Werner Roth will be watching every USA match during the FIFA World Cup tournament.
“And what a fantastic performance from our USA team against Paraguay today. This is a great indicator of things to come for American soccer,” said Roth, former New York Cosmos captain and Soccer Hall of Famer, in one of several text messages to The Epoch Times on Friday.
Soccer fans of all levels of interest in the FIFA World Cup, even Roth, who captained and starred for the Cosmos (shortened from Cosmopolitans) of the 1970s North American Soccer League (NASL), are excited for Team USA’s Group D matches against Australia and Turkey in the coming weeks.
Soccer is in Roth’s blood. Now, at age 78 and living in Los Angeles with his soap opera actress wife, Robin Mattson, Roth understands more than most the pressure of playing before large stadium crowds, with the stakes on the line with each kick or goal.
Roth was an important player in soccer’s initial rise in popularity in America during the 1970s.
Wearing the Cosmos jersey for eight seasons (1972–1979), and playing alongside many of the best foreign soccer stars, including Brazil’s Pelé and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer, Roth and his teammates grabbed sports headlines with their dominance on the field.
He was a participant in the NASL’s 1978 Soccer Bowl, which saw the Cosmos win the championship 3–1 over the Tampa Bay Rowdies at New Jersey’s Giants Stadium before a crowd of 74,901.
“That championship match I remember was on a whole other level,” Roth said of the 1978 Soccer Bowl.
“I was at home in front of nearly 80,000 fans. With Pele on the sideline cheering us on, that was truly amazing. That day, we players felt the club and the game had finally arrived.”
For Roth, along with the USA squad in this FIFA World Cup, he has the “big boys” on his tournament watch radar: Brazil, Argentina, France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands.
He also said he looks forward to that breakout team that may make a great run and surprise everyone. As successful as Roth was as one of the game’s greatest defenders of his time, as recognized by his 1989 induction into the Soccer Hall of Fame, now located in Frisco, Texas, he is equally devoted to the game as a fan.
“Now with the quality of match broadcasts and large screens it’s so enjoyable to watch with family and friends at home or at watch parties which I’m doing,” Roth says, in the first text sent on Friday, 1o minutes prior to the USA–Paraguay match in suburban Los Angeles.
“I'll certainly watch every USA match, and probably Canada and Mexico, too. I like what Marsch [Jesse Marsch, coach of the Canadian men’s soccer team] has done with his team. I also like what [Mauricio] Pochettino is doing. I expect to see both playing at their best, and it will be so interesting to see how they measure up to the rest of the world.” Pochettino was hired in September 2024 as the head coach of the USA’s men’s national squad.
Growing up in New York City’s boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, and living in Manhattan’s Upper West Side until his retirement from the Cosmos in 1979, Roth was a hometown boy making a name for himself in professional soccer, at the right time, in the right place.
His years with the Cosmos, particularly the 1977 season, which was his first as the team’s full-season captain, remain near and dear to Roth, who played in two World Cup qualifiers in 1972.
“So the 1977 season, there was a lot of pressure for us to win. It was Pele’s last season, so we wanted him to retire as the champion that he was. The Soccer Bowl win was such a relief. I remember passing the trophy to Pele, thinking for the first time in my career, I was happy a season was over. Pele was happy. Our coaches and owners were happy. It was a huge relief for everyone,” Roth said.
From his NASL days, Roth tells of keeping in touch on a regular basis with his Cosmos star goalie, Shep Messing. He also remained in contact with Pelé and Beckenbauer until their passing.
Due to injuries, Roth retired after suiting up for only one game with the Cosmos during the 1979 season. After his playing days on Long Island and his summer sailing on the sound, Roth has resided in Los Angeles since 2006.
After attending many World Cup matches, especially semi-final and final matches many years ago, today Roth, with all his gravitas as one of the greatest defenders of all-time, is content to be a fan.
Gathered among soccer’s faithful followers during FIFA’s finest hour, Roth’s cheering for players young enough to be his grandchildren keeps him young, excited, and pleased to be one of the core players who made the game as popular in America as it is right now.
