I saw him play for the Cosmos many times. He was a great player and a wonderful personality who did a great deal to popularize the game in this country. He was a deadly finisher. As this video shows, he could score with either foot and with his head. While he could look a bit awkward at times, he actually had a fine first touch and superb ball control and he was fast enough to beat most defenders. May he be long remembered for his contributions to football in the USA. Condolences.
Announcers Jim Karvellis and Shamus Malin........Geogio Chinaglia is missed so much by me. I was devastated when he passed away. I will NEVER forget all the years I had season tickets and witnessing my very first goal by Pele. Those were the days, to say the least.
Indeed they were Lucille! This video brings back some truly great memories. I'm 58 now, and remember the thrills seeing Pele's first debut game at Randall Island stadium, and then having Cosmos season tix for every year they played in East Rutherford! My father was a huge soccer fan who emigrated here from abroad, and he lived for taking his 3 sons (us!) to the Cosmos games. He always talked about how soccer would become popular in the USA, and cried when Giants Stadium was filled to capacity after The Cosmos became very popular. My father passed at age 85 in 2015. Dad, wherever you are... I love you forever, and thanks for the great times!
Greetings from Canada! "Soccer Camps of America"...... I share your happy memories. In the summer of '83 my parents drove me from Kingston, Ontario to Manhattanville College in White Plains, NY for 2 weeks at the Hubert Birkenmeier Goalkeeping Camp. Every minute of it was magic. I returned to Canada with the Top Goalkeeper trophy, my first ever individual silverware, and the confidence that experience instilled in me changed my entire course in the years that followed. Looking back on it now, I wonder if maybe the Cosmos knew at the time that the N.A.S.L. was financially troubled, and that (while successful) their model of cherrypicking expensive international legends was unsustainable long-term. These camps might have been their (too little, too late) attempt at identifying young domestic talent and (who knows?) creating a youth team/academy scheme like all professional clubs employ today. I was 13 when the league folded, and a Toronto Blizzard supporter. Part of me wants to believe that if the N.A.S.L. had survived 5 more years, that the Cosmos might have maintained a relationship with me of some kind, as part of an inexpensive homegrown talent pool. That, I will never know.
Giorgio was a great player. I couldn't believe it when I heard that he had pass away. I became a BIG fan by watching old NASL videos of the Cosmos. 50 goals in one whole season and 7 goals in one game, that's unbelievable! 32 goals in the regular season and 18 in the playoffs. He still and most likely will always be the all time point leader in American Professional Outdoor Soccer with 467 points. Also he's 1978 regular season with 34 goals, 11 assists for 79 points will be never broken.
As far as the modern day athlete running the show, Chinaglia was a trendsetter in that regard. He stirred the drink and knew the ingredients he needed to put the ball in the net. Period.
I was simply stating my opinion and that´s all. Everyone has the right to state their own opinion and that´s it. It´s a shame how some people go on here only to bad mouth others. I liked Chinaglia a lot and some hated him and they´re entitled to do so and I won´t ever criticize them for it. Great post and have a great day!
Don't f*cking sweat it mate. If you see my post above, I met the man - he was 100% class. A person with experience will never be beholden to a person with an opinion. Let the haters hate.
I can't believe he's gone!! I just read about it Online. R.I.P. Giorgio #9. I started wearing #9 back in the 70's because of Giorgio and he was always my favorite goal scorer. What a true legend goal scorer. There will never be another like him. Soooooooooooooo sad today!!
I had the privilege to meet him in his prime, when I was a star-struck 13 year old attending one of the Cosmos summer youth camps. Anyone who tries to tell you that he was a "me first" egomaniac simply doesn't know what they are talking about. He was scheduled to give a 30 minute demonstration, followed by a 30 minute talk. What he did instead, was clear the rest of his day, and spend 8 hours walking around the campus- encouraging and engaging us. Of course Giorgio loved football. Few people know how much he loved kids, and how passionate he was about growing the game from the grassroots level. He genuinely wanted young domestic players to commit themselves to following their dreams. Giorgio Chinaglia envisioned a future where talented U.S. and Canadian born players would make up the bulk of the roster spots in the professional league. He was decades ahead of his time, and we should remember and respect him as much for his vision, as we do for his greatness on the field.
Giorgio was the Phil Esposito of soccer. Not the most graceful of soccer players, but surely one of the dealiest scorers. Could put it in with either foot or his head. Nobody was faster on the spin & shoot. He was tough as nails to boot. It was a privilege to watch him at Giants Stadium back in the glory days of the Cosmos. RIP Giorgio, thanks for the memories.
Great analogy! I never made that connection before, but you are EXACTLY right - his size and strength, and ability to get free close in to the goal was very similar to Phil Esposito. They both got criticized (wrongly) for scoring tap in/garbage goals, but: 1. they first had to get free of defenders and 2. every goal counts. If it was easy, everyone would do it. Respect to you from Canada.
