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
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 Pos Club Pld W L GF GA GD Pts1Cosmos30 24 6 88 39 +492122Washington Diplomats30 16 14 55 47 +81453Toronto Metros-Croatia30 16 14 58 47 +111444Rochester Lancers30 14 16 47 52 -5131
Overall League Placing Pos Club Pld W L GF GA GD Pts1Cosmos30 24 6 88 39 +492122Vancouver Whitecaps30 24 6 68 29 +391993Detroit Express30 20 10 68 36 +321764Portland Timbers30 20 10 50 36 +141675New England Tea Men30 19 11 62 39 +23165 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
DateOpponentVenueResultScorersRef. Feb 2 FIU A 2–0 300 North American Soccer League: Friendlies March 5 A 4–1 7,000 Grgurev, Chinaglia (2), Tueart March 8 Bermuda U-23 A 3–0 4,000 March 11 A 4–1 5,000 March 22 Adelphi University H 11–0 n/a Apr 4 Los Angeles Aztecs A 0–0 15,000 – August 30 World All-Stars H 2–2 50,757 September 4 Atlético Madrid H 1–3 35,140 New York Cosmos 1-3 Atlético de Madrid (1978) on Renaldinhos.com September 9 Boca Juniors H 2–2 23,000 Chinaglia (2) Cómo le fue a Beckenbauer jugando contra Boca, River, Racing y todo el fútbol argentino by Cristian Dellocchio on Página 12, 10 Jan 2024 September 12 Bayern Munich A 1–7 75,000 September 14 Brescia A 2–1 30,000 September 19 VfB Stuttgart A 1–6 55,000 September 21 Freiburger FC A 0–2 18,000 September 26 Chelsea A 1–1 39,659 October 1 Atlético Madrid A 3–2 45,000 October 4 AEK Athens A 5–3 16,526 October 9 Red Star Belgrade A 4–6 23,500 November 1 Barcelona A 1–1 50,000 November 3 A 1–2 n/a November 7 Belgrano (C) A 1–1 n/a November 13 Independiente Rivadavia A 2–1 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 Notes
See also 1978 North American Soccer League season
References