By Wayne witkowski
Staff Writer
Brick Township’s Randy Escobar, a former professional soccer player with the Cosmos, is still associated with the game he loves, coaching a pair of U16 and U17 soccer teams in Syracuse, N.Y.
Randy Escobar still remembers his days of playing soccer for the Cosmos at a packed Giants Stadium and the roar of the fans.
Some of his neighbors in Brick Township also remember those days.
And so do many soccer fans on the streets.
"I was at a MetroStars game at the stadium not too long ago and a fan came up to me and said, ‘I remember you. You’re Randy Escobar,’ " he said. "My looks haven’t changed much over the years, but it’s amazing that the fans still remember those days."
Escobar played only one season as a forward and midfielder with the Cosmos, part of the defunct North American Soccer League, after being traded over from the Washington Diplomats. A badly broken ankle ended his memorable career, but in that 1979 season, the Cosmos was regarded as one of the leading soccer franchises in the world.
At age 47, Escobar played soccer in an over-30 league in Wall Township until last year.
Presently working as a financial planner, Escobar said he still stays in the game as a coach with his brother, Bob. He works with the under-16 and under-17 Blitz teams out of Syracuse, N.Y.
He said he still daydreams about playing on Hartwick College’s national championship team during his senior year in 1977, and the four straight years the team reached the Final Four. Hartwick finished in third place in his sophomore and junior years, and in fourth place in his freshman year. He was inducted with his senior year championship team into the national soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y., last fall, 25 years after his famed season.
He also was the first soccer player to be inducted into the Passaic Valley High Hall of Fame, where he played as a high school all-American for three years before finishing his high school career at Paterson Eastside.
He said he also daydreams about that one magical season with the Cosmos, who knew about Escobar from his college career and demonstrations he did at camps with fabled Cosmos star Pele.
"Pele had just retired but we still had a lot of old baggage and we still had big names like Carlos Alberto, Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia," said Escobar. "A lot of other players did not get the recognition because there were a lot of big names, but we still had the following because of Pele."
Although he was not a starter, Escobar saw a lot of minutes and said his greatest thrill was playing against Dutch phenom Johan Kruyff.
"When you watch a player like that, you’re in awe, and I was able to keep up with him," said Escobar.
"We used to fill the stadium, but unfortunately only about 10 percent were Americans who were born and raised here. I thought some people would bring their kids to the game so it would become more Americanized," he said.
Escobar knew about the international acclaim of soccer. He migrated to the United States at the age of 13 because his father was working for NASA, but he played on the Olympic team for his native Peru in 1975, playing qualifiers in Argentina and Brazil. The team fell short of making the bracket.
"The passion for the sport in other countries is incredible. It was a good experience," said Escobar.
So why did the Cosmos fade?
"Something happened when the Cosmos started to lose and people stopped going," he said. "People here have a different sense of loyalty. In other countries, they’ll go to the game just to see their team, even if it’s terrible.
"And back in those glory years, the team advertised quite a bit because it was owned by Warner Brothers, who had the bucks," he said. "Once the team was sold, things changed and the advertising wasn’t the same. It’s like the MetroStars. They need to play at a different stadium because when you put those fans in 70,000 seats, you ask, ‘Where are the people?’ Giants Stadium can still have international games there."
Escobar goes regularly to see the MetroStars play in major league soccer games but it’s a different experience, he said. There are less than 20,000 fans at nearly every game, although he noticed the popularity has picked up, especially because the team has been winning throughout the season. Columbus and New England enjoy the big followings, he said.
"I think right now the MetroStars are doing great because they don’t depend on many foreign players and that’s the way to go," he said. "We have so many American players who are stepping up and they know how to play the game."
Escobar said the perception of American-bred soccer players in other nations definitely has improved.
"Before this, we were pretty much the laughing stock," he said. "Look at how we lost to Germany, 1-0, [in the last World Cup] and how the guys played great."
Escobar said the game has changed for the better in the United States since he started playing here.
"The philosophy has changed," he said. "The reason why we’re improving is because, before this time, the thinking used to be that the more physical you played, the better," he said. "Now we’ve come to realize you need skills to go with it. Not just soccer, but in every sport you have better athletes. Even soccer players now lift weights and undergo a lot of one-on-one training and conditioning.
"Has soccer gotten faster? Absolutely. Before, skillful players could get away with just that, but if you’re not ready, you’ll sit on the bench," he said.
Being prepared to play soccer has taught Escobar the value of being prepared for many other things in life and his career. It’s knowledge he has passed on to his son, Erik, who is playing soccer at The College of New Jersey, Ewing, and his daughter, Alexis, who is headed to Georgian Court College, Lakewood, after an outstanding high school career at Monsignor Donovan, Toms River.