Andranik Eskandarian (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

: , , born 31 December 1951) is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. He played as a defender for the F.C. Ararat Tehran, Taj SC and

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 ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. He won the Iranian league in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and reached the second place in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

. Further he won the

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (, ) formerly known as Pahlavi Cup () is an Iranian knockout football competition held annually by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian Football League, Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, h ...

in 1977. He played six years for Taj SC. Taj's fans called him ''Barbed Wire''. Eskandarian was a member of the Iranian team winning the Asia Cup 1976 in Tehran and reaching the quarterfinals of the Olympic Tournament in Montreal in 1976. He also played for

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 ...

in the 1978 World Cup, the country's first appearance in the tournament. He infamously was the first member of Iran's team to score in the World Cup: an own-goal in a match against Scotland that his teammate later tied, 1-1.Report
FIFA.com, accessed 15 June 2018.
''The New York Times'', 27 May 1983, accessed 15 June 2018. The game was still considered a success for Iran, including Eskandarian's play as a defender against

Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Celtic's, Liv ...

and Joe Jordan, and an embarrassment for Scotland.James Montague
World Cup 2014: Iran legend Andranik Eskandarian was a prime architect of Scotland's 1978 humiliation
''The Telegraph'', 21 June 2014, accessed 15 June 2018. Soon after that, he moved to America to play for the highest-profile team in the country, the

, beginning in the 1979 season. After the Cosmos folded in 1984, Eskandarian played for the

New York Express The New York Express was a soccer team based out of Uniondale, New York that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played only part of the 1986–87 MISL season before folding just after the league's midseason All-Star Break. Their home ...

during its half-season in the Major Indoor Soccer League. From 1989 through 1990, he played for the

New Jersey Eagles The New Jersey Eagles were an American soccer team founded in 1987 as the Cosmopolitan Eagles. In 1988, they entered the third American Soccer League (1988–1989), American Soccer League as the New Jersey Eagles. They folded following the 1990 ...

of the American Soccer League.

Personal

Andranik Eskandarian was born on 31 December 1951 in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

to an

family. He is the father of former

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 ...

player Alecko Eskandarian. Eskandarian became a United States citizen in 1984 and now owns and operates two sporting goods stores in New Jersey.Backline:Eski: 'We brought soccer to this country'
by Will Kuhns for Soccer America 30 April 2001

Honours

Club

;Taj * Iranian Football League: 1974–75 *

: 1976–77 ;New York Cosmos *

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

National

;Iran *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

References

External links

NASL career stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eskandarian, Andranik 1951 births Living people American Professional Soccer League players American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1988–89) players Men's association football defenders Esteghlal F.C. players Ethnic Armenian sportspeople Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Iran men's international footballers Iranian expatriate men's footballers Iranian men's footballers Iranian emigrants to the United States Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players New Jersey Eagles players New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players New York Cosmos (MISL) players New York Express players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Footballers from Tehran Iranian people of Armenian descent American sportspeople of Armenian descent Olympic footballers for Iran 1976 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 1976 Summer Olympics 1978 FIFA World Cup players AFC Asian Cup–winning players F.C. Ararat Tehran players 20th-century American sportsmen