Pelé, Chinaglia, Beckernbauer, Alberto and the Cosmos brought soccer to life in New Jersey in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

By chance, soccer had wandered into their home in Massapequa a couple of years earlier. Alan returned from school one day all ...

He asked legendary Pelé, playing for the Cosmos in the final competitive match of his career, for his jersey. “It’s very, very, very seldom when you play against a player or a team that you ...

The Cosmos would eventually move into Giants Stadium, in New Jersey, and draw record-setting crowds of over 77,000 fans. That venue, though, was still under construction in 1975. “I eventually w ...

“Pele Signs With Cosmos ... make soccer one of the fastest growing sports in the country. New York Cosmos jersey worn by Pelé during the 1976 NASL season. During this year, Pelé won ...

(Joedson Alves/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images) Perspective by Steven Goff On a rainy fall afternoon in 1977, at a stuffed stadium in New Jersey ... for the New York Cosmos and half for ...

Even after Pelé’s arrival, there were elements of the Cosmos that remained shockingly quaint. The Martinellis kept all of the club’s equipment — all of their jerseys, the whole lot of it ...

Pele wears his national team’s jersey in Rio de Janeiro ... finished his career with the Cosmos. “Whatever field of endeavor this man entered, physical or mental, he would be a genius ...

But the scene — in East Rutherford, New Jersey, of all places — was still ... directly to Pelé’s 28-month stay with the New York Cosmos. Basically, it was Pelé who put modern American ...

His final exhibition, in front of a record 77,000 soccer fans in New Jersey, was particularly special because it was between the Cosmos and Santos. To honor his long career, Pelé played half the ...

The 2025 games are expected to be the latest high point in a New Jersey soccer trajectory that peaked with Pelé. Scenes from Pele's farewell soccer game with the Cosmos, Giants Stadium ...