Cosmos name Davide Corti head coach ahead of 2026 season

The New York Cosmos have their man.

The side hired Davide Corti as head coach ahead of their inaugural season in USL League One next year. He will be the ninth person to hold the position since the Cosmos first started playing more than half a century ago.

This news was first announced this morning on CBS Sports Golazo's Morning Footy.

Corti joins the Cosmos on a multi-year contract after spending the last two years coaching women's football in Italy, first with AC Milan Women and most recently with UC Sampdoria Women in Serie A Femminile. This is his second time coaching a men's senior side, having been the manager of AS Ostia Mare Lido Calcio in the fourth division of Italian soccer in the mid-2000s.

Originally a player with caps on the Italy national under-18 football team, the now-53-year-old began his career in AC Milan’s youth system as a defender, eventually making his First Team debut in a Coppa Italia Round of 16 match against US Lecce. However, that would mark his only appearance with the club before leaving in 1992.

Corti appeared for seven more teams over the course of the next 13 years, remaining mostly in Serie C, the third division of Italian football, before retiring from play in 2005.

Not long after, Corti returned to Milan, where he spent the next 12 years holding multiple titles in the organization, such as youth coach, technical director, academy director, and consultant. During this time, Corti also moved to New Jersey and held multiple roles in major youth soccer organizations. He became technical director of Cedar Stars Academy (CSA), the powerhouse that has produced New York City FC talent such as Tayvon Gray and Seymour Reid, and joined New Jersey Rush before returning to Italy in 2021.

*Davide Corte's appointment was announced on Morning Footy | Courtesy CBS Sports Golazo*

Back at AC Milan, Corti shifted to the women’s game and worked extensively with the organization's academy over the next few years.

Corti continues a trend of Italian venire at the Cosmos, joining Head of Soccer and former Italian Men's National Team player Giuseppe Rossi at the club. But alongside CEO Erik Stover, he might also be the least flashy announcement thus far.

His recent record as a head coach isn't stellar. After taking over mid-season for AC Milan women, the team only won three of ten matches, finished in the bottom half of the table, and were forced to play in the relegation round. However, Milan went undefeated in this eight-game stretch to avoid demotion and remain in the top flight. With Sampdoria, Corti led the team through the first nine games of this past season, when I Blucerchiati failed to win any games and were outscored 22-3. He left the team in November 2024, and Sampdoria finished last in Serie A, and are now relegated to Serie B for this season.

Maybe Corti's extensive work with youth players is the type of thing the Cosmos want, especially as the team's values change from flashy stars to homegrown products.

Here is the full text of the official statement released by the New York Cosmos:

New York Cosmos name Italy’s Davide Corti as ninth head coach and first of USL League One era

PATERSON, NJ (Sept. 4, 2025) — The New York Cosmos have appointed Davide Corti, an experienced and versatile coach from Milan, Italy, as the ninth head coach in the club’s competitive outdoor history and the first of its USL League One era.

Corti, 53, has signed a multi-year contract and will begin his duties immediately, reporting to Cosmos Head of Soccer Giuseppe Rossi. The long-time professional defender most recently managed AC Milan and Sampdoria in Italy’s top women’s league, the Serie A Femminile. He previously spent a dozen years at AC Milan as a youth technical director, coach and scout, and then another four years with New Jersey youth clubs Cedar Stars Academy (CSA) and New Jersey Rush SC.

Corti holds a UEFAA License and a Master’s Certificate in sports psychology from the Catholic University of Milan. He speaks Italian, English and Spanish.

“We're thrilled to welcome Davide to our team,” Rossi said. “He brings a wealth of experience as a coach, having worked in the prestigious youth system of AC Milan, as well as in youth development in New Jersey. Combined with his impressive career as a player, Davide offers a unique perspective that perfectly aligns with what we're building here at the Cosmos.”

Cosmos Chairperson Baye Adofo-Wilson said, “Davide is a top-class person. His personality off the field and in the locker room was just as important for us as his tactical coaching ability. He’s a very good fit for our club.”

