# 1984 New York Cosmos season

The 1984 New York Cosmos season was the fourteenth season for the New York Cosmos playing in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. It was the final year of the original Cosmos playing in the original NASL; they would play three friendlies in 1985 before disbanding. During the 1984 season, the Cosmos finished in third place in the Eastern Division, failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1975. It was also the first season since 1978 that the Cosmos failed to finish first in the overall league table, ending a streak of six premierships.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | GER | Hubert Birkenmeier |
| 2 | DF | IRN | Andranik Eskandarian |
| 3 | DF | USA | Dan Canter |
| 4 | DF | USA | Jeff Durgan |
| 5 | DF | USA | Darryl Gee |
| 6 | DF | POL | Wladyslaw Zmuda |
| 7 | FW | ITA | Giuseppe Damiani |
| 8 | MF | YUG | Vladislav Bogicevic |
| 9 | FW | PAR | Roberto Cabañas |
| 11 | FW | YUG | Dragan Vujovic |
| 12 | FW | USA | Steve Moyers |
| 13 | MF | NED | Johan Neeskens |
| 14 | FW | POL | Stan Terlecki |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Alan Green |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | MF | USA | Angelo DiBernardo |
| 16 | FW | BER | Randy Horton |
| 17 | MF | USA | Rick Davis |
| 20 | FW | RSA | Andrew Parkinson |
| 21 | GK | USA | David Brcic |
| 22 | MF | POR | Pedro DeBrito |
| 23 | MF | USA | Mike Fox |
| 24 | DF | USA | Kazbek Tambi |
| 25 | MF | SCO | Gerry Gray |
| 27 | MF | CAN | Carmine Marcantonio |
| 28 | FW | ECU | Chico Borja |
| 30 | MF | IRL | Gerry Reardon |
| 31 | DF | ITA | Fernando DeMatthaeis |
| 32 | DF | LBR | Doc Lawson |
Source:

## Transfers
### In

| No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred From |
| 3 | DF | Dan Canter | Team America |
| 6 | DF | Władysław Żmuda | Hellas Verona |
| 7 | FW | Giuseppe Damiani | Milan |
| 14 | FW | Stan Terlecki | Golden Bay Earthquakes |
| 20 | FW | Andrew Parkinson | Team America |
| 22 | MF | Pedro DeBrito | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
| 25 | MF | Gerry Gray | Montreal Manic |
| 27 | MF | Carmine Marcantonio | Montreal Manic |
| 28 | FW | Chico Borja | Team America |
| 30 | MF | Gerry Reardon | Tulsa Roughnecks |
| 32 | DF | Doc Lawson | New York Arrows |

## Results

Source:

### Trans-Atlantic Cup

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| May 28, 1984 | Barcelona | H | 5–3 | 37,629 | Bogicevic, Cabañas, Moyers (2), Neeskens |
| June 3, 1984 | Udinese | H | 4–1 | 34,158 | Terlecki, Vujovic, Gray, Green |

### NASL regular season

Pld = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, D = Draws, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points 6 points for a win, 3 points for a draw, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each goal scored (up to three per game).

#### Eastern Division Standings

| Pos. | Eastern Division | W | L | GF | GA | BP | Pts | Home | Road |
| 1 | Chicago Sting | 13 | 11 | 50 | 49 | 44 | 120 | 6–6 | 7–5 |
| 2 | Toronto Blizzard | 14 | 10 | 46 | 33 | 35 | 117 | 9–3 | 5–7 |
| 3 | New York Cosmos | 13 | 11 | 43 | 42 | 39 | 115 | 9–3 | 4–8 |
| 4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 9 | 15 | 43 | 61 | 35 | 87 | 9–3 | 0–12 |

#### Overall League Placing

| Pos. | Eastern Division | W | L | GF | GA | BP | Pts | Home | Road |
| 4 | Chicago Sting | 13 | 11 | 50 | 49 | 44 | 120 | 6–6 | 7–5 |
| 5 | Toronto Blizzard | 14 | 10 | 46 | 33 | 35 | 117 | 9–3 | 5–7 |
| 6 | New York Cosmos | 13 | 11 | 43 | 42 | 39 | 115 | 9–3 | 4–8 |
| 7 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 10 | 14 | 42 | 46 | 38 | 98 | 8–4 | 2–10 |
| 8 | Golden Bay Earthquakes | 8 | 16 | 61 | 62 | 49 | 95 | 4–8 | 4–8 |
Source:

