1981 New York Cosmos season
New York Cosmos 1981 soccer season
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The 1981 New York Cosmos season was the 11th season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. Despite winning their fifth straight premiership by five points over the Chicago Sting, the Cosmos lost to the Sting in Soccer Bowl '81.
General managerKrikor Yepremian
Manager
Hennes Weisweiler[1] (Joint with Özdenak)
Yasin Özdenak[2] (Joint with Wiesweiler)
Hennes Weisweiler[1] (Joint with Özdenak)
Yasin Özdenak[2] (Joint with Wiesweiler)StadiumGiants Stadium
NASLDivision: 1st
Overall: 1st
Playoffs: Runners-Up
Overall: 1st
Playoffs: Runners-Up
| 1981 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| General manager | Krikor Yepremian | ||
| Manager | Hennes Weisweiler[1] (Joint with Özdenak) Yasin Özdenak[2] (Joint with Wiesweiler) | ||
| Stadium | Giants Stadium | ||
| NASL | Division: 1st Overall: 1st Playoffs: Runners-Up | ||
| National Challenge Cup | Did not enter | ||
| CONCACAF Champions' Cup | Did not enter | ||
| Top goalscorer | League:  ( goals)All: ( goals) | ||
| Highest home attendance | 42,385 vs. CHI (May 17) | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 12,240 vs. FTL (June 24) | ||
| Average home league attendance | 34,835[3] | ||
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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.
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Source:[4]
Results
Source:[5]
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).
Eastern Division Standings
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York Cosmos | 32 | 23 | 9 | 80 | 49 | +31 | 200 |
| 2 | Montreal Manic | 32 | 15 | 17 | 63 | 57 | +6 | 141 |
| 3 | Washington Diplomats | 32 | 15 | 17 | 59 | 58 | +1 | 135 |
| 4 | Toronto Blizzard | 32 | 7 | 25 | 39 | 82 | −43 | 77 |
Overall League Placing
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York Cosmos | 32 | 23 | 9 | 80 | 49 | +31 | 200 |
| 2 | Chicago Sting | 32 | 23 | 9 | 84 | 50 | +34 | 195 |
| 3 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 32 | 21 | 11 | 74 | 43 | +31 | 186 |
| 4 | San Diego Sockers | 32 | 21 | 11 | 67 | 49 | +18 | 173 |
| 5 | Minnesota Kicks | 32 | 19 | 13 | 63 | 57 | +6 | 163 |
Source:[6]
Matches
- March 29, 1981: New York Cosmos 3, San Jose Earthquakes 0 Spartan Stadium Attendance 20,671
- April 4, 1981: Jacksonville Tea Men 1, New York Cosmos 1 (Tea Men won in Shootout) Jacksonville, Florida Attendance 12,124
- April 12, 1981: New York Cosmos 3, Minnesota Kicks 1 Giants Stadium Attendance 40,378
- April 18, 1981: New York Cosmos 3, Dallas Tornado 0 Texas Stadium Attendance 10,181
- April 26, 1981: New York Cosmos 4, Tampa Bay Rowdies 1 Giants Stadium Attendance 40,238
- May 1, 1981: New York Cosmos 3, Atlanta Chiefs 2 Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium Attendance 9,263
- May 3, 1981: New York Cosmos 1, Washington Diplomats 0 Giants Stadium Attendance 34,189
- May 10, 1981: New York Cosmos 5, Toronto Blizzard 1 Giants Stadium Attendance 27,003
- May 15, 1981: New York Cosmos 2, Tulsa Roughnecks 1 Skelly Stadium Attendance 24,231
- May 17, 1981: Chicago Sting 3, New York Cosmos 2 Giants Stadium Attendance 42,385
- May 23, 1981: Washington Diplomats 3, New York Cosmos 2 Robert F. Kennedy Stadium Attendance 27,676
- May 25, 1981: New York Cosmos 5, Dallas Tornado 1 Giants Stadium Attendance 33,640
- May 30, 1981: Tampa Bay Rowdies 2, New York Cosmos 1 Tampa Stadium Attendance 36,765
- June 2, 1981: New York Cosmos 2, Montreal Manic 1 Olympic Stadium Attendance 38,667
- June 7, 1981: New York Cosmos 2, Atlanta Chiefs 1 Giants Stadium Attendance 31,452
- June 10, 1981: New York Cosmos 2, Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1 Lockhart Stadium Attendance 18,089
- June 14, 1981: New York Cosmos 4, Toronto Blizzard 3 Giants Stadium Attendance 31,210
- June 17, 1981: New York Cosmos 2, Washington Diplomats 1 Robert F. Kennedy Stadium Attendance 36,875
- June 21, 1981: New York Cosmos 3, Los Angeles Aztecs 0 Giants Stadium Attendance 38,362
- June 24, 1981: New York Cosmos 2, Fort Lauderdale Strikers 0 Giants Stadium Attendance 12,240
- June 28, 1981: Chicago Sting 5, New York Cosmos 5 (Sting Won in Shootout) Wrigley Field Attendance 35,501
