SI: The best player in the NASL you ever played against?

Chinaglia: Rodney Marsh. He was a great player. I thought he was one of the best.

SI: Why did the NASL fall apart?

Chinaglia: Because we went from 16 franchises to 24. There was not enough talent for 24 franchises. The bottom line is always the talent.

SI: You are portrayed in the film as a great scorer -- and, in your role as the Cosmos' de facto GM, as a manipulative and Machiavellian guy. Fair or unfair?

Chinaglia: The reality is this: I had a mission to do. [Cosmos owner] Steve Ross wanted the best franchise in the world and I had to change the team every year. But before I did it I spoke to Steve Ross about it. Don't forget we started selling out after Pelé left. So I tried to get the best 15 or 16 players from around the world to make sure people came to the stadium. And they did. So let's be realistic. They weren't talking about the Yankees in those days. They were talking about us.

SI: If you were not a soccer player, what profession would you have entered?

Chinaglia: It's difficult because by the age of 15 I was finished with school and was a professional. I only know this world. I learned a lot of things besides that. I owned restaurants, I was a builder. But there is nothing in the world like sports. In my day you see one or two football games on a Sunday. Now you see them all.

SI: You might have made a good film director.

Chinaglia: But I would have no actors. They would all say, "F--- him. He wants us to do things we can't do." That's why I was never a coach. My expectations are you have to be like me. But you can't do that because I was a nut.

SI: Are you looking to work in the MLS?

Chinaglia: I would be interested but I am too much of a threat. I think I could do a great job for New York. You have to bring back that credibility that the good players are here. Let me ask you a question: How much money has the league lost in 10 years? So I'd want the possibility of getting more people investing in it than having a slow death. I think the league should be 12 teams and at least two or three stars on every team, not just New York. Then you won't average three or four thousand people. The problem is you have too many people involved in soccer in this country that know nothing about the game. They know nothing about the talent. You don't make a team with a balance sheet. Yeah, you have to make a business plan, but that business plan when it has to do with human beings is difficult to do. If the Yankees did not have all these stars, would they sell out every game?

SI: If you thought Pelé was out of shape, you told him. You were one of the few players to speak their mind to Pelé, right?

Chinaglia: Well, don't forget I had the backing of Steve Ross. I had two contacts. One as a player and one as an executive. That's why all these people were pissed off. People like Rafael de la Sierra, they wanted to put their two cents in.

SI: You would have a glass of Chivas Regal in the locker room after games?

Chinaglia: Yeah, with ice. I could never eat before the game. I was too nervous. I used to go to the hotel before the game and sit by myself. I had a lot of responsibilities. Not only was I a player but I was a guy in charge of the team more or less. So if something went wrong, it would be on me.

SI: How close did the Cosmos come to getting Diego Maradona?

Chinaglia: I tried to get Maradona because we played against him on our tours. He played for the under-21 team in Argentina. I said, Steve, we gotta buy this guy. He said, Who is this guy? I said, He's going to be the best in the world. Like Pelé. Then he says, How much will he cost? I say, We gotta find out. But then the federation stepped in. [Argentina coach César Luis] Menotti came to New York. We said we wanted to buy Maradona. He says Maradona is too much of a hero for the country and he is the future. The son of the b---- did not even bring him to the World Cup in 1978, which is when we wanted to buy him. I didn't get him, but I got Julio Cesar Romero from Paraguay. He had a great career. We got him for $600,000. You can't buy an ice cream for that now.

SI: Is Chelsea the Cosmos of today?

Chinaglia: No question. Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona. But we were the first guys to do it.

SI: Have you seen Freddy Adu play?

Chinaglia: Yes, and too much is expected from this kid. He's not up there yet. If he's hungry enough he can be a top-level striker, but I don't think he's hungry enough now.

SI: You once said, "I don't have the tact to be in-between. I am an open book." You have no problem telling people what you think of them, do you?

Chinaglia: I tell you what I think of you and I'll tell you what's right and what's wrong. I have problems with MLS because they are doing a lot of things wrong. They only thing that is right is Mike Cohen, the executive producer of television. There are some good guys in the MLS in the office but they don't realize that people don't come to see the front office. People come to see the players on the field. And if you don't have good players -- especially in New York -- nobody is going to come and watch.

SI: How will Germany fare in the World Cup?

Chinaglia: They are a bad team. The coach [Jurgen Klinsmann] is a nice guy but he should not be coaching. Yes, he was a great player, but I think his concept of soccer is different.

SI: What do you think of England's Sven-Goran Eriksson?

Chinaglia: Excellent coach. He gave a different dimension to England. He coaches what he thinks is right. Just look at the fact that he brought up a young player, Theo Walcott, who is not even playing for Arsenal. Sven is not afraid of that. He did that when he was at Roma as well. He brought up some young players and everybody laughed at him and he lost the championship in the last game. He is a great coach and he knows what he is doing but he is missing some players in England. You can't think to win a World Cup with the forwards they have. Michael Owen just came back from injury. Wayne Rooney we don't know. [Peter] Crouch is not bad, and then there is Walcott.

SI: So who do you like to win?

Chinaglia: Brazil and then you have to put Argentina. France has a good mixture of experience and young players. Italy always does well. England I don't think so much of, though Sven-Goran Eriksson is a good friend of mine.

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