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Even Pele and Raul could not stop New York Cosmos from collapsing twice – FourFourTwo travelled to the Big Apple to discover whether the iconic club’s latest revival can finally be different.

Among the caddies at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York, Donald Trump is known by the nickname ‘Pele’, because he is said to cheat regularly by kicking his ball out of the rough and on to the fairway, imitating the brilliance of the Brazil legend.

The nickname also fits because, for many years, Pele was effectively Trump’s only genuine football reference point, having gone to Giants Stadium in neighbouring New Jersey in the 1970s to watch the forward play for New York Cosmos, back when the future US president was working in his father’s property business.

Well-known faces were often in the stands for Cosmos matches – Mick Jagger, Muhammad Ali, Andy Warhol, Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford among them – before later mixing with the players in the dressing room. With Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto and Giorgio Chinaglia also in the squad, making them football’s first Galacticos before that phrase even existed, Cosmos became the most sought-after ticket in town.

Between 1972 and 1982, they lifted five North American Soccer League titles and became one of the most recognisable names in American sport – at the peak of their fame in 1978, Cosmos drew average crowds of 48,000. For the 1979 season, fashion designer Ralph Lauren teamed up with British kit maker Admiral to design the team strip.

Yet their fall was as swift as their rise. In 1982, when Colombia withdrew from hosting the 1986 World Cup because of financial issues, Steve Ross, Cosmos owner and Warner Communications/Time Warner chief executive, led the United States bid to replace them, believing it would revive the struggling NASL. FIFA chose Mexico instead – in 1984, the NASL folded and Cosmos disappeared, a star that shone brightly but faded quickly.

That Cosmos era still survives in the Big Apple today – in the middle of Times Square, the Pele Soccer shop sells retro Cosmos merchandise alongside modern shirts carrying the names of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe.

In 2010, Cosmos were reborn. Three years later, they played their first competitive match in almost three decades when they entered the revived North American Soccer League, this time a second-tier competition below MLS. Cosmos won it three times, with Real Madrid legend Raul and fellow Spaniard Marcos Senna among the players to represent the club during that spell.

In January 2021, after playing half a season in a third-tier league, Cosmos announced that they had “paused team operations”, and eventually the lights went out once more. Even so, the name endured. Last year, Cosmos were revived again by property developer Baye Adofo-Wilson and Erik Stover, a former New York Red Bulls managing director who was responsible for signing Thierry Henry in 2010 and who had worked as chief operating officer during the club’s second era.

Former Manchester United, Villarreal and Italy forward Giuseppe Rossi also invested in the club, becoming vice-chairman and director of soccer. The club settled into a new home at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey, 15 miles north-west of Manhattan, and confirmed they would compete in USL League One, a Division Three-level competition in the USA. Thus began the third era of Cosmos.

This latest Cosmos version has placed the emphasis on producing its own players rather than assembling a side full of stars. Rossi is the biggest name at the club – the 39-year-old was born and brought up in New Jersey, but held an Italian passport and joined Parma at the age of 12. Five years later, Sir Alex Ferguson signed him for Manchester United.

Now, his objective is to give talented young footballers in the New Jersey area a pathway that many others may never have had. “Not everyone has dual nationality, or a father, mother and sister sacrificing themselves in the way that mine did for me,” he tells FFT. “But kids need to feel as if they’re able to get there. How can they do that domestically and have the right mentorship? That’s what I’m trying to create here. I feel like the Cosmos is a stepping stone in their career, not the end goal. That should be playing at the highest level.”

Developing the next wave of talent is one thing, but Cosmos were once a relentless winning machine. So how does Rossi strike the balance? “It’s a great honour to be part of American soccer history, having this responsibility to continue to grow it and show respect to those who were here before us,” he says. “That’s something we’ve been very conscious of. We let the players understand what the Cosmos means, the history of the players who were here before them.

“Yes, we have our own philosophy, which is thinking about young players, getting local talent and helping them grow. But also paying respect to the winning culture that was created with the Cosmos. There’s a fine line and it’s a challenge, but a beautiful challenge.

“Not many clubs can say they’ve had Pele and Beckenbauer playing on the same team. We’ve had that, and not only that, but what the club did to grow the game, especially in the 1970s and ’80s. We have to continue to pay tribute to that. Because of that past, the Cosmos shirt weighs a bit heavier than others. These kids are realising that and have bought into it.”

Italian coach Davide Corti – previously manager of Milan’s women’s team – was appointed before the club’s first USL League One match this March. After a playing career that brought 30 caps for Italy, did Rossi ever think about becoming a coach himself? “I don’t have the patience!” he smiles. “But I’m always on the field at training, I do what the coach needs me to do.

“Every morning I wake up aching, but I love just being there, giving them as much insight as possible: the way that I see the game, the way things should be done. They’re embracing it and they listen, which is great.

“I’m fully invested in the Cosmos. I’m invested mentally, emotionally, and invested pocket-wise too, so it’s a big part of my life. It’s something I really do care about – there’s just so much of what I wanted to do post-career in this project. We’re only a few months into it and success will be finding the balance between the development of young kids and a winning culture. Fans love to win – giving them the satisfaction of trophies is something I’d love to do.”

