Today, The New York Cosmos, reigning champions of the NASL and the most legendary franchise in American soccer history,  hosted a practice at Columbia University’s Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium. The practice was the first time Rocco Commisso, the club’s new Chairman, met with the team. In attendance were many new and returning players including Carlos Mendes, Andres Flores, Danny Szetela, and Jimmy Maurer, among others.  Following the practice, Commisso and Head Coach and Sporting Director, Giovanni Savarese, spoke about the Cosmos’ move to Brooklyn from Long Island and what to expect under the new leadership this upcoming season. In addition, they unveiled the sign-up of former Juventus, Palermo, and Fiorentina striker, Amauri to the 2017 roster.

“I’m honored to greet our team on the same grounds where I first kicked the ball for Columbia University 50 years ago. And I welcome Amauri to our historic club. The entire Cosmos organization is hard at work rebooting our franchise and focused on building a winning team to defend our 2016 Championship Trophy, which this year will be shared with all New Yorkers at our new home in Brooklyn,” said Commisso.

The Founder, Chairman and CEO of Mediacom Communications, the 5th largest cable television company in the United States, Commisso became the majority owner of the Cosmos in January. Today’s event brought him back to his home turf where he starred for the Columbia University men’s soccer team from 1967–1970.  Commisso served as Co-Captain of the 1970 Lions, Columbia’s first team to ever qualify for the NCAA men's soccer tournament. 

“We are glad to be back,” said Savarese. “Rocco has given the club a new breath of air and we are thrilled to have him leading the organization going forward. The team has been preparing well during the preseason and will continue to work hard to reach our best possible level by our first game on March 25th.”

The New York Cosmos announced earlier this month that MCU Park in Brooklyn will be the new home of the iconic soccer club. Located just steps from Coney Island's famed boardwalk, the stadium sits under the majestic Parachute Jump, and is surrounded by public beaches, amusement park attractions, restaurants and bars.  

The team will host a total of 16 regular season NASL matches at MCU Park this year, beginning with the home opener on Saturday, April 1 at 7:00 pm against Miami FC. Tickets are on sale now, for more information click here.  

The league’s split-season schedule will feature a 16-game Spring Season and a 16-game Fall Season. Within each season, the Cosmos will play each of its seven opponents home and away, plus two additional matchups. The Spring Season Champion and Fall Season Champion will each earn a spot – and semifinal hosting rights – in The Championship, the league’s four-club postseason tournament.  The remaining two postseason spots will go to the two clubs that collect the most combined points over the course of the overall 32-game competition (Spring and Fall Seasons).