# 1979 New York Cosmos season

The 1979 New York Cosmos season was the ninth season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. 1979 saw the club continue their premiership streak to three seasons with the league's highest point total, and match their wins record while achieving a record point total, but the Cosmos' quest for a third straight NASL championship ended with a loss in the conference finals to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 0 | GK | CAN | Jack Brand |
| 1 | GK | TUR | Erol Yasin |
| 2 | DF | IRN | Andranik Eskandarian |
| 3 | DF | BRA | Francisco Marinho |
| 4 | DF | USA | Werner Roth |
| 5 | DF | BRA | Carlos Alberto |
| 6 | DF | GER | Franz Beckenbauer |
| 7 | FW | ENG | Dennis Tueart |
| 8 | MF | YUG | Vladislav Bogićević |
| 9 | FW | ITA | Giorgio Chinaglia |
| 11 | FW | POR | Seninho |
| 12 | DF | GER | Greg Ryan |
| 12 | DF | USA | Bobby Smith |
| 13 | MF | NED | Johan Neeskens |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Terry Garbett |
| 15 | DF | NED | Wim Rijsbergen |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | MF | ARG | Toni Carbognani |
| 17 | MF | USA | Rick Davis |
| 18 | MF | USA | Boris Bandov |
| 19 | GK | GER | Hubert Birkenmeier |
| 20 | GK | USA | David Brcic |
| 21 | FW | USA | Gary Etherington |
| 22 | DF | USA | Kevin Eagan |
| 23 | DF | ITA | Giuseppe Wilson |
| 24 | DF | CAN | Garry Ayre |
| 25 | DF | USA | Santiago Formoso |
| 26 | FW | USA | Ron Atanasio |
| 27 | FW | USA | Joe Filian |
| 28 | FW | GHA | Abdul Razak |
| 29 | FW | USA | Mark Liveric |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Godfrey Ingram |
| 31 | MF | BRA | Nelsi Morais |
Source:

## Results

Source:

### 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).
    -Playoffs via division standings. -Playoffs via wildcard.
NC East Division standings :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | New York Cosmos | 30 | 24 | 6 | 84 | 52 | +32 | 72 | 216 |
| 2 | Washington Diplomats | 30 | 19 | 11 | 68 | 50 | +18 | 58 | 172 |
| 3 | Toronto Blizzard | 30 | 14 | 16 | 52 | 65 | −13 | 49 | 133 |
| 4 | Rochester Lancers | 30 | 15 | 15 | 43 | 57 | −14 | 42 | 132 |
National Conference standings :
| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | E | New York Cosmos | 30 | 24 | 6 | 84 | 52 | +32 | 72 | 216 | Playoffs (division winner) |
| 2 | C | Minnesota Kicks | 30 | 21 | 9 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 58 | 184 | Playoffs (division winner) |
| 3 | W | Vancouver Whitecaps (N) | 30 | 20 | 10 | 54 | 34 | +20 | 52 | 172 | Playoffs (division winner) |
| 4 | E | Washington Diplomats | 30 | 19 | 11 | 68 | 50 | +18 | 58 | 172 | Playoffs (division runner-up) |
| 5 | W | Los Angeles Aztecs | 30 | 18 | 12 | 62 | 47 | +15 | 54 | 162 | Playoffs (division runner-up) |
Overall standings :
| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | NE | New York Cosmos (P) | 30 | 24 | 6 | 84 | 52 | +32 | 72 | 216 |
| 2 | AC | Houston Hurricane | 30 | 22 | 8 | 61 | 46 | +15 | 55 | 187 |
| 3 | NC | Minnesota Kicks | 30 | 21 | 9 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 58 | 184 |
| 4 | NW | Vancouver Whitecaps (C) | 30 | 20 | 10 | 54 | 34 | +20 | 52 | 172 |
| 5 | NE | Washington Diplomats | 30 | 19 | 11 | 68 | 50 | +18 | 58 | 172 |

#### Matches

April 22, 1979: New York Cosmos 3, Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2 Giants Stadium 72,342
April 29, 1979: New York Cosmos 4, Philadelphia Fury 2 Giants Stadium 46,375
May 4, 1979: New York Cosmos 1, Toronto Blizzard 0 Varsity Stadium 29,483
May 6, 1979: New York Cosmos 3, Houston Hurricane 0 Giants Stadium 50,142
May 12, 1979: Tampa Bay Rowdies 3, New York Cosmos 2 Tampa Stadium 40,701
May 20, 1979: New York Cosmos 3, Tulsa Roughnecks 1 Giants Stadium 46,344
May 26, 1979: New York Cosmos 1, Portland Timber 1 (Cosmos won in shootout) Civic Center 18,254
May 28, 1979: Chicago Sting 3, New York Cosmos 1 Wrigley Field 21,127
June 3, 1979: New York Cosmos 3, Toronto Blizzard 1 Giants Stadium 38,762
June 9, 1979: New York Cosmos 4, Dallas Tornado 1 Giants Stadium 45,031
June 13, 1979: New York Cosmos 3, Tulsa Roughnecks 2 Skelly Stadium 30,162
June 16, 1979: Vancouver Whitecaps 4, New York Cosmos 1 Empire Stadium 32,372
June 20, 1979: Minnesota Kicks 3, New York Cosmos 2 Metropolitan Stadium 43,952
June 24, 1979: New York Cosmos 1, New England Tea Men 0 Giants Stadium 41,428
June 27, 1979: New York Cosmos 3, Portland Timber 1 Giants Stadium 33,721
July 1, 1979: New York Cosmos 5, Rochester Lancers 2 Giants Stadium 40,379
July 7, 1979: New York Cosmos 2, New England Tea Men 1 Foxboro Stadium 15,763
July 11, 1979: New York Cosmos 1, Seattle Sounders 1 (Sounders won in shootout) Giants Stadium 40,207
JUly 15, 1979: Vancouver Whitecaps 4, New York Cosmos 2 Giants Stadium 48,753
July 18, 1979: New York Cosmos 4, Fort Lauredale Strikers 3 Lockhart Stadium 19,850
July 21, 1979: New York Cosmos 1, Philadelphia Fury 0 Veterans Stadium 17,352
July 25, 1979: New York Cosmos 4, Minnesota Kicks 1 Giants Stadium 57,223
July 29, 1979: New York Cosmos 5, San Jose Earthquakes 0 Giants Stadium 35,450
August 1, 1979: New York Cosmos 3, Los Angeles Aztecs 1 Rose Bowl 38,606
August 5, 1979: New York Cosmos 4, Rochester Lancers 2 Holleder Memorial Stadium 18,881
August 8, 1979: New York Cosmos 4, Tampa Bay Rowdies 3 Giants Stadium 70,042
August 12, 1979: New York Cosmos 4, Washington Diplomats 4 (Cosmos won in a shootout) Giants Stadium 34,599

