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Back in 2007, Toronto FC was a very different team.
Players like Dwayne De Rosario and Torsten Frings were still a few years away; the heroes, then, included the likes of Carl Robinson, Danny Dichio, and the journeymen who were picked up by Mo Johnston in the club’s expansion draft. The names seem to be endless; Andy Welsh, Conor Casey, Kevin Goldthwaite, Maurice Edu, Ronnie O’Brien, Marvell Wynne, and, at forward, 2004 MLS Cup (and MVP) winner, Alecko Eskandarian.
RedNation Online had a chance to speak with Eskandarian, who was in Toronto for an Athletic Banquet, an event put together by a an Armenian sport organization called Homenetmen. Eskandarian recalls his love for the city of Toronto, the circumstances around his trade, and talks Ryan Nelsen, his former teammate and captain, too.
Hanging out in a Tim Horton’s in the Victoria Park area, near the Armenian Community Centre, Eskandarian – who doesn’t drink coffee – looks a happy guy. We asked if he enjoyed being back in the city of Toronto:
“Absolutely!” said Eskandarian. “I have a great love and respect for the city of Toronto. Loved my time here.”
Though his time in Toronto was short, fans will remember Eskandarian as the first forward to suit up for the club, alongside Danny Dichio. He recalls moments that have been embedded into the memory of the supporter’s collective – Dichio scoring the first goal in club history, the shower of seat cushions that followed, the red card Dichio picked up soon after; each a fond recollection for Eskandarian.
He was traded to Real Salt Lake in 2007, three days after scoring his first goal for Toronto FC, a goal he scored in a 2-1 loss against his then-former club, D.C. United. He was traded in exchange for another memorable forward, Jeff Cunningham.
“It was really unfortunate, the circumstances that I got traded and had to leave,” said Eskandarian. “I had a great relationship with the fans and made a lot of friends here. I always kept up with the team and followed their progress, their ups and their downs, you could say. It was quite sad for me to see because I think their fans deserve better.”
That was then, this is now, and Eskandarian is very much enjoying his life at the New York Cosmos. After a rough few years, dealing with medical problems that ultimately saw him not cleared to play after the 2010 season, Eskandarian has settled into a new role, as the assistant coach for the New York Cosmos. Working alongside Giovanni Savarese, Eskandarian is helping to build up the new NASL franchise, the team that shares the name and image of his father’s club. We asked Eskandarian about his forced retirement.
“It’s the toughest blow I’ve ever had in my life,” said Eskandarian. “I went through a lot of depression at that time, and it’s something that I live with every day and I still feel the symptoms every single day. There’s not an hour that goes by that I’m not reminded of my injuries because it’s affected my life in every aspect. In some ways, it makes it a bit easier to accept that you can’t play, because you know, playing isn’t even what’s on my mind, living a normal life is.”
“In some ways it makes it easier in that you realize it’s much more serious, where you can’t even push through it,” he continued. “At the same time, to have the thing that you love most in the world taken away from you is something that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.”
At the Cosmos, however, Eskandarian has found a new role.
“For me, coaching was kind of the natural next step; I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity at Philadelphia with being the youth technical director, and then the opportunity opened up in New York so I took it,” he said.
It’s a role he shares with his former teammate, Ryan Nelsen. The two played together at D.C. United, and both start their post-playing careers in 2013. Like most, Eskandarian believes Nelsen will find success at Toronto FC:
“I’m very happy to see that Ryan Nelsen is now the head coach,” said Eskandarian. “I think he’ll do a great job. Kevin Payne coming in and bringing in some stable leadership will go a long way.”
“We played together for two years, he was my captain – he actually just texted me about an hour ago to meet up later on tonight,” he continued. “He’s a fantastic guy, and I’ve always said he’s the best captain I’ve ever played for. He’s a tremendous leader and even as a player he was a coach on the field, so I have no doubt that he’s going to do a great job as a coach. With his connections in England, he’ll be able to bring some top talent to Toronto.”
It seems to be a common and recurring theme amongst Nelsen’s old friends – Nelsen was a coach, even as a player. Eskandarian is not the first to issue this sentiment, nor will he be the last. We asked Eskandarian to give us an example of Nelsen’s young coaching mind, and it took him no time at all to come up with the perfect example.
“Really easy!” said Eskandarian, a grin painted on his face. “I can tell you this; he never, ever lost a game in training in the two years I was there. Whether it was a possession game or four vs. four, whether it was 11 vs. 11, I don’t remember a single time that his team didn’t win. Even if you played five against five and put four rookies on his team that were the four worst players on the team, he finds a way to win. He’s just so smart in terms of positioning players and getting the most out of guys.”
“I know when I was playing with him and he was the captain, if he told me to run through a brick wall, I would have done it,” he added. “He’s the type of guy that shows with his actions that he would do it which makes you want to do it as well and back him up.”
With such a glowing review, Eskandarian is confident that Nelsen will do well at Toronto FC. We wrapped up our coffee – sans coffee – on a lighter note, with Eskandarian recalling his favourite goal.
“There’s been a bunch, for different reasons,” said Eskandarian. “In terms of importance, the goals in MLS Cup to win the championship was the greatest, but in terms of something cool that I can look back on, I think my goal against Real Madrid, when we tied them 1-1 in front of 70,000 fans is something I’ll tell my grandchildren about.”
“To score against Iker Casillas and playing against Beckham and Robert Carlos and [Fabio Cannavaro] was truly a treat. To score the goal to tie the game and earn a draw against that team is something I’ll never forget.”
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