Esky returns

Alecko Eskandarian was the last player in the locker room on Saturday night. I don't know if he was getting treatment or not but he walked into the shower after nearly everyone else was dressed and on their way out to whatever they had going on after the game.

As I took an empty seat next to him, a camera crew approached him and began recording as I fired away some questions. That set up a pretty comical scene as Preki interjected some thoughts from across the locker room.

Here's audio of the interview. See if you can make out what Preki said to Esky, jokingly... I think...

Alecko's plight

It's still a little strange seeing Alecko Eskandarian in a Chivas USA uniform. But then again, he's only played 13 minutes in six games this season and has been limited in his practice time as well. As this picture taken at Disney's California Adventure attests, though, Eskandarian is a full-fledged member of the team.

I asked him if he felt like he was a part of the team even though he hasn't played or trained much.

I carpool with five of the guys so everyone knows me pretty well and knows once I get back I’ll be ready to step in and contribute as if I didn’t miss a beat.

He can't play, he can't train so his contributions are limited.

Right now I’m doing all I can to be a cheerleader and try and help the guys but it’s really, really tough to know that I can’t be out there with them and can’t help them out.

Once Eskandarian gets back, he should see some playing time. With Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo battling injury, Eskandarian could have put in some serious playing time over the first six games but his groin had other plans.

Anyway, here's a story I wrote from our chat on Monday.

Dynamic duo

I can't imagine this statistic would make Real Salt Lake fans anything but irritated.

In a combined 2,687 minutes for RSL last season, Alecko Eskandarian and Atiba Harris had one goal between them.

In a combined 137 minutes for Chivas USA this season, Alecko Eskandarian and Atiba Harris have two goals between them.

As Preki said, "Good for us. I guess not so good for (RSL)."

Here's a story I wrote about the duo for MLSnet.com.

Esky's shots

Alecko Eskandarian scored for Chivas USA in their 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Saturday. So did Atiba Harris, his teammate with RSL last season.

That much wasn't lost on him. Audio of Esky post-game, where he talks about that as well as his injury status.

Letting his hair down

I got the chance to talk to Alecko Eskandarian for the first time today, well, for the first time since he's been here with Chivas USA. He seems like a good guy who will be willing to do whatever he can to help Chivas win.

He also said he's going to ditch his headgear. I've had difficulty spotting him while out at training. I guess I'm so used to Alecko wearing his headgear that that's what I instinctively search for. Instead, he's the one in need of a haircut. Actually, his new look just looks different.