Asghar Shadin "Cha Cha" Namdar is a retired Iranian-American

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 who spent time in the Major Indoor Soccer League,

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 ...

and

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice ...

. Namdar grew up 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. ...

, where he played for the Iranian youth soccer team. He attended college and played soccer at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

. During his college years, he tended bar in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

where a waitress named him "Cha Cha". In 1980, Namdar walked into an open Phoenix Inferno tryout and received a contract from the Major Indoor Soccer League club. He played for the Inferno for two seasons before being released in 1982. He then attended an open tryout with the San Diego Sockers as it prepared for the 1982–1983 MISL season. He again received a contract and would spend two years with the Sockers. At the time, the Sockers also played during the summer in the

and Namdar saw time in two NASL games in 1984 before losing the remainder of the season with a knee injury. Sockers returned to the MISL after playing in the NASL indoor season in 1984–1984. Namdar remained with the Sockers, winning several championships, until he was waived in October 1987. He signed three weeks later with the

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los ...

. The Lazers folded in 1989 and on July 11, 1989, the

St. Louis Storm The St. Louis Storm was a soccer team based out of St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). They played from 1989 to 1992. Their home arena was the St. Louis ...

selected Namdar in the second round of the dispersal draft. The Storm released Namdar during the pre-season and he returned to San Diego where he played in the amateur San Diego Premier Soccer League. In March 1991, Namdar signed with the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

. In 1993, Namdar returned to the Sockers which was now playing in the

."Namdar, Ortiz step in and lead the Sockers to victory" ''San Diego Union-Tribune'' Sunday, September 12, 1993 He finished his career with the Sockers in 1994. His daughter, Jasmine Namdar, played soccer at the University of Arizona and with the

San Diego WFC SeaLions San Diego WFC SeaLions was an American women's soccer team based in San Diego, California. It was founded in 1988 with the local Peninsula Soccer League and originally called the "Has-Beens". The Has-Beens went on to win the Peninsula championsh ...

References

External links

MISL/NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Namdar, Cha Cha 1956 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players American people of Iranian descent Sportspeople of Iranian descent Continental Indoor Soccer League players Iranian men's footballers Iranian expatriate men's footballers Los Angeles Lazers players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Phoenix Inferno players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Tehran 20th-century American sportsmen