The Cosmos will return to competition in spring 2026 as members of USL League One, which launched in 2019 and sits at the second tier of the USL’s professional pyramid. Home matches will be played at historic Hinchliffe Stadium, a recently renovated, 7,800-seat venue in downtown Paterson, NJ. The Cosmos previously played in North Jersey from 1977 through 1984, when a team featuring the likes of Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia won four NASL titles and inspired fans across the world.

“The Cosmos were the first American club that we started talking about in Europe. This club has a history of promoting soccer, and it was amazing that some of the best players went there to play and promote the game and help it reach the level that it’s at now,” Corti said.

“But it’s not just about the name. I believe the people who are part of this project are really going to make the difference,” Corti continued. “I see the passion they’re already putting into it, making arrangements to start from the ashes, because the Cosmos have been out of competition for a few years. It’s a big challenge, and I like challenges. Second, I really like the people. And then the name ‘Cosmos ’is something that really excites me. I would like to bring my effort and personal experience to this project so we can bring the Cosmos back to the level they deserve.”

Corti was raised in AC Milan’s youth system and played for Italy’s U-18 national side. Although he eventually appeared for Milan’s first team in a 1990-91 Coppa Italia match, opportunities were limited at a star-studded club that just won consecutive European Cups. So Corti departed in 1992 and embarked on an educational 13-year journey through the domestic pyramid, playing for Empoli FC, Pro Sesto 1913, US Brescello, Novara Calcio, Castel di Sangro Calcio, AC Meda 1913 and AC Legnano.

Upon his 2005 retirement, Corti began scouting for AC Milan while working as the youth technical director for Ostiamare Lido Calcio, a Serie D club outside Rome. Three years later, after coaching Ostiamare’s first team, Corti returned to Milan to begin a 12-year stint as a youth coach, technical director, academy director and consultant.

Corti had visited the U.S. during Milan’s 1991 preseason tour and remained intrigued by soccer’s stateside growth. In 2017, he embraced an opportunity to delve more deeply into American soccer and became technical director at New Jersey youth powerhouse Cedar Stars. Corti instructed coaches, developed programming and training methodology, and managed CSA’s U-19 and U-16 teams. He then moved to partner club New Jersey Rush before returning to Italy in 2021.

Back at AC Milan, Corti shifted to the women’s game and worked as an academy technical coordinator while coaching the Rossoneri’s U-19 team, which won the prestigious Viareggio Women's Cup tournament in 2023. Later that year, Corti took over the club’s Serie A Femminile squad, arriving mid-season and finishing the league campaign on a 8W-0L-2D run. Milan also reached the Coppa Italia Femminile semifinals. Corti then was hired by Sampdoria, but he departed the Genoa club in November 2024.

That remarkable array of experiences—from youth to pro; as a coach, technical director and administrator; and from Italy to New Jersey and back—allowed Corti to stand out among the Cosmos’ potential head coaching candidates.

“Davide not only understands the critical importance of youth development but also knows how to provide the right input to our first team players, helping them maximize their strengths on the pitch,” Rossi said. “Beyond his on-field qualities, Davide embodies the values and principles we seek in our head coach. We’re proud to have him lead our team as we embark on this exciting new venture.”

Corti is the Cosmos ’ first native Italian head coach, although South Africa-born Eddie Firmani played for the Italian national team in the 1950s. Corti succeeds Carlos Mendes, who managed the Cosmos during the fall 2020 NISA season (the club’s most recent competitive campaign).

The full list of Cosmos head coaches, with the outdoor seasons they managed:

Gordon Bradley (1971-1977), Ken Furphy (1976), Eddie Firmani (1977-79, 1984), Ray Klivecka (1979), Júlio Mazzei (1979-80, 1982-83), Hennes Weisweiler (1980-81), Giovanni Savarese (2013-17), Carlos Mendes (2020), Davide Corti (2026).

For more information on the Cosmos, please visit https://www.nycosmos.com/.

For Cosmos membership deposits and ticket information, please see https://tickets.thecosmos.us/event/member-deposits-05ef99.