Of the five hundred applicants that sought audience with the New York Cosmos in their first combine, all of 200 received the call to audition. In the end, two players made the cut; Peri Marosevic (who spoke to EoS yesterday) and Guatemalan international Henry Lopez.

Though the rate of return may seem slim to some, it was considered a great accomplishment for the Cosmos who will continue to hold these types of events in the months to come.

“I’m very content with the combine, the way things went,” Cosmos Head Coach Giovanni Savarese said, “especially to have been able to put this together in such short notice.

“It was a great combine on all different levels. A lot of the players were from overseas, some from outside New York and it was great to see so much talent at the combine.”

Marosevic for one had been plying his trade in the second division of Croatia while Henry Lopez last featured for UNAM Pumas of Liga MX fame. Overall, the international flavor present at the combine was indeed spread worldwide.

“There were some good players that came in with MLS experience and also with international experience from first division Spain, second division Italy, second division Holland, first division Brazil, so I think it’s great to get these kind of players,” Savarese noted.

In fairness to those trying to latch on with the team, he would not disclose specific names at this time.

“Definitely from this combine, there will be players that will come out very soon and I think that is very positive,” Savarese continued. “As you know, from combines, not many teams can say the same thing.”

Not all the players featured in the combine were strictly invitees. Many were recruited by Savarese himself while others received an invite from his budding coaching staff.

“A lot of times, there are players looking for a better place or a better situation,” assistant coach Alecko Eskandarian explained. “So if the Cosmos is the answer to that, I would be more than happy to introduce them to what we are doing here.”

“I was very pleased for the quality, for the level of this combine,” assistant coach Carlos Llamosa added. “A lot of international players with a lot of experience, MLS experience, but I was impressed by the local guys from the New York leagues.”

Llamosa, who emigrated to the United States and lived in New York for many years, began his professional career playing for the now defunct A-League’s New York Centaurs and New York Fever in 1996. One of the Cosmos stated goals is to integrate local talent to the club, which they hope to do with future combines as well.

“We have quality players in New York, the local market,” Llamosa said.

The club aims to hold tryouts on a monthly basis though that is yet to be confirmed. They do, however, hope to improve the recruiting and auditioning process for the opportunities to come.

“We are looking to do something different than what we did at this time,” Savarese said.

The Cosmos now hold nine total players within the club; five with previous MLS experience, one from Liga MX, one from La Liga and two others who have featured for the team’s former PDL side.