COSMOS COACH FIRMANI IS NOW SEEING STARS.

Byline: Brian Trusdell Associated Press 

For Eddie Firmani, one of the great soccer mercenaries, Giants Stadium is about as close to a home as he has.

It's where he won two league titles with the fabled Cosmos, starring Pele, Giorgio Chinaglia, Franz Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto. Firmani was their last coach.

``Home is where I'm coaching,'' said Firmani, now 62. ``But New Jersey, I like it very much. It's lovely to be back. It would be nice to be stabilized here for a few years.''

Before the press conference to announce him as coach of the New York-New Jersey MetroStars three months ago, Firmani first walked through Giants Stadium's two-tiered press box to gaze out its windows and get a look at the field for the first time in many years.

``It was wonderful,'' he said.

Some consider it risky for Firmani to take a job with a team in Major League Soccer, the United States' new first division. But to Firmani, risk is relative.

Five-and-a-half years ago, Firmani was coaching Kazmah Sporting Club in Kuwait when the tanks and soldiers of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein came rolling through town.

He was taken to Baghdad, where he waited four months to get out of Iraq; he ended up coaching another team.

The Gulf War situation ``was unfortunate,'' he said matter of factly. ``It helped me realize quite a few things. It helps you realize what life is all about. It helps you get your priorities in order. But I'm a fairly stable guy. I think I stay cool in those situations, so I think I can handle it better than most.''

Born in South Africa, Firmani was a first-division league standout in England and Italy with Charlton Athletic, Sampdoria, Internazionale and Genoa. He played or the Italian national team and coached on three continents.

During his stints in the United States, Firmani won the 1975 North American Soccer League title with the Tampa Bay Rowdies and then moved on to the Cosmos, where he managed to combine the talents of its star-laden roster to win championships in 1977 and '78.

After the NASL folded following the 1984 season, Firmani spent much of the next decade in the Middle East: Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, winning league titles there, too.

The MetroStars, who lost their opener 2-1 to the Galaxy last weekend, played their home opener Saturday night against the New England Revolution.

He's won with superstars. He's won with youngsters. He coached the Philadelphia Fury and Montreal Manic in the early '80s before returning to the Cosmos in 1984.