#### Matches

* p.w.: won on penalties
* p.l.: lost on penalties
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| May 13, 1984 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | H | 1–0 | 21,385 | Cabanas |
| May 20, 1984 | Vancouver Whitecaps | H | 2–1 | 16,719 | Cabanas (2) |
| May 26, 1984 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | A | 2–2 (p.l.) | 12,722 | Neeskens, DeBrito |
| June 9, 1984 | Chicago Sting | H | 0–5 | 12,134 | |
| June 13, 1984 | Golden Bay Earthquakes | A | 1–3 | 11,696 | Borja (2), Gray |
| June 17, 1984 | Toronto Blizzard | H | 2–1 | 15,482 | Terlecki, Neeskens |
| June 22, 1984 | Chicago Sting | A | 1–2 | 11,458 | Terlecki, Borja |
| June 24, 1984 | Tulsa Roughnecks | H | 3–1 | 14,267 | Parkinson (2), Borja |
| June 27, 1984 | Toronto Blizzard | A | 0–4 | 10,231 | |
| June 30, 1984 | Minnesota Strikers | A | 0–1 | 11,572 | |
| July 8, 1984 | Vancouver Whitecaps | A | 1–2 | 20,627 | Cabanas |
| July 11, 1984 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | H | 5–1 | 10,364 | Bogicevic, Vujovic, Cabanas (2), Green |
| July 14, 1984 | Tulsa Roughnecks | A | 2–3 | 22,500 | Bogicevic, Green, Neeskens |
| July 25, 1984 | San Diego Sockers | H | 3–1 | 10,495 | Vujovic, Green, Cabanas |
| August 10, 1984 | Minnesota Strikers | A | 2–3 | 10,575 | DeBrito, Green |
| August 15, 1984 | San Diego Sockers | H | 2–0 | 12,328 | Cabanas, Moyers |
| August 19, 1984 | Minnesota Strikers | H | 3–4 | 12,872 | Neeskens, Green |
| August 25, 1984 | San Diego Sockers | A | 1–2 | 5,215 | Davis |
| August 29, 1984 | Vancouver Whitecaps | H | 2–1 | 11,444 | Vujovic, Terlecki |
| September 3, 1984 | Golden Bay Earthquakes | A | 3–4 | 8,567 | Parkinson, Terlecki, Bogicevic, Borja |
| September 5, 1984 | Toronto Blizzard | H | 1–1 (p.w.) | 8,736 | Davis |
| September 8, 1984 | Tulsa Roughnecks | A | 0–2 | 7,683 | |
| September 12, 1984 | Golden Bay Earthquakes | H | 0–1 | 7,581 | |
| September 15, 1984 | Chicago Sting | A | 0–1 | 10,729 | |

### Friendlies

Source:
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| April 27 | América | N | 0–3 | 9,938 | – |
| May 5 | Cosmos Alumni | H | 6–2 | 32,653 | Moyers (3), Green (2), DiBernardo |
| May 16 | New York Nationals | H | 2–2 | n/a | Bogicevic (2) |
| May 28 | Barcelona | H | 5–3 | 37,629 | Moyers (2), Cabañas, Neeskens, Bogicevic |
| June 3 | Udinese | H | 4–1 | 31,400 | Green, Vujovic, Terlecki, Gray |
| July 6 | FC Seattle | H | 2–1 | 7,631 | Green, Cabañas |
| July 22 | World All Stars | H | 1–3 | 37,318 | Neeskens |
| August 12 | Juventus | H | 2–1 | 36,724 | Moyers, Davis |
| August 22 | Argentinos Juniors | H | 3–2 | 13,796 | Neeskens, Cabañas, Borja |

#### Notes

* ↑ Held in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
* ↑ Team of all-time former Cosmos players, which included Jack Brand, Shep Messing (goalkeepers), Robert Iarusci, Francisco Marinho, Werner Roth, Carlos Alberto, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Smith (defenders), Rivelino, Terry Garbett, Nelsi Morais (midfielders), Pelé, Giorgio Chinaglia, Randy Horton, Dennis Tueart (forwards).

## 1985

After the disbanding of the North American Soccer League, the Cosmos opted to play as an independent team. After poor attendances and lack of media interest, the club shut down operations upon playing a handful of friendly matches.