DOHA, Qatar — When Iran first qualified for the World Cup almost half a century ago, Team Melli was led by a dogged defender from Tehran.
Consider Andranik Eskandarian the original Tenacious D. Through speed, work and sheer will, Eskandarian shadowed the best attacking stars of his era, shutting down everyone from Diego Maradona to Pelé to George Best. Eskandarian still recalls one game against Johan Cruyff, who ran to his coach at halftime and screamed, “Why did you send this animal after me?”
“All those big names, they hate my guts. Maradona couldn’t handle me,” Eskandarian recalls with a sly smile Monday afternoon, inside a coffee shop in the hotel where the U.S. national team is staying. He’s fresh off an overseas flight, having arrived just in time to watch the Americans play Wales in 10 hours. He’s thinking back 48 years, to the one time he played in Qatar, a country that has transformed over the past decade. For that game, Eskandarian cannot recall a single building higher than two stories, nor remember a street made from asphalt.
