Alecko Eskandarian (, ) (born July 9, 1982) is an American retired

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player. He is the son of Andranik Eskandrian, a former player of the Iranian national team and the Esteghlal team. He is a former assistant coach for

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

and head coach for their reserve team, New York Cosmos B.

Career

High School and College

While at Bergen Catholic High School, Eskandarian won the 1999-00 Gatorade National High School Athlete of the Year Award. He was also named a NSCAA/Adidas All-American and New Jersey State Player of the Year after leading the state of New Jersey in scoring with 66 goals and 15 assists through 25 games during his senior year. He finished his high school career with 154 career goals, the most in Bergen County history and the third most in New Jersey high school history. Prior to playing as a professional, he played three years of soccer for the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

where he was named the best player in college soccer and awarded the Hermann Trophy in 2002 after scoring 25 goals (a school record) and 4 assists for the Cavaliers. He played three standout seasons at the University of Virginia and established himself as one of the all-time greats at the school. He finished his Cavaliers career with 50 goals (including 15 game winners), 113 points, and 13 assists in 60 games, before foregoing his senior year to go pro. During his 3 seasons at UVA, Eskandarian was a 3-time All-American, 1st Team All-ACC, ACC Rookie of the Year in 2000, and was also named ACC Player of the Year and Soccer America's College Player of the Year in 2002. Eskandarian returned to the university during the 2010 season to finish his degree and take an assistant coaching job with the team.

Professional

Eskandarian played his first four MLS seasons for D.C. United, who drafted him #1 overall in the 2003 MLS Superdraft. During his first season he recorded three goals and two assists in 23 games. In the 2004 season, after the replacement of coach Ray Hudson with Peter Nowak, Eskandarian saw significantly more playing time. In his sophomore campaign, Eskandarian led D.C. United in goal scoring with ten in the regular season and added two assists, while scoring 4 more goals in the playoffs as DC United won the 2004 MLS Cup. His strong play also earned him the D.C. United Coaches Award for 2004 and his first spot on the MLS All-Star team. On November 14, 2004, Eskandarian played in his first

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

game. He helped D.C. United defeat the Kansas City Wizards and win the championship by scoring two goals in the first half just four minutes apart — the fastest pair of goals in MLS Cup history — and was named the MLS Cup MVP. In 2005, Alecko's season ended early after suffering a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

. After missing most of 2005 with post-concussion syndrome, Eskandarian wasted no time in making his mark on the 2006 season, scoring against New York in the season opener. In 22 games for D.C. United, Eskandarian recorded seven goals and two assists, including Goal of the Week honors on 5/13 for his tally against KC. His impressive return to form netted Eskandarian a Commissioner's Pick as an MLS All-Star, his second nod to the league's showcase event. On August 9, 2006, during the 2006 Summer Tour of

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, he scored DC United's only goal in a 1–1 draw with Real Madrid. On December 22, 2006, Eskandarian was traded from D.C. United to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

for a partial allocation. On May 22, 2007, Eskandarian was traded from Toronto FC to Real Salt Lake in exchange for forward Jeff Cunningham. Between Real Salt Lake and Toronto, Eskandarian played 23 games (starting all 23), scoring 2 goals and adding 3 assists, logging 1,913 minutes.

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

acquired Eskandarian from Real Salt Lake in exchange for salary cap allocation money. This move was announced on January 18, 2008, at the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. In 2008, after missing much of the first half of the season due to surgery on a torn adductor, Eskandarian came on strong late in the year and finished the season tied for first on the team with five goals and two assists in just 8 starts. In a span between Aug 30 and Oct 4, he scored a goal against each of his three previous teams (RSL, Toronto, and DC). Eskandarian was traded to city rivals Los Angeles Galaxy on July 1, 2009. Chivas USA received allocation money and a third round pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft in return. He scored in his debut for the Galaxy on July 4, 2009. The goal was a game winner as Los Angeles beat New England 1–0. Eskandarian scored again in a 3–1 win at New York on July 16, a goal which was nominated for MLS Goal of the Year. However, the 27-year-old was injured early in the second half of the Galaxy's 2–2 draw with AC Milan on July 19 when the ball was inadvertently cleared into his face, causing a concussion and broken nose. Due to injury, Alecko was not medically cleared and has been sidelined indefinitely since March 2010. He was the assistant coach for the Virginia Cavaliers soccer club. On June 15, 2011, it was announced that Eskandarian had joined Philadelphia Union's technical staff as their youth technical director under the direction of the program's coach John Hackworth.

International

Eskandarian has played one game for the United States national team, against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

on May 26, 2003. He has also represented the United States at the U-17, U-20, and U-23 national teams. Eskandarian was leading scorer of the Olympic Qualifying tournament in Mexico in 2004 (4 goals), although the US team failed to qualify for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Coaching

On February 1, 2013, Eskandarian signed with the New York Cosmos as an assistant coach, joining the same club that he once watched his father,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

defender Andranik Eskandarian play for when he was a child. Eskandarian was part of head coach Giovanni Savarese's coaching staff during the team's historic 2013 relaunch season. During the 2013 season, Eskandarian helped lead the Cosmos to an undefeated record at home (W-D-L: 5–2–0) and the 2013 North American Soccer League Fall Season title with an overall record of 31 points from 14 games (W-D-L: 9–4–1). The Cosmos would cap the season with the NASL Soccer Bowl, where they defeated the Atlanta Silverbacks 1–0 to capture the club's sixth title of all time. Eskandarian led the Cosmos B squad to the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

title on August 8, 2015, defeating Chattanooga FC, 3–2, in overtime. The game was played in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, in front of a crowd of 18,227, the largest crowd ever in the United States to see an amateur soccer match. Eskandarian finished his 1st season as a head coach with an undefeated record, as Cosmos B posted a 15–0–1 record in the 2015 NPSL season.

Post-coaching

After his five-year-long coaching career, Eskandarian began transitioning to front office work at

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

headquarters in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Personal life

Alecko is of Armenian-Iranian descent and is the son of former

ian soccer player Andranik Eskandarian, who played soccer professionally for the

, and the Iranian national football team. Eskandarian also appeared on an episode of '' Keeping Up with the Kardashians''. During the episode, fellow Armenian-American

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the celebrity sex tape ...

was set up with him on a blind date.

Honors

Player

MLS Cup Champion (1)

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

MLS Cup MVP (1)

MLS All Star (2)

, 2006 *

Supporter's Shield (1) 2006

Head coach

Champion (1)

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Assistant coach

* North American Soccer League Soccer Bowl Champion (3)

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

References

External links

*
New York Cosmos Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eskandarian, Alecko 1982 births Living people American sportspeople of Armenian descent Sportspeople of Armenian descent American people of Iranian descent American men's soccer players Bergen Catholic High School alumni Chivas USA players D.C. United players LA Galaxy players People from Montvale, New Jersey Soccer players from Bergen County, New Jersey Real Salt Lake players Toronto FC players United States men's international soccer players Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars First overall MLS draft picks United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players D.C. United draft picks Ethnic Armenian sportspeople Men's association football forwards Hermann Trophy men's winners All-American college men's soccer players Sportspeople of Iranian descent American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate men's soccer players Philadelphia Union non-playing staff