Familiarity greets Eskandarian at SuperClásico
Galaxy midfielder faces former team Chivas USA in battle for L.A.
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He basically was traded down the hall from Chivas USA to the Los Angeles Galaxy just over a week ago, he enjoys being with his new teammates and his next game is against none other than Chivas in Saturday's SuperClasico at The Home Depot Center.
The irony is not lost on the talkative midfielder, who turned 27 on Thursday.
"It's crazy how it works," Eskandarian said. ``That's MLS for you. Some of the (Chivas) guys come here in the morning and they say to me, 'I can't believe you're in the other lockerroom.' It's definitely strange, but it's fun. I enjoy it."
Eskandarian was a hit in his Galaxy debut last Saturday. In fact, he scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory against the New England Revolution. He is a two-time All-Star, a former MLS Cup MVP (in 2004) and the son of former Iranian national team member Andranik Eskandarian, who played in the 1978 World Cup and later for the Cosmos of the old North American Soccer League.
The Galaxy's Dema Kovalenko is one of his closest friends. He also is well-acquainted with Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter, who Eskandarian said once babysat him while growing up in Montvale, N.J.
It also was Berhalter who dragged down Eskandarian, then of Chivas USA, on a breakaway in the first meeting between the teams this season, a 0-0 tie on April 11. Berhalter, making his MLS debut that night, was red-carded.
Eskandarian smiles at that memory, too.
"And now we're on the same team," he said with a grin.
Saturday's game matches Chivas USA (8-4-3, 27 points), who have lost their last two MLS games, against a Galaxy (4-3-9, 21 points) team that is coming off consecutive 1-0 victories (against Houston and New England) and is preparing to welcome back David Beckham next week.
Eskandarian said he is trying to keep from getting too emotional about the showdown. He remembers a game earlier in his career when his new team, Toronto FC, played his former team, D.C. United. Eskandarian played with little direction and purpose, not that he could have helped it.
"I was definitely overcome with emotion," he said. "I wanted to do so well so badly I was running around like a madman. I scored, but I also wasted a lot of energy.
"Hopefully, I've learned from it and I'll be calm and composed on Saturday."
Don't count on it, however.
"There's a lot of excitement, for sure," he admitted. "It's my former team, the SuperClasico, our big rival and there will be a lot of hype about it. To be honest with you, it's the Galaxy against Chivas; it's not me against Chivas. There's no personal thing.
"It's big for this team and a very important game for this team. I don't want to harp too much on my own emotions. But this team needs the win."
Larry Morgan is a contributor to MLSnet.com
