ANDRANIK ESKANDARIAN
City: Hackensack, NJ
“My name is Eskandarian, but everyone calls me Eski.”
Although Eski was born in Iran, his here begins with the New York Cosmos.
Eski joined the Cosmos ahead of the 1979 season and spent six years with the club. During that time, the star-studded Cosmos captured the attention of the soccer world while they shaped the future of the game in the United States.
“When the Cosmos came, it was something different,” Eski says. “At that time, Giants Stadium had 70,000 people. Even practices had 20,000 people watching. Everywhere we went, it was sold out. Everybody wanted to see us.”
The game was different then. The perception of soccer in America was different. But the Cosmos helped change that by putting fans first, and by understanding how important they were to what the club was building.
“We played for the love of the game and for the fans. Eski says. “We went out there to win to keep the fans happy. No matter what, we gave 115%.”
After departing the Cosmos, Eski purchased Birkenmeier Soccer Shop in Hackensack, NJ. You can still find him there today, making an impact in the local community.
Birkenmeier Soccer Shop has provided a foundation for countless young soccer players across New Jersey by making the game accessible at the local level and by putting community first.
“Soccer was everything to me,” Eski says. “So opening the store felt natural.”
Eski’s story is a reminder of how deep the Cosmos’ roots run throughout New York and North Jersey, and why honoring that history matters as we move forward.
