1981 New York Cosmos season
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.
| 1981 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manager |   | ||
| 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:  All: | ||
| 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] | ||
|
| |||
Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
Source:[4]
Results
Source:[5]
Friendlies
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 25, 1981 | Colo Colo | A | 1-0 | 30,000 | N/A |
| March 3, 1981 | Peñarol | A | 3-4 | 40,000 | Chinaglia |
| March 5, 1981 | São Paulo FC | A | 3-1 | 50,000 | N/A |
| June 4, 1981 | São Paulo FC | A | 2-2 | 53,617 | N/A |
| August 30, 1981 | Grêmio | H | 1-3 | 30,523 | Chinaglia |
| October 13, 1981 | Borussia Dortmund | A | 4-2 | 10,000 | Chinaglia |
| October 18, 1981 | Milan | H | 1-1 | 6,000 | Chinaglia |
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
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
References
- https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/01/sports/cosmos-to-retain-mazzei.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/01/sports/cosmos-to-retain-mazzei.html
- http://www.rsssf.com/usadave/nasl.html
- http://nasljerseys.com/Rosters/Cosmos_Rosters.htm
- http://soccerstats.us/teams/new-york-cosmos/1981/
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2013-03-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.