Pele in USA: 50 years on, late soccer legend’s stint with Cosmos is the model for Lionel Messi

It’s an easily recognizable script for American soccer fans: A ‘football’ legend coming off a historic World Cup run is paid handsomely to spend the autumn years of his career playing in the United States.

This time around it’s Argentina’s Lionel Messi who is rumored to be coming to the MLS to play for Inter Miami, a low-profile club team owned by a high-profile former league star in David Beckham. What’s more, various reports have other big names like Cesc Fabregas and Sergio Busquets following the reigning Golden Ball winner to South Florida.

It’s the latest volume in a familiar refrain from the MLS, which has previously lured Beckham, Carlos Valderrama, Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Steven Gerrard to the US with varying results.

And like so much in the sport, this well-worn path from an elite club team to the American soccer wilderness was first travelled by Pele, the soccer legend who finally succumbed to colon cancer in his native Brazil at 82 on Thursday. 

Pele is pictured before a game in Miami during his three-year stint with the New York Cosmos of the NASL

Pele – #10 of the New York Cosmos – shoots on goal during an NASL Soccer game circa 1977 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Pele’ played for the Cosmos from 1975-77

He was coming off his third World Cup win in 1970, when he was approached by a newly formed club in the fledgling North American Soccer League: the New York Cosmos. 

Pele wasn’t interested at the time, but he would relent five years later to sign a three-year deal reportedly worth an astounding $7 million – $2 million of which was used to pay his Brazilian tax bill.

But according to Pele, it wasn’t the money that convinced him to come out of semiretirement to help popularize soccer in the US – it was Henry Kissinger.

‘I am sure your stay in the United States will substantially contribute to closer ties between Brazil and the US,’ the former US Secretary of State told him, as quoted by Pele on Twitter.

Pele spoke at greater length about Kissinger with Esquire in 2016, saying that the German-born diplomat was visiting Sao Paolo in the mid-1970s when he approached the soccer star about promoting the game in America.

‘He invited me to go to the cafe with him,’ Pele told Esquire. ‘And there he said, ‘Listen. You know I’m from the United States, and I’m in politics there. Soccer is coming along there – they’re playing it in the schools. Would you like to help us promote soccer in the United States?’

‘And I said, ”My God.”’

Pele was coming off his third World Cup win in 1970, when a newly formed club in the fledgling North American Soccer league called. He wasn’t interested at the time, but he would relent five years later to sign a three-year deal reportedly worth an astounding $7 million – $2 million of which was used to pay his Brazilian tax bill. But according to Pele, it wasn’t the money that convinced him to come out of semiretirement to help popularize soccer in the US – it was Henry Kissinger. ‘I am sure your stay in the United States will substantially contribute to closer ties between Brazil and the US,’ the former US Secretary of State told him, as quoted by Pele on Twitter

Pele participates in an event for Special Olympians prior to a team practice on June 21, 1977 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey

(Left) Pele’ #10 of the New York Cosmos looks on during an NASL Soccer game circa 1977 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford. (Right) The seven year old son of Brazilian footballer Pele, Edson, pictured playing on the astro-turf of the Giants Stadium, New York, the home of the New York Cosmos

Pele’ #10 of the New York Cosmos in action during an NASL Soccer game circa 1976 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx

Initially, Pele did not envision himself spending several seasons in the US, but the team lured him into a longer stay with the signing of Italy’s Giorgio Chinaglia in 1976, as well as the additions of Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer and Brazil’s Carlos Alberto in 1977. The Netherlands’ Johan Cruyff was also rumored to be joining the team, and even played in exhibitions with the Cosmos, but signed with the Los Angeles Aztecs instead.

‘I said I would go for a year,’ Pele explained. ‘But I worried a little bit, because the level of play there was not that high yet. But then, once we started to promote it, it became very interesting. They brought over Beckenbauer, and Cruyff, and Giorgio Chinaglia.

‘That’s when I said, ”Wow, this is great,” and I agreed to play three more years. It kept going, they started playing in colleges, and it moved forward.’

The Cosmos were founded in 1970 by Turkish businessmen and brothers Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun of Atlantic Records, but were acquired by parent company Warner Communications two years later. And it was that company’s CEO, Steve Ross, who became the driving force to bring Pele to the States, ultimately enlisting Kissinger’s help.

PELE DEAD AT 82: LEGENDARY BRAZILIAN SOCCER STAR PASSES AWAY AFTER BATTLING COLON CANCER 

Pele, the Brazilian who has long been considered the greatest footballer of all time, has died at the age of 82

Pele, the Brazilian who has long been considered the greatest footballer of all time, has died at the age of 82.

The legendary figure, a man who transcended his sport and was a global icon, learned that his colon cancer had advanced on December 21 and was told he would be kept in hospital over Christmas – with the iconic forward needing treatment for cardiac and renal dysfunction.

Previously he had been admitted to the hospital on November 30 with swelling all over his body and ‘decompensated heart failure’ before passing away a month on after receiving palliative care.

Pele’s daughter Kely Nascimento wrote on Instagram: ‘We are thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.’

Nascimento, who had posted before Christmas that members of Pele’s family would spend the holiday period in the hospital with him, added three heartbroken emojis.

The Brazilian Football Federation posted a picture of Pele celebrating a goal, saying ‘RIP Pele’ and adding three crown emojis.

