HACKENSACK — When Andranik Eskandarian first came to the United States from Iran in 1978, shortly after playing for the Iran World Cup team, he had a hard time finding a soccer field to play on.
Sitting in the back of the Birkenmeier Sport Shop, the Main Street soccer store he runs with his former New York Cosmos teammate Hubert Birkenmeier, Eskandarian reflected on the sport’s growing popularity in the United States over the past four decades.
Earlier this week the store, a Hackensack mainstay since 1982, was packed with a steady stream of customers looking for their favorite player’s shirt, including this year’s World Cup top sellers Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe. He estimates business is up about 30% during the competition, which ends with a final between Argentina and holders France on Sunday.
Eskandarian, now 70, said he likes to think he played a role in the growth of the sport as a defender for the Cosmos from 1979 to 1984, the final year of the North American Soccer League.
The Cosmos once had to pay American TV stations to air their games. But the team, a conglomeration of international stars including Carlos Alberto, Franz Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia and Pele, who retired in 1977, became a phenomenon and regularly outsold games at Giants Stadium.
“Most people didn’t know anything about football back then,” Eskandarian said. “But they came because the sport grabbed them. It was all new to her and it picked up speed from there.”
When the team wasn’t competing or training, they traveled across New Jersey running clinics for hundreds of children.
“We would go out and promote football. Most places didn’t have pitches or gates—it was all about baseball and football,” Eskandarian recalled. “It gave back to the sport to help it grow. I’m glad we did that.”
Sometimes after Cosmos games it took hours to leave the stadium, he said. Fans would wait outside to catch a glimpse of their favorite players or get an autograph.
“People were grilling outside and waiting for us to come out and everyone was offering us food and drinks,” he said. “It was a dream. They would treat us like royalty. It was a love between the players and the fans. I have this sweetness in my heart, I can’t forget that.”
It was a dream. They would treat us like royalty. It was a love between the players and the fans.
Andranik Eskandarian, former World Cup and New York Cosmos player
When Eskandarian bought the Hackensack store from Birkenmeier, the original owner, in the mid 80’s, people were surprised that he had decided to run a store dedicated solely to football.
“People tried to push me in other directions, but I said, ‘I’m sticking with it,'” he said. “I knew it would catch.”
Eskandarian still plays twice a week, at a weekly pickup game in his hometown of Montvale and in an over 50 league in Hackensack.
“I enjoy it, I still enjoy it,” he said. “Sometimes they have to push me a little bit: ‘You have to come, you have to come.’ But I love it.”
The story continues below the photo gallery
He passed his love of the sport on to his sons Ara and Alecko, both standout players at Bergen Catholic and in college. Alecko joined the USA men’s national team and played professionally with DC United and Los Angeles Galaxy before suffering a career-ending concussion in 2010.
Eskandarian said he split allegiance when the family went to Qatar earlier in the tournament and watched the group stage game between Iran – his country of birth – and the United States, his home for more than 40 years and his son’s former team.
Despite the controversy surrounding this World Cup, Eskandarian said it was a pleasure to watch the games and see the passion of the fans.
Qatar’s small size allowed him to watch eight games, sometimes two in a day. Each stadium was a 20-minute drive from the next, rather than the different flights and hotel rooms that would normally be required to attend so many games.
“You see thousands of people from all countries singing and enjoying. It makes you feel free,” he says. “With so much going on in the world, this is a place where people are just there to cheer and enjoy their country.”
The story continues below the photo gallery
Although USA struggled to score at this World Cup and were eliminated in the round of 16, Eskandarian said he saw a bright future for football in this country.
Major League Soccer’s popularity continues to grow. That year, the league saw a record attendance of more than 10 million fans. And by the 2026 World Cup, the young national team will have continued to improve and play in front of their home fans, he said, as the United States, Canada and Mexico will co-host the tournament, with some games yet to be played at MetLife Stadium.
“We were very close. We were just a few players short of scoring a goal,” he said. “If those players grow for the next World Cup, I think they’ll do 100% well.”
Comments are closed.