For the latest version of Cosmos, it matters to have a bloodline running through the club, connecting the past to the present. In chief executive Stover, and in captain Sebastian Guenzatti, the club has exactly that.

Stover has spent more than 25 years working with sports teams and venues in the United States, so a return to Cosmos was an opportunity he could not ignore. “What I learned when I was involved with the club the first time was that we have a global media reach,” he tells FFT. “We’re not on the same level as Real Madrid, but we are a very well-known sports brand. When I worked for The Meadowlands Sports Complex earlier in my career, there were photographs on the wall of everything that happened in the New York metropolitan area that was globally significant – Live Aid, Bruce Springsteen, and it all happened at Giants Stadium. But the thing people talked about the most was the Cosmos.

“When the club stopped last time, did I think the Cosmos would take to the field again? I’d say 80 per cent no. But there were five foundational pillars of bringing the club back – Hinchliffe Stadium and a place that we could call home, joining the USL and its upcoming promotion and relegation system, the 2026 World Cup, identifying local New Jersey and New York talent, and lastly the local community of Paterson.

“The big opportunity on the football side is around player development, to try to correct what we’re doing all wrong in this country, especially if you’re in an urban area. If you’re a talented player in an urban area, you have little to no chance of making it professionally. The system in the USA is set up all wrong. It’s pay to play, so largely it’s wealthier kids who have the opportunity to play, because they can pay for the kits, the boots, the travel and the coaches.

“We know there are players coming out of Paterson. But then in northern New Jersey, there are 4.5 million people, and that’s not counting New York City, upstate New York and southern New Jersey. Just within 10 miles of where we are, there are 4.5 million people. There are players here who have the potential to become the next Mbappe or Messi, but they’re not getting the opportunity. So our approach is, ‘Let’s stop complaining about it, let’s find these kids and give them opportunities, let’s break that cycle.’”

While Rossi grew up in New Jersey and built a career in Europe, Cosmos head scout Jose Angulo was denied a similar route – the Colombian could not move abroad because of visa problems. “Giuseppe was a part of the New Jersey system, he was lucky enough to have an Italian passport and go to Italy at 12,” Stover explains. “Then we have Jose, who was a very gifted player and grew up here in Paterson, but didn’t have that opportunity. He went down the typical route for an urban kid in America – he went to the best soccer high school in the country, St Benedict’s in Newark, and won the national championship every other year, but that’s not a proper developmental path to get a player into a professional contract.

“These guys are running our football department and have two very similar but very different experiences – that was not by accident when we were building the club. We needed that experience – they understand it better than anybody because they’ve lived it.”

The relaunched club’s first signing also mattered, because it was important to generate excitement and draw supporters back to watch the team. That player was Guenzatti, who first joined Cosmos in 2013 and played alongside Raul and Senna.

A Uruguayan who moved to Queens as a child and also played with Joe Cole at Tampa Bay Rowdies, he was more than happy to come back. “I’m 34, but I feel like I just started my career,” he says. “Coming back to the Cosmos and playing with a lot of young guys, it makes you feel young. I have to run a lot during training and games to try to be the guy they look up to. I want to be a mentor for players.

“I grew up in New York and New Jersey from when I was 10, so I know what the Cosmos means to people. Pele wore that shirt, Chinaglia, Beckenbauer and many other unbelievable players did too, so it does carry pressure. It’s like Manchester United and all the top teams in England – there’s a different pressure. It’s a new era now, with the younger players, but we have to keep that pressure going. You have to make yourself feel like you’re part of a top team.”

Rain is lashing down in Paterson as FourFourTwo heads to Hinchliffe Stadium to watch Cosmos host Brooklyn FC in the USL Cup. The U-shaped ground also stages baseball, American football and athletics, so the pitch carries plenty of line markings, but there is no roof over any of the stands. Despite this being a brand-new derby for the area, many supporters have chosen to remain at home. Football in America is not known for huge travelling support – only around 30 Brooklyn fans have made the coach trip of more than an hour to Paterson from the club’s base on Coney Island.

Jairo Reyes, from Cosmos supporters’ group The Five Points, has driven from Long Island to back the team. He is busy hanging banners and arranging the drums in the section behind the goal. “It doesn’t matter if they’re playing in Paterson, Brooklyn or Long Island, to us it’s the Cosmos, and we’ll be here,” the 45-year-old tells FFT enthusiastically. “I went to my first game in 2014 – they played 15 minutes from where I lived, so it was easy. I was just a casual fan back then. I knew of the history of the Cosmos and Pele playing for them, and I became hooked. I’ve always been a football fan and before that I watched Barcelona. I’ve been to Spain to watch them, even a Clasico.”

How did Reyes feel, as a Barca fan, when Real Madrid icon Raul joined Cosmos in 2014? “It was terrible!” he jokes. “The Cosmos had always had Galacticos in the past – it was amazing to see Raul and Marcos Senna.”