Yes, Giorgio wanted the glory of scoring a goal. However, if Chinaglia saw an opportunity for a teammate to score Mr. Chinaglia would take that opportunity. Yes, Mr. Chinaglia wanted the glory. But in the long run Mr. Chinaglia realized that the pursuit of Glory is a team effort.
I have re-watched a lot of New York Cosmos games here on You Tube. Mr. Chinaglia had a Ceaser demeanor on the field. However, Mr. Chinaglia had a Blue Collar aspect to his play on the field.
Everybody thinks that Pele was the Cosmos. Not really, it was Giorgio Chinaglia who made the Cosmos into one of the most historic teams from North America. I didn't hear of his pasting. I'm getting a Cosmos jersey and it's going to have Chinaglia's name and #9 in it.
He was a one-man show; scored 90% of his goals inside 8 yds. On his own admission, he wasn't even a team player and was more or less disliked by the entire Cosmos roster and management except for Steve Ross. Chinaglia can count on one had how many times he assisted goals. I saw his play several times and thought he was not someone to emulate, at all.
I used to go to school with his son in Naples. Giorgio was always really nice to me and funny. Stayed at their house a few times. Marcel Ron Donald Anthony lol. Cool time
@@keyuantejohnson6266 It's almost as though you are spoiling for a fight (?). I'm not specifically a New York Cosmos supporter - I just know my football history, and I give credit where credit is due. In my opinion, as a retired professional and youth International, you are seeking to compare an English club founded in 1905 with a defunct American club that had a brilliant 6-7 year impact on the sport - and that makes you kinda daft. It's entirely possible that if I showed you a picture of your mom when she was 20, and a picture of Pamela Anderson today - you'd argue that your mother is a sexier woman. There's free therapy available for that, but my point would be that you aren't making equal comparisons. In a unique, short-lived period of time, the greatest players in the world wanted to play for the Cosmos, and every team in the world wanted to play against them. They got most of those players, and beat most of those teams. Obviously unsustainable from a financial point of view - it imploded. The fact remains, that the 70s Cosmos ignited interest in football on an entirely new Continent. They are why children started playing the sport, in the world's wealthiest nation (and my Canada too!), they are why the M.L.S. exists today. They are the reason that Canadian and American players dot the top 5 European leagues today, and their national teams routinely qualify for World Cup finals. Take the N.Y. Cosmos silverware over 7 years, and extrapolate it over the 120 years of Chelsea's existance, and tell me how that looks? Did Chelsea change the sport? Did Chelsea immerse a continent in future development? Awaken the giant? I'm Canadian, but I'm pretty sure that the United States are set to host their 2nd World Cup in 32 years...... and it isn't because Chelsea are a mid-table footnote in the English P.L. Game, Set, Match.
At 1:00, eagle-eyed viewers might notice Giorgio scores into a different goal than his previous goal, despite it being the same game. Real ones will remember that earlier that game, Mark Liveric celebrated a goal by jumping to grab the crossbar and breaking the goal. They had to bring in a backup goal, which frankly I'm amazed they had.
Some soccer goals are pretty; some aren't. But the point is to put the ball in the back of the net and few who played the game and scored goals were better than Chinaglia--he was simply one of the best strikers, if not the best, ever. It's also worth noting just how important, he, the Cosmos and the NASL were to the stunning groundswell of American interest in the sport of soccer in the 1970s and 80s. Considering 1986 marked the very first World Cup broadcast in the US, if you were an American kid in the 1970s especially, the NASL was the only chance to watch and enjoy international level soccer. Chinaglia was larger than life, he was fun to watch, and he scored goals. A lot of them.
How many of his shots were low to the far post? That's something that is very hard to get through to young players these days; always aiming for the top corner.
Yes, I am more partial to Pele, Franz Beckanbauer, Carlos Alberto, Vladislav Bogiecvich, Neeskens, Tueart, Hunt, Roth, Davis. Even, if one is considerably partial in their Dislike for Mr. Chinaglia. Like his friend Mr. Reggie Jackson, Mr. Chinaglia was the straw that stirred the drink in New York.
Even in his prime he was slow. His dribbling ability was below average, even for the era he played in. He was a pretty terrible teammate. That said, Giorgio Chinaglia was the PERFECT striker for those Cosmos teams. He could just score in every single way possible. Long shots, headers, deflections, breakaways.l, penalty shots, free kicks. He did it all.
My reflections of Giorgio Chinaglia weren't always positive. Myself and My fellow New York Cosmos loyalist in school had very unkind nicknames for Mr. Chinaglia. The main ones were "Garbage Goal Giorgio" and " Bustop Giorgio"
