Take a good look at that crest ladies and gentleman. We all remember it fondly as this was the most famous name in all of football during the era of the North American Soccer League (NASL). We remember the movie about the history of the New York Cosmos and how popular they were once famed Brazilian International Striker Pele came to these shores and created a major buzz over in Downing Stadium at Randalls Island (Which was torn down and rebuilt as Icahn Stadium), Hofstra University, the first Yankee Stadium and finally calling Giants Stadium home at the Meadowlands in the late 70's thru the mid 80's.

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Alex Yannis was the New York Cosmos beat writer for the New York Times during a great time in American soccer, chronicling the exploits of Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia in the 1970's.
Despite being a child of the 70's and growing up a devout Cosmos fan, I was also a neighbor of Yannis. Click to continue reading...

One of the lessons learned in this "Summer of Soccer" is that there is a sizable group of Americans who enjoy high level soccer and are willing to pay top dollar for the opportunity to see clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Barcelona play live, even if the matches are only friendlies or exhibitions.

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Juiz adverte para riscos de infiltração da máfia

O juiz nacional antimafia italiano, Piero Grasso, advertiu hoje para o risco de infiltração da criminalidade organizada no mundo do futebol transalpino, sobretudo nas divisões inferiores e no âmbito das apostas desportivas.

"O risco de infiltração da parte de delinquentes e do crime organizado não deve ser subestimado.

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This promises to be a great way to catch up on movies about the beautiful game.

It is the inaugural Kicking and Screening festival which runs from July 14-18 in NYC at different venues.

The movies including Once In A Lifetime, about the heady days of the Cosmos led by Pele, Beckenbauer, and Giorgio Chinaglia in the New York of Studio 54 and CBGBs.

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Yesterday i had the privilege of watching Once in a lifetime.The story of the New York Cosmos.This story is narrated by Matt Dillon who does a good job of telling the tale of a few American businessmen who had the dream of creating a soccer team from nothing and making it bigger then any sport in America. Click to continue reading...

Ah, late July. The Euros are over. The Olympics haven't started. Europe is embroiled in goofy transfer crises. Liverpool is busy stacking its reserve team with Swiss defenders and French teenagers. All the big clubs are off playing Guangzhou or someone. West Ham is playing the MLS All-Stars while the Inter-City Firm takes the measure of the Columbus casuals. Click to continue reading...

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Rick Davis, current National Executive Director of the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO). Rick or Ricky Davis is also well known as a former player for the New York Cosmos and U.S. National Team.
Rick explained that when he was a child he was very active in all sports, growing up in Claremont, CA. Click to continue reading...

Do you want to know something truly disturbing? (Before I share, I need to tell you how this got started. You need to know this part, so you don't get the wrong idea.) I was researching the background on yesterday's Giorgio Chinaglia mob story. And my google searches took me back to his [...] Click to continue reading...

Toronto FC coach John Carver wonders what his striker Jeff Cunningham is doing out there on the field: "You want my honest opinion on that? I'm thinking how has he scored 99 goals?"
~and~
Giorgio Chinaglia, one of the biggest soccer villains in America, is wanted by Italian Police for helping a mafia group try to buy Lazio! Click to continue reading...

Former New York Cosmos player Giorgio Chinaglia may be a lot of things, but you can't accuse him of lacking audacity. If you saw the movie "Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos," he was the one with the biggest ego. And back in the 1970s, he [...] Click to continue reading...