- July 5, 1981: New York Cosmos 3, Tulsa Roughnecks 2 Giants Stadium Attendance 33,673
- July 8, 1981: New York Cosmos 2, Toronto Blizzard 1 Varsity Stadium Attendance 17,642
- July 22, 1981: New York Cosmos 4, Montreal Manic 4 (Cosmos Won in Shootout) Giants stadium Attendance 27,331
- July 25, 1981: New York Cosmos 2, Montreal Manic 1 Olympic Stadium Attendance 40,118
- July 29, 1981: New York Cosmos 2, Portland Timbers 0 Giants Stadium Attendance 28,640
- August 2, 1981: Jacksonville Tea Men 2, New York Cosmos 1 Giants Stadium Attendance 36,408
- August 5, 1981: Minnesota Kicks 2, New York Cosmos 1 Metropolitan Stadium Attendance 28,609
- August 9, 1981: Edmonton Drillers 2, New York Cosmos 0 Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium Attendance 14,781
- August 12, 1981: New York Cosmos 4, Washington Diplomats 2 Giants Stadium Attendance 34,884
- August 16, 1981: New York Cosmos 2, Montreal Manic 1 Giants Stadium Attendance 38,123
- August 19, 1981: New York Cosmos 1, Toronto Blizzard 1 (Blizzard Won in Shootout) Varsity Stadium Attendance 12,367
Postseason
Overview
First round
| Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsa Roughnecks | – | Minnesota Kicks | 1–3 | 0–1 | August 22, 26 | |
| Portland Timbers | – | San Diego Sockers | 2–1 | 1–5 | 0–2 | August 22, 26, 30 |
| Jacksonville Tea Men | – | Atlanta Chiefs | 3–2 | 2–1 | August 23, 25 | |
| Calgary Boomers | – | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 1–3 | 0–2 | August 23, 26 | |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | – | Vancouver Whitecaps | 4–1 | 1–0 | August 23, 26 | |
| Seattle Sounders | – | Chicago Sting | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | August 22, 26, 30 |
| Montreal Manic | – | Los Angeles Aztecs | 5–3 | 2–3 | 2–1 | August 24, 27, 30 |
Quarter-finals
| Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | – | New York Cosmos | 3–6 | 3–2 | 0–2 | September 2, 5, 9 |
| Montreal Manic | – | Chicago Sting | 3–2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | September 2, 5, 10 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | – | Minnesota Kicks | 3–1 | 3–0 | September 2, 6 | |
| Jacksonville Tea Men | – | San Diego Sockers | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | September 2, 6, 9 |
Semi-finals
| Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | – | New York Cosmos | 3–4 | 1–4 | September 12, 16 | |
| San Diego Sockers | – | Chicago Sting | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | September 12, 16, 21 |
Soccer Bowl '81
| September 26 | Chicago Sting | 1–0 | New York Cosmos | Toronto, Exhibition Stadium |
Matches
Friendlies
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 1 |  FC Birsfelden | N [n 1] | 9–0 | n/a | Chinaglia (5), van der Elst (3), Romero |
| February 16 |  Deportivo Morón | A | 2–2 | 25,000 | Chinaglia (2) |
| February 21 | Cipolletti | A | 4–1 | 8,000 | Chinaglia (2), Borja, Cabañas |
| February 21 | Boca Juniors (B) | A | 9–1 | 10,000 | Chinaglia (4), Romero (4), Bogicevic |
| February 25 |  Colo Colo | A | 0–1 | 45,000 | – |
| March 3 |  Peñarol | A | 4–3 | 40,000 | Chinaglia (3), Romero |
| March 5 |  São Paulo | A | 1–3 | 50,000 | Chinaglia |
| March 8 |  Paraguay | A | 5–2 | 45,000 | Romero (2), Seninho (2), Chinaglia |
| March 11 |  Guadalajara | A | 0–1 | 45,000 | – |
| March 15 | América | A | 2–4 | 105,000 | Chinaglia, van der Elst |
| March 17 |  El Salvador | A | 5–1 | 31,209 | Chinaglia (2), Seninho (2), Cabañas |
| March 19 |  Los Angeles Aztecs | A | 1–0 | 3,534 | Cabañas |
| May 20 |  Anderlecht | H | 1–2 | 30,512 | van der Elst |
| June 4 | São Paulo | A | 2–2 | 53,617 | Chinaglia, DiBernardo |
| July 1 |  Greece | H | 2–0 | 42,318 | Cabañas, Chinaglia |
| July 12 |  Celtic | H | 2–0 | 29,215 | Romero, Durgari |
| July 15 |  Southampton | H | 2–1 | 29,614 | Bogicevic, Romero |
| July 19 | Seattle Sounders | H | 3–3 | 40,724 | Chinaglia (2), van der Elst |
| August 30 | Grêmio | H | 1–3 | 30,523 | Chinaglia |
| October 4 |  Canada | A | 1–1 | 3,000 | van der Elst |
| October 7 | Canada | A | 0–4 | 10,688 | – |
| October 10 |  Valur | A | 6–2 | 10,500 | Chinaglia (3), Bogicevic (2), Romero |
| October 13 | Borussia Dortmund | A | 2–4 | 10,000 | Davis, Chinaglia |
| October 18 |  Milan | H | 1–1 | 6,000 | Chinaglia |
- Notes