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Marosevic, Lopez latest additions to booming Cosmos roster

BY DAVE MARTINEZ

After a relatively quiet start to the winter, the New York Cosmos have gone on an acquisition spree. Thursday morning, the team announced further reinforcements with the signing of former Toronto FC striker/midfielder Peri Marosevic and Guatemalan striker Henry Lopez.

Both players were acquired after taking part in the team’s first player combine, which attracted some 500 applicants but only featured 200 trialists.

“The quality at the combine was impressive and these players showed very well over the weekend,” Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese said. “They are clearly comfortable with the ball at their feet and they each have decent experience for their ages. These two strengthen us up front and give us different options.”

Marosevic, 23, is the fifth signing for the Cosmos with experience at the MLS level. The U-20 standout earned a Generation Adidas contract and was picked 5th in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by FC Dallas. From there, the young striker joined the Toronto FC organization, where he made a strong impression, scoring two goals through seven league matches.

The following season, he was offered a chance to return to the team with a new contract deal. Though he treasured his time with the club, he decided to give Europe a try.

It was a decision he would regret taking. After being led towards promises with clubs that fell through (or didn’t exist in the first place), the young striker went ten months desperately trying to latch on with a club.

“It was difficult being misguided,” Marosevic admitted. Still, after his long journey, he found a home with Croatian second division side NK Junak Sini in October of 2012.

“Some things may not have worked the way I wanted to, some have but today here I am a member of the New York Cosmos and that is very exciting for me.

“I am not going to look into the past. I am a very positive person and look more towards the present moment and moving forward and trying to learn from everything I have been through.”

He is joined by 20-year-old Guatemalan striker Henry Lopez, the scorer of the game-winning goal against the U.S. U-20 team that eliminated the United States and booked his country’s trip to the 2011 U-20 World Cup. He has also made four appearances with the Guatemalan senior national team.

Both players join a budding stable of players including four former MLS players (Carlos Mendes, Hunter Freeman, Kyle Reynish and Korey Veeder), midfielder Ayoze (formerly of La Liga side Sporting Gijon) and members of the Cosmos’ former PDL side (Dane Murphy and Stefan Dimitrov.

The Cosmos are set to return to action for the Fall NASL Championship, opening up at home against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on August 3rd at Hofstra University.

Comments

  1. I don’t get the hate as well. Hopefully they can become successful and help build D2. Adu to the Cosmos is as no brainer to me as he would give them their biggest buzz so far. With the partnership of MLS and USLPRo, I think you’re building a good foundation for American players. A strong D2 league is part of the missing link.

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  2. So this team that doesn’t actually play any games and instead just blabs about their incredibly overrated history of playing fake soccer with washed up stars in a league that folded signed a couple more rejects.

    And pretty hilarious posing for this photo in Manhattan. Wonder how long it takes to get from Spring St. to Hofstra. A lot longer than it takes to get to RBA that’s for sure. Clowns.

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      • I think most of the hate comes from:

        1) Red Bulls fans. They probably aren’t thrilled at the rise of another team in the area, especially after all the struggles of the MetroStars, getting Red Bull Arena in NJ after NY put up the usual bureaucratic struggles, and a lot of the flack they get for being sponsored by Red Bull. I’m also guessing that to long-term fans, it seems sort of like the area is abandoning the team for an old legend without giving the current-MLS team a chance.

        I think. I’m a RBNY fan, but I’m relatively recent compared to some fans and I’ve never been to an actual game. Way too far. And the geography issue is in itself is a hard concept for NJ/Manhattan/Brooklyn-based fans to get. If they don’t want to go to Hofstra because of the distance, how can they expect to soccer fans from Queens and Nassau to do the same for the Red Bulls, when that stadium is even farther?

        2) Franchises in other cities, especially in Orlando. These fans hear talk of the Cosmos and assume, particularly with Garber’s NYC-bias, that they’ll be the 20th team. Now whether that will be true, I don’t know. Like you said, there’s plenty of reasons to support a strong D2.

        3) People who don’t like New York or New York-centric stuff.

        4) People who are tired of hearing about the Cosmos and who wish that soccer fans here will let the legend die.

        —————————————–

        That said, I’d really love to see a strong D2! Why not use the NASL as a way to include 2nd-ary teams from big cities and overlooked smaller cities/regions?

        You could have a 20-club league like (I’m including the current ones):

        1. Atlanta Silverbacks

        2. Carolina Railhawks

        3. FC Edmonton

        4. Fort Lauderdale Strikers

        5. Minnesota Stars

        6. New York Cosmos

        7. San Antonio Scorpions

        8. Tampa Bay Rowdies

        9. Puerto Rico Islanders

        10. Ottawa

        11. Virginia Calvary FC

        12. Indianapolis

        (enter the hypotheticals!)

        13. New Orleans

        14. St. Louis

        15. Memphis or Nashville

        16. Tucson or Phoenix

        17. Las Vegas

        18. Detroit

        19. Baltimore

        20. I’m torn between: Austin, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Cleveland or Cincinnati, or Newark in the US; or Calgary or Winnipeg in Canada)

        That could be a fun league to watch and maybe it will fill in some of those gaps that MLS doesn’t cover.

  3. I wonder how the recent momentum in Orlando alters the Cosmos efforts to join MLS as the coveted 20th team. MLS could do a double-expansion in the same year, but the Eastern Conference would need tweaking with 2 new clubs.

    Pretty exciting for US soccer in general, and the NY City fanatics.

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      • Houston is first in line to move back. As for KC, where they end up probably depends on where the 22nd team is likely to be.

      • MLS should stop at 20 and start building up the lower divisions after that. MLS could further fund USL and NASL through some sort of partnership.

      • As a Houston fan, I’m hoping this doesn’t happen. The budding SKC-Houston rivalry has really already overshadowed the Texas Derby.

        I don’t really see any other recourse, though. Moving Toronto would be cruel, and the league may want to nurture the Toronto-Montreal rivalry.

  4. so, are the looking at running the USL table for a couple years? going to wait for their chances on getting an invite to the MLS? or just start another Men’s league that folds?

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      • joining the MLS would mean losing full ownership of the club and having to operate under MLS’s strict salary rules. The Cosmos don’t want to do that. They will stay in the NASL and build up the league and build their brand.

        it’s better for the growth of soccer in this country anyway to have a strong D2

  5. Freddy should join the cosmos… not even kidding… He can make some money, give them more exposure, and hopefully stay on if they become an actual team in a year or two.

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    • He’s already making more than most in mls and Philly owns him for 2 more seasons. I agree that it would make sense from a pr standpoint and playing time but only if Philly gets something in return like $$$

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      • Can’t see the Cosmos being willing to both pay Adu’s full salary and a transfer fee. I doubt they’d even want to pay his salary, actually. He’s probably making more than an entire NASL sides. I agree that it would be a good move for both sides, but I think it would have to be a loan deal with Philly kicking in some cash. They’re desperate to get rid and have hurt their leverage by publicly stating as much.

    • This is actually a really good idea. Obviously, Freddy needs to establish himself all over again. If he’s willing to toil in the NASL for a couple of years, he could be the marquee player the team would be looking for.

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