WASHINGTON, February 7, 2013 — The re-born New York Cosmos is taking on a decidedly D.C. United flavor. The club this week hired two former United stars as assistant coaches. Striker Alecko Eskandarian and defender Carlos Llamosa, both championship winners at United, have been hired to assist Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese.
“Adding Carlos as an assistant immediately strengthens our backroom staff,” Savarese said. “With his wealth of professional and international experience in both Major League Soccer and with the U.S. national team, he is the perfect complement to Alecko [Eskandarian], Memo [Valencia] and myself. He also brings that top-level coaching experience and defensive tactical awareness which will be key for our team.”
Llamosa, a native of Colombia, comes to the Cosmos from Chivas USA where he served as an assistant coach during the 2008-09 MLS season. Llamosa played 83 games for United in league play, notching three goals and helping the team win championships in 1997 and 1999.
Eskandarian played 81 games for United in scoring 20 goals. In 2004, he won the MLS Cup with DC United and was named the MLS Cup MVP. He retired in 2010 from concussion-related symptoms. He is the son of the legendary Cosmos defender Andranik Eskandarian who played for the Cosmos from 1978 to 1984.
The Cosmos began play in 1971, spending 14 seasons in the earlier NASL, winning five Soccer Bowl trophies.
On July 12, 2012, it was announced that the Cosmos will return to the NASL, beginning play at James M. Shuart Stadium on the campus of Hofstra University in the 2013 NASL Fall Championship. The club also recently submitted a privately-funded economic development proposal to the State of New York to build a world-class 25,000-seat professional soccer stadium at Belmont Park.
John Haydon wrote a weekly soccer column for The Washington Times. He has covered two World Cups and written about Major League Soccer from the league’s inception in 1996.
Follow John on Twitter at @Johnahaydon
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