They reached the league playoffs in 1976 and then won the championship the following year, with Pelé making the All-Star team both years.
His arrival drew crowds and advertisers swarmed the club. Robert Redford, owner of Warner Communications, watched with glee as celebrity fans like Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol, sometimes in stadiums and often in Studio 54, the hot nightclub where New York’s beautiful people gathered, turned to Cosmos Fortune. Used to follow
Pelé’s success prompted the Cosmos to sign other big names, including Italian Giorgio Chinaglia, West German captain Frank Beckenbauer and Brazilian World Cup winner Carlos Alberto.
Other clubs were also forced to invest to keep up. All-time greats such as Georg Best, Johan Cruyff, Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore and Gerd Muller were among those who enjoyed being in a league where money seemed to be no object.
However, after Pele retired in 1977, interest began to wane. The league expanded too quickly, could not pay salaries, and crowds and sponsorship fell. The last full season was in 1984.
However, Pele never regretted his move. He said that he felt this to be true when the United States was selected to host the 1994 World Cup tournament, which proved to be a massive success.
