Pelé—the onetime international soccer superstar—declined to be interviewed for Once in a Lifetime, a documentary about the New York Cosmos.
His omission is like a missed penalty kick. Also missing is Steve Ross, the master of Warner Communications, who became boss of the Cosmos and the Zeus of soccer in the United States. He died in 1994.
Those omissions leave a bothersome gap in this film. Pelé and Ross appear in archival footage, but it's as though the headliners did not show up for the big game.
To fill in the gap, directors Paul Crowder and John Dower use a lot of other interviews—the most lackluster of which are those from a slew of media, generally a mediocre group of analysts. Many of the interviews are shot before a bland screen and lack liveliness.
Fortunately, one-time Cosmos star and Machiavellian member of the team, the incorrigible Giorgio Chinaglia, lights up his interview, filling in the dull space with his massive ego, hulking presence and matter-of-fact, strangely engaging cockiness. He would be a worthy antagonist for Tony Soprano.
Another effective interview is with Jay Emmett, one-time vice president of Warner Communications and a partner with Ross in the Cosmos venture. He says the story of the Cosmos will be like the movie Rashomon: "Everybody has a different view of everything." Evidence of this is when estimates of Pelé's contract range from $4.5 million to $2.7 million.
The Cosmos were formed on a wing, a goalie and a prayer. Steve Ross, itching to buy a pro team, decided to make soccer his balm. In 1971 he took the plunge and bought a dismal semipro team; it and its playing field were in desperate disrepair.
The transforming moment came when Ross signed Pelé, the Brazilian who had led his nation to three World Cups. For more than 10 years, the Cosmos went on a giddy ride. But in 1984, having lost their national TV contract, the team dissolved, and the league and the dream came to an end.
Once in a Lifetime is like a soccer team that plays good defense but lacks offense. It misses Pelé.