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NY Cosmos bring Pele, Raul and diplomacy to Cuba

By on June 2, 2015

Football fans were twice united in celebration today. First, to breath a sigh of relief at the end of Sepp Blatter’s corruption-ravaged FIFA presidency. Then, thousands of miles away in Havana, the New York Cosmos played the Cuban National Team in their own new dawn of sorts.

“When I was told that there was a chance of facing the Cosmos, I quickly said ‘yes’ because I was aware of this club, their history, their prestige,” Cuba coach, Walter Benitez said in March. “Now I realize that this is bigger than I figured.”

The two teams broke political barriers, jointly saluting the Cuban crowd at the end of the ninety minutes. The Cosmos were the first American sports team to visit Cuba in sixteen years and found the crowd welcoming. They brought Raul, Pele, and most importantly a revived spirit of American-Cuban diplomacy. Before the game, the American flag was unfurled and the Star-Spangled Banner played.

And speaking of barriers, the Cosmos had little trouble breaking down Cuba’s defense. A Cuban side that has failed to qualify for the World Cup since 1938 were made to look amateurs (as many of them are) by the North American Soccer League’s Cosmos.

The result hardly deterred the Cuban crowd (though the day’s rain did, dissuading fans from seating in the uncovered sections of the Pedro Marrero Stadium), as they turned out in spades to see former Real Madrid and Spain star Raul. His name was chanted at the final whistle, and when the 37-year-old assisted the Cosmos’ first two goals, the Cuban crowd cheered as if it was their own.

First, a lucky deflection led to Raul finding Lucky Mkosana on the edge of the box in the ninth minute. Mkosana had all the time in the world to volley a low finish into the bottom-left corner.

“Getting our early goals in the beginning was huge for us,” Mkosana said. “I felt like the atmosphere from the [Cuban] fans was phenomenal. Everyone was just trying to support us wherever we went and I think that was big for us today.”

The Cosmos had by far the majority of possession and while Cuba often ventured forward, their play was disrupted by a bad touch, wayward pass or misplaced shot. The playing surface hardly helped. In the thirty-third minute, the Cosmos found a second when Raul drew to defenders to head down Danny Szetela’s cross for the unmarked Sebastián Guenzatti to volley home. The third came less than three minutes later, with Hagop Chirishian tapping David Diosa’s head-down into the back of the net from point blank range. Mkosana made it four with another volley on the brink of the half.

Cuba netted the only goal of the second half as consolation, with Andy Vaquero coolly finishing from ten yards out after Reinier Cerdeira rescued an overhit cross; however, that was after Cosmos manager Giovanni Savarese admitted to taking his foot off the gas for the second half and was aiming to rotate and let his players enjoy the game. It is not every day, after all, a player in NASL — America’s second division — gets to be part of such a momentous occasion.

Homepage photo credit: Wikipedia Commons

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.