### Postseason
#### Overview
##### First round

| | | | Game 1 | Game 2 | |
| Philadelphia Fury | - | Houston Hurricane | 2 - 1 | 2 - 1 | August 14, 20 |
| Detroit Express | - | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 0 - 3 | 1 - 3 | August 15, 19 |
| Chicago Sting | - | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 2 - 0 | 0 - 0 | August 15, 18 |
| San Diego Sockers | - | California Surf | 4 - 2 | 7 - 2 | August 15, 18 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | - | Minnesota Kicks | 2 - 1 (ot) | 2 - 1 (ot) | August 15, 19 |
| Dallas Tornado | - | Vancouver Whitecaps | 2 - 3 | 1 - 2 | August 15, 18 |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | - | Washington Diplomats | 3 - 1 | 4 - 3 | August 15, 19 |
| Toronto Blizzard | - | New York Cosmos | 1 - 3 | 0 - 2 | August 16, 20 |

##### Conference semifinals

| | | | Game 1 | Game 2 | Mini-game | |
| San Diego Sockers | - | Chicago Sting | 2 - 0 | 1 - 0 | | August 22, 25 |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | - | Vancouver Whitecaps | 3 - 2 | 0 - 1 (so) | 0 - 1 | August 22, 25 |
| Philadelphia Fury | - | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2 - 3 (so) | 0 - 1 | | August 23, 25 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | - | New York Cosmos | 3 - 0 | 0 - 3 | 1 - 3 | August 23, 26 |

##### Conference Championships

| | | | Game 1 | Game 2 | Mini-game | |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | - | New York Cosmos | 2 - 0 | 2 - 3 (so) | 1 - 0 (so) | August 29, September 1 |
| San Diego Sockers | - | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2 - 1 | 2 - 3 (so) | 0 - 1 | August 30, September 2 |

##### Soccer Bowl '79
### Friendlies

Source:
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Att. | Scorers |
| February 17 | Freeport All-Stars | A | 12–0 | 3,500 | Chinaglia (5), Davis (2), Tueart (2), ? |
| February 24 | Freeport All-Stars | A | 6–1 | n/a | ? |
| February 25 | Nassau All-Stars | A | 13–1 | n/a | ? |
| 5 March | Trinidad All-Stars | A | 1–1 | 15,800 | Chinaglia |
| 7 March | Náutico | N | 0–0 | 20,000 | – |
| 15 March | América de Cali | A | 2–0 | 40,000 | Chinaglia, Marino |
| 16 March | Atlético Nacional | A | 0–2 | 15,000 | – |
| 20 March | Detroit Express | A | 2–8 | 25,473 | Bogicevic, Davis |
| 25 March | Universidad Autónoma | H | 2–2 | 9,000 | Chinaglia (2) |
| 16 May | Coventry City | H | 3–1 | 30,195 | Davis, Carlos Alberto, Etherington |
| 6 June | Argentina | H | 0–1 | 70,134 | – |
| 4 July | Bayern Munich | H | 0–2 | 42,366 | – |
| September 20 | Team Seiko | A | 3–3 | 28,000 | Chinaglia (2), ? |
| September 24 | Hong Kong All-Stars | A | 6–0 | 24,000 | Seninho (2), Chinaglia (2), Etherington, ? |
| September 24 | South Korea | A | 0–1 | 20,000 | – |
| September 30 | South Korea | A | 2–3 | 18,000 | Chinaglia (2) |
| October 3 | Indonesia | A | 4–1 | 85,000 | Chinaglia (4) |
| October 5 | All-Indonesian Select | A | 1–1 | 55,000 | Chinagliaq |
| October 7 | Singapore | A | 4–1 | 35,000 | Carbogiani (2), Chinaglia (2) |
| October 10 | Japan All-Stars | A | 1–1 | 14,000 | Etherington |
| October 14 | Japan | A | 2–2 | 50,000 | Beckenbauer, Tueart |
| October 17 | Malaysia | A | 5–0 | 35,000 | Chinaglia (3), Tueart (2) |
| October 21 | Victoria All-Stars | A | 3–2 | 15,000 | Neeskens (2), Chinaglia |
| October 24 | Australia | A | 1–2 | 60,000 | Chinaglia |
| October 31 | Adelaide City | A | 2–0 | 28,000 | Tueart, Chinaglia |

#### Notes

* ↑ Held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.