Alecko Eskandarian

Personal information
Full name	Alecko Eskandarian
Date of birth	July 9, 1982 (1982-07-09) (age 27)
Place of birth	Montvale, New Jersey, United States
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Los Angeles Galaxy
Number	11
Youth career
2000–2002	Virginia Cavaliers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2006	D.C. United	81	(20)
2007	Toronto FC	6	(1)
2007	Real Salt Lake	17	(1)
2008–2009	Chivas USA	18	(6)
2009–	Los Angeles Galaxy	3	(2)
National team‡
2003	United States	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 October, 2009. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 November, 2007

Alecko Eskandarian (Armenian: Ալէքո Իսքանտարեան) (born July 9, 1982 in Montvale, New Jersey) is an American soccer player of Armenian descent who currently plays for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer.

[edit] Career

[edit] 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 second most in New Jersey high school history.

Prior to playing as a professional, he played three years of soccer for the University of Virginia where he was named ACC Rookie of the Year in 2000, and was both named Soccer America's College Player of the Year and awarded the Hermann Trophy in 2002 after scoring 25 goals 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.

[edit] 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. 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 game. He helped D.C. United defeat the Kansas City Wizards by scoring two goals in the first half just four minutes apart — the fastest pair of goals in MLS Cup history — and was voted Most Valuable Player of the match. In 2005, Alecko's season ended early after suffering a concussion. 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, he scored DC United's only goal in the draw with Real Madrid.

On December 22, 2006, Eskandarian was traded from D.C. United to Toronto FC for a partial allocation. On May 22, 2007, Eskandarian was traded from Toronto FC to Real Salt Lake in exchange for forward Jeff Cunningham. ^[1]

Chivas USA 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.

Eskandarian was traded to city rivals Los Angeles Galaxy on July 1, 2009. Chivas USA received allocation money in return. Eskandarian 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^[2].

[edit] International

Eskandarian has played one game for the United States national team, against Wales on May 27, 2003.

[edit] Personal

Alecko is the son of former Iranian national team player Andranik Eskandarian, who played soccer professionally for the New York Cosmos.

[edit] Honors

[edit] D.C. United

• Major League Soccer Supporter's Shield (1): 2006

[edit] See also

• List of current MLS players

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• MLS player profile