Sir Geoff Hurst, the former England striker, also paid tribute, tweeting: ‘I have so many memories of Pele, without doubt the best footballer I ever played against (with Bobby Moore being the best footballer I ever played alongside).

‘For me Pele remains the greatest of all time and I was proud to be on the pitch with him. RIP Pele and thank you.’

Initially, Pele did not envision himself spending several seasons in the US, but the team lured him into a longer stay with the signing of Italy’s Giorgio Chinaglia (right) in 1976, as well as the additions of Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer (left, after winning the 1978 NASL title) and Brazil’s Carlos Alberto in 1977. The Netherlands’ Johan Cruyff was also rumored to be joining the team, and even played in exhibitions with the Cosmos, but signed with the Los Angeles Aztecs instead

Pele’ #10 of the New York Cosmos in action during an NASL Soccer game circa 1976 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Pele’ played for the Cosmos from 1975-77

Making their debut in 1971, the NASL’s fourth season, the Cosmos went practically unnoticed in the Bronx, averaging 4,517 fans at Yankee Stadium. They would soon move to Hofstra University’s field on Long Island, where they averaged only 4,282 and 5,782 fans in 1972 and 1973, respectively

Pele delivers an overhead kick during a practice with the New York Cosmos in the mid 1970s 

General manager Clive Toye, an English former sportswriter, held a contest to name the club before settling on a suggestion from two local teachers, whom he rewarded with a trip to Europe.

Making their debut in 1971, the NASL’s fourth season, the Cosmos went practically unnoticed in the Bronx, averaging 4,517 fans at Yankee Stadium. They would soon move to Hofstra University’s field on Long Island, where they averaged only 4,282 and 5,782 fans in 1972 and 1973, respectively.

But it wasn’t until Pele’s arrival in 1975 that the team began to make inroads with New Yorkers.

At the time, the Cosmos were competing for New York City’s summer spotlight with Reggie Jackson and the Yankees, winners of the 1977 World Series, not to mention the crosstown Mets, who were popular and competitive for much of the decade.

The odds of winning over the city’s sports fans were slim, but Pele’s celebrity proved irresistible, even for soccer novices like New Yorkers.

‘Before Pele came to town, soccer games had only ever really been covered by junior reporters, often as some kind of punishment,’ sportswriter Gavin Newsham said in the documentary, ‘Once in a Lifetime.’

‘Now, though, there were over 300 journalists at Downing, including David Hirshey, Cosmos correspondent for the New York Daily News.’

CBS broadcast Pele’s first match at Downing Stadium on the city’s Randalls Island, where dirt was spray painted green to give the illusion of grass to television audiences.

Pele, naturally, did his part, helping lead the Cosmos back from a 2-0 deficit for a hard-fought 2-2 draw.

Audiences quickly became hooked.

Pele (left) and Chinaglia (right) gave American audiences a first-hand look at top-level international soccer 

The image of forward Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) #10 of the New York Cosmos is displayed on the video board on the wall of the stadium during a North American Soccer League game on May 17, 1976 against the LA Aztecs at Yankee Stadium

Pele quickly became the darling of American sports fans upon his arrival to the New York Cosmos in the mid 1970s

By 1977, Pele’s final season with the team, the Cosmos were averaging 34,142 fans a game at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In fact, they did even better after his retirement, averaging 47,856 fans a game the following season.

Of course, success helped. The Cosmos would win NASL titles in 1977, with Pele, and again in 1978 and 1980.

Along the way, Pele and the Cosmos had highly publicized meetings with Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, while the rest of the NASL did its best to attract other top names, including George Best, Gordon Banks, and Geoff Hurst.

And Pele & Co. weren’t only appearing on the sports pages. He and Chinaglia were regulars at New York’s hottest nightclubs, including Studio 54, making them tabloid fodder at the height of the disco age.

‘Sometimes, in the dressing room, I think I am in Hollywood,’ Beckenbauer told sportswriter David Hirshey.

International Soccer star Pele toured the White House and ended up in the Rose Garden giving President Ford a soccer lesson

Brazilian soccer star Pele gives a soccer ball to President Jimmy Carter during a White House visit

(Left) Pele’s longtime teammate in Brazil, Carlos Alberto Torres, would join him on the New York Cosmos. (Right) Pele is pictured with teammate Steve Hunt

The team’s popularity led to two international tours, including one in China, but Pele’s retirement after the 1977 season brought about the inevitable downfall. His final match at Giants Stadium was an exhibition against Santos, his old Brazilian club, with Pele suiting up with each team for one half.

Ticket sales remained strong for several years, but by 1980, the novelty had worn off. Exacerbating the situation was the end of a broadcast deal with ABC.

‘There was no business model,’ Shep Messing, Cosmos goalkeeper, told the Football Times. ‘After Pelé retired, the tent just kind of folded up. We were like Studio 54. For a moment everybody wanted us, and then they were on to something else.’

The Cosmos would win another title in 1982, which was the club’s last in the NASL.

The league folded after just two more seasons, but a later incarnation of the NASL would surface in 2011, and with it, another version of the Cosmos was born. The team now plays in the National Independent Soccer Association after the second NASL folded in 2017.

But while the team has become a historical footnote, Pele still credits his time with the Cosmos for much of his international fame.  

‘It was the best thing I did in my life,’ Pele told the Guardian about playing in the US. ‘I thank God for that because I became more well-known throughout the world after I came here.’ 

Pele of New York Cosmos is accosted by fans following a game at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, circa 1975-77