The N.Y. Cosmos will play their first game since '84 in August when they face off in an exhibition match against Manchester United, the "first step of a plan to rebuild what was once the most glamorous franchise" in soccer, according to Ian Griffiths of the GUARDIAN. Cosmos Dir of Soccer Eric Cantona reportedly is "lining up aging United stars to join the new Cosmos party, if not in the MLS then as part" of the exhibition match at Old Trafford. The "man with the plan" for rebuilding the Cosmos is Paul Kemsley, who in '09 bought the "sporting remnants of the Cosmos legacy." Kemsley has stated that he wants the Cosmos to join MLS as an expansion team, and a source said, "With the Cosmos the aim is to build the brand and then build the team around that. It will not be cheap, it may not work, but it will be interesting." Griffiths noted the "bill could run into hundreds of millions of dollars if the Cosmos are ever to grace the professional soccer stage again." The "long-term brand building philosophy may have sound business credentials but it does not square with Kemsley's ambition to rapidly turn the Cosmos into 'the number one soccer franchise in the world'" (GUARDIAN, 6/11). The Cosmos said that players for this match "will be invited 'from around the world,' but offered no further details." SPORTING NEWS' Brian Straus wrote, "Regardless of who winds up playing for the Cosmos, Cantona's involvement surely will steal a good chunk of the attention. The Frenchman remains an icon at Old Trafford, where he starred for five years in the mid 1990s" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 6/10).
