ONCE IN A LIFETIME

THE first time we watched this documentary it was a bit like uncovering some long lost artefact or, at the very least, reading a forgotten history. When you think about football (association as opposed to gridiron) in the United States you don’t normally associate it with (pardon the pun) global superstars playing in front of massive and adoring crowds, but that’s what it was like in the 1970s in New York.

Once in a Lifetime, directed by Paul Crowder and John Dower, tells the story of the New York Cosmos, who for a time were just about the biggest sports club in New York. The club attracted players of the calibre of Pelé and Beckenbauer.

The story of how Pelé was lured to New York – apart from the buckets of cash thrown in his direction – is a stand-out moment in the film: it turns out Henry Kissinger, in between planning bombing raids on Cambodia, put in a call to the great man to convince him to sign.

The Cosmos were founded and run by Hollywood mogul Steve Ross and with typical showbiz flair he made them the hottest ticket in town. Crowder and Dower’s film stylishly tells the story of a crazy time for football in New York and in the United States.

Unsurprisingly, given that it was the 70s, there was a lot of bacchanalia going on. It seemed like one hell of a party as the sexual revolution of the 60s really took hold and before the outbreak of HIV in the 1980s.

The interviews with the big names – Der Kaiser, Pelé and Carlos Alberto – are of course fascinating, but where the film really shines is in the interviews with the lesser known players from the time. They didn’t get the money, but they did get a taste of fame as they were swept up in the madness of it all.

The good news is that this documentary is available for free on YouTube if you search for it.