At one stage, Cosmos hoped to become the third franchise from the New York area in MLS – New York Red Bulls and New York City FC already compete there. Now, though, the USL suits them perfectly well, with promotion and relegation due to arrive in 2028 along with a new tier, USL Premier, which would have Division One sanctioning from US Soccer – the same status as MLS.

Promotion and relegation will be a first not only for football in America, but for American sport in general, and it gives Cosmos the chance to climb a new pyramid through success on the pitch. “As a fanbase, we believe in promotion and relegation,” Reyes says. “We don’t go and watch MLS games – we have New York Red Bulls and NYCFC on our doorstep, but they aren’t of interest to us. MLS doesn’t represent what we believe soccer culture should be. It’s a closed shop and uncompetitive. When promotion and relegation comes in, we’ll have a more exciting and more competitive league in the USL.

“Cosmos started in USL League One as the club is promoting themselves as being community based, so you want to grow the fanbase first, then move up the divisions with a solid foundation.”

Just like promotion and relegation, local derbies are rare in the United States, but this first-ever Cosmos vs Brooklyn meeting may be the beginning of something special. “Having this derby with Brooklyn is great for soccer culture in the area,” Reyes adds. “Just having something else other than NYCFC or Red Bulls will help create more of a fanbase. Brooklyn host games at Maimonides Park on Coney Island, where the Cosmos used to play a few years ago. There’s still a mural on a wall there that says ‘Coney Island is Cosmos country’.”

Hinchliffe Stadium is the ninth home ground in Cosmos history – as well as Giants Stadium and Maimonides Park, they have also played in Queens, at other venues on Long Island and at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Paterson is not the easiest place to reach from Manhattan – roughly 15 miles in a straight line, but by public transport it takes an hour and a half using two buses. FFT’s bus driver has not even heard of Hinchliffe Stadium, so cannot tell us where to get off.

Even so, having a ground that Cosmos can truly call home is essential, even if this match does not go well for them. Brooklyn play one division above Cosmos, in the USL Championship, and take the lead when Honduras international Juan Carlos Obregon Jr heads in.

Brazilian Gabriel Alves soon makes it 2-0 with a powerful left-footed strike, and French midfielder Abdoulaye Kante puts the game beyond Cosmos before half-time. After a 3-0 win, Brooklyn declare “We run New York”, although the Cosmos fans never stop singing throughout, backed by flares and banners.

“This should be a derby where we play at the same level as Brooklyn,” Cosmos manager Corti says after the match, underlining the club’s ambitions for the coming years. “We’ll take some time to get into the USL Championship, but we will make it and play these derby games in the league, not just the cup.”

On the way out of the stadium, we catch Rossi’s eye, still soaked after standing in the rain. “You picked the worst possible game to come to, but we’ll be back,” he smiles.

It is difficult not to believe him. A long journey still lies ahead for Cosmos, and there will be more wet and difficult days. But if they get what they want, brighter times are coming.

A former Fulham and Everton forward is the driving force behind New York’s other USL debutants.

Brooklyn FC may not have the history of Cosmos, but they also entered the USL this season – with Brian McBride serving as sporting director and general manager.

“I want to make the people of Brooklyn proud,” the former Fulham, Everton and USA striker tells FFT, having also previously worked as general manager of the national team. “But I also have to be the person who’s going to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and do it all within a budget. That part is really important. You can have a vision of what you want to do, then you have to have it fit into a structure financially. I’ve really enjoyed that process.”

Unlike Cosmos, Brooklyn have begun life in the USL Championship, although a recent vote has confirmed that from 2028 there will be promotion and relegation between that division, the planned USL Premier above it, and League One below. “It was really courageous of the owners to vote yes on promotion and relegation – it’s a statement that they’re taking a chance, that they want it to work and be the difference between MLS and USL,” he says. “Every game matters – you hear stories from players who have been relegated and how half the staff were let go, so it’s a really big deal.”

Football clubs have existed in Brooklyn before, including Cosmos, but the aim of the new club is to provide local people with a team they can truly call their own.

“We want to represent them in our work ethic and our impact, on and off the field,” McBride adds. “The World Cup has been a huge opportunity for us – the exposure for soccer in this country has been massive. Other sports fans have been realising, ‘Wait, soccer’s fun!’”

As someone who played in both Merseyside and West London derbies, how does McBride view the possibility of a growing rivalry between Brooklyn and Cosmos? “I played for the Cosmos!” the 54-year-old laughs. “When they came back in 2011, I played in a game for them against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Eric Cantona was our manager and we had players like Patrick Vieira, Fabio Cannavaro and Dwight Yorke. We lost 6-0 against a Manchester United side that had Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney in it.

“Growing up, I was a Chicago Sting fan and I saw them play the Cosmos, so I saw Pele and Giorgio Chinaglia play. I wore the No.9 shirt because of Chinaglia, even though I played at left-back then!

“Derbies are hugely important, especially for fans. It gives them a reason to go to games, to try to out-sing their rivals. Those rivalries help in any sport.”