0—1 August 21, 25Rochester Lancers—Cosmos 1—2 1—4 August 21, 24

Soccer Bowl '77 August 28Cosmos2–1Seattle SoundersPortland (OR), Civic Stadium

Matches DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersAugust 10, 1977Tampa Bay RowdiesH3–057,828Pelé (2), ChinagliaAugust 14, 1977Fort Lauderdale StrikersH8–377,691Chinaglia (3), Hunt (2), Etherington, Beckenbauer, FieldAugust 17, 1977Fort Lauderdale StrikersA2–2 (SOW)14,152Pelé, ChinagliaAugust 21, 1977Rochester LancersA1–220,005Hunt, ChinagliaAugust 24, 1977Rochester LancersH4–173,669Chinaglia (2), Pelé, DimitrijevicAugust 28, 1977Seattle SoundersN2–135,548Hunt, Chinaglia

Friendlies

DateOpponentVenueResult Scorers March 11 Bermuda U23 A 4–0 626 March 13 A 1–0 3,769 March 19 Neuchâtel A 0–1 3,000 March 20 FC Zürich A 1–3 7,000 March 24 Lazio A 2–1 15,000 April 2 Victory A 9–0 15,000 April 3 Tampa Bay Rowdies A 2–1 11,098 June 1 Lazio H 3–2 25,803 September 1 Caribbean All-Stars A 5–2 30,000 September 4 Portuguesa A 1–1 15,000 September 10 Furukawa A 4–2 30,000 September 14 A 3–1 65,000 Topic, Morais, Chinaglia September 17 A1–1 80,000 September 20 A 1–2 50,000 September 25 Mohun Bagan A 2–2 65,000 October 1 Santos H 2–1 75,646 October 5 Santos N 1–1 24,689 October 8 H 1–1 33,712 October 14 Flamengo A 1–4 14,000 Notes

See also 1977 North American Soccer League season

References