Press Conference: NY Cosmos/Santos Laguna

June 22, 2026

On Monday June 22, 2026 the New York Cosmos and Santos Laguna held a virtual press conference ahead of their international friendly at Hinchliffe Stadium on Sunday, June 28 at 5:00 pm.

Media-members, of both English and Spanish-language outlets from the local area, and Mexico, participated in a question-and-answer session to discuss the upcoming friendly match.

Participants:

• Erik Stover, CEO, New York Cosmos

• Giuseppe Rossi, Head of Soccer, New York Cosmos

• Davide Corti, Head Coach, New York Cosmos

• Jordan Chavez, defender, New York Cosmos

• Carlos Quiñones, Head of Communications, Santos Laguna

• Javier Abella, defender, Santos Laguna

• Lucas Di Yorio, forward, Santos Laguna 

  
  

Opportunity to face Santos Laguna

Cosmos CEO Erik Stover opened the virtual press conference by highlighting the importance of playing a club like Santos Laguna, and the advantages of having a home venue like Hinchliffe Stadium which allows for these types of opportunities.

"This is a huge opportunity for us." Stover said. "It is a big task to bring the club back in a short amount of time and to have the opportunity to play a club of Santos Laguna’s stature so early in the process is remarkable for us."

“This is what Hinchliffe Stadium does for us: it gives us an opportunity to continue the legacy of the Cosmos in a way that the club was among the first to really do a lot of international friendlies, both home and abroad. We are continuing that tradition, and Santos Laguna is a massive club and a huge opportunity for us.”

Cosmos Head of Soccer Giuseppe Rossi reiterated the importance of facing Santos Laguna.

"It’s an honor to play against a historic team like Santos Laguna. The players are excited, and it’s a great opportunity for our community. We know the history, we understand the level, and having Santos Laguna here on Sunday is something special." He continued, “We are a community-first club, but we are also the Cosmos, which is a global brand, and games like this reinforce who we are.”

Rossi also addressed the importance of this match as the club aims to be a club that reaches out to all communities.

“There is football fever right now. This next month is going to be football, football, football, and having a game in the middle of the World Cup, it’s going to benefit the number of people that are going to come watch. Having Mexico and the USA doing so well in the World Cup, that also helps the atmosphere around what this game could bring. I’m very much looking forward to the atmosphere on Sunday.”

Impressions on facing the Cosmos

Santos Laguna defender Javier Abella was asked how he felt about traveling to the United States to face a historic club like the Cosmos.

Abella responded, “We know it’s a club with a lot of history, that many very important, high-profile players have played here, so as a club it has big international weight. For us, it’s important to come here to the United States with all the fans, the “warriors without borders” who are always supporting us.”

Santos Laguna’s Argentinean striker Lucas Di Yorio also provided his thoughts on facing the Cosmos.

“It’s a special match because it’s a new challenge and a chance for us to continue growing during preseason.” He added, “These matches are important for us to see how we’re progressing and preparing for the start of the league season.”

Santos Laguna forward Lucas Di Yorio.

Thoughts from Cosmos players Jordan Chavez and Javier Garcia

Cosmos defender Jordan Chavez and goalkeeper Javier Garcia, who are both of Mexican ancestry, were asked what it means to them to play against Santos Laguna.

“I’ve grown up watching Liga MX, so being able to step on the field against a team like Santos Laguna is a dream come true.” Chavez further stated, “It helps us grow as a team and gives us a chance to measure ourselves against a big club.”

Garcia added, “Coming from a Mexican background, it’s certainly an honor to be playing against a team like Santos Laguna.” He further stated, “It’s not just a friendly for us, it’s a chance to test ourselves and learn from a club of that level.”

Cosmos defender Jordan Chavez.

Thoughts from Cosmos Head Coach Davide Corti

Davide Corti was asked if the Santos Laguna match presented a welcome break from the league season and would provide a refresh for the club after its difficult start to the season.

“We consider this one of the most important games we’re going to have moving forward.” He further stated, “We will use these two weeks before we get back on track with the official games as a kind of “preseason in brackets”, where we can regroup a little bit, have a fresh start, have a better understanding of what we need to do.”

Corti also indicated that the club will have some trialists coming in and they would be looked at during the match. He pointed out the importance of adding experienced players to the roster.

“From what we’ve all seen, and since we are in this position on the table, we need to bring on board someone with a lot of experience as well, coming from this league or eventually from the Championship.” Corti added, “We just sat down and we had a conversation with Giuseppe and Erik in terms of how we need to move forward. Unfortunately, the beginning of the season was not as good as we were expecting, and so we decided, moving forward, to have this great opportunity to play with Laguna and use it as an opportunity to try out some players.”

Head Coach Davide Corti.

With the Cosmos vision of being a community club while also being a global brand, it is expected that the tradition of bringing international clubs representing the communities in the local area being an annual occurrence.

For tickets please visit the following link: https://tickets.nycosmos.com/event/cosmos-vs-santos-laguna-liga-mx-qkabxl