Obed Vargas: Seattle Sounders homegrown star has "no ceiling" | OneFootball

By Ari Liljenwall

RENTON, Wash. – Obed Vargas may not fit the typical profile or have the conventional origin story of a globally sought-after prospect.

But when Seattle Sounders FC begin their 2025 FIFA Club World Cup campaign against Brazilian side Botafogo on Sunday, the 19-year-old midfielder from Anchorage, Alaska will draw plenty of eyes from European scouts and sporting directors – perhaps more than any player in the tournament.

“At this point, what I’d say is I don’t know if there’s a club in the world that doesn’t know who he is,” Sounders general manager and chief soccer officer Craig Waibel told reporters of Vargas after a recent training session.

“I mean, anyone who’s got analytics, he’s triggered and kind of set off the red alarms.”

WATCH: Obed Vargas on Breakaway

Alaskan roots

Vargas readily admits that Anchorage isn’t known as a hotbed of young talent.

He was an accomplished youth player for the local Cook Inlet Soccer Club, winning four State Cups. But competition against the ‘lower 48’ states frequently offered reality checks, sowing some doubt in his mind as to exactly how advanced his game really was.

“Growing up playing soccer in Alaska is definitely unique,” Vargas told the Breakaway film crew. “It's not the same as everywhere else. Not as many teams. Not as [much] competition. There are maybe four or five teams in the whole state.

“And you could tell, the level in Alaska wasn't as high and wasn't as competitive as the lower 48," he added. “And I always knew that … I kind of took [the success] with a grain of salt because, yeah, we were the best team here in Alaska. But once you step out of Alaska, I thought we were going to be the worst.

“And so that kind of always kept me grounded, kept me humble because I knew I was the best player here in Alaska. But I didn't know how far that was going to get me.”

Growing up in a soccer-crazed household helped. Vargas’ father, Obed Sr., was once an aspiring pro in his own right in his native Mexico with the Monarcas Morelia Academy.

After concluding his playing career and moving from Mexico to Anchorage, the Vargas family patriarch instilled his love for the game in Obed Jr. and his siblings – a passion that only grew stronger as they got older.

His father’s undying love and devotion to the Mexican national team were among the reasons Obed Jr. cited for his decision to represent El Tri at the international level, after initially featuring for the United States on the youth circuit.

“I was born with it. You see it around the house,” Vargas said. “...You know, everything's kind of soccer-related in the house. And everything kind of had a connection to Mexico soccer.”

As his game progressed, Vargas' childhood dream of going professional became an increasingly realistic proposition. But to make it happen, he knew he would have to make the difficult decision to leave Anchorage.

Growing up fast

With his family rooted in Alaska, Vargas joined the Sounders’ organization at age 14, living with host families as part of the club’s homestay program for academy players.

Vargas eventually moved in with current first-team teammate Cody Baker, who had become one of his best friends while the two played together for the club’s academy.

If there were any doubts as to whether Vargas’ skills would translate from Alaska to one of the country’s most competitive youth soccer environments, they were quickly erased on the training ground.

“He was really confident in himself walking into the academy, especially from Anchorage. I mean, it's hard,” Baker told MLSsoccer.com last week. “He came in a group of three trialists. We kind of all knew he was the one who was going to stick around. The more he played, the more he showed flashes of who he is.

“Even when he came into the first team at first, he didn't really play to his full ability, trying to get comfortable. Once he got comfortable with the academy, once he got comfortable with the first team, you could really see the player that he is.”

Leaving home at such an early age always carries a degree of risk for any player. In the case of Vargas, Seattle veteran midfielder Cristian Roldan observed a quiet maturity beyond his years from his early days with the organization.

“One thing I will say about Obed is when he moved over here, it forced him to kind of grow up,” Roldan said. “Sometimes that can be the best thing for a professional. It could be the worst thing also, but it could be the best thing.

“He matured a lot faster than other players at his age. He took in a whole lot of information. He was focused. He was able to come here and get better. So, the move was probably the best thing that could have happened to him.”

First-team breakthrough

Going into a Western Conference road matchup against Austin FC on July 22, 2021, the Sounders were depleted, with 10 first-team players unavailable due to a combination of injuries and international call-ups.

Head coach Brian Schmetzer wound up deploying one of the youngest starting XIs in MLS history, featuring a record five players aged 19 or younger. One of those was Vargas, who became the third-youngest player in league history to start or play in a match at 15 years and 351 days old.

It ended with one of the most memorable Sounders results in recent years. The youth-laden lineup contributed to a 1-0 victory, delivered by a wonder goal from legendary striker Raúl Ruidíaz, once a LIGA MX Golden Boot winner for Obed Sr.’s former youth club of Morelia.

Thus began Vargas’ ascent into a first-team fixture.

As a 16-year-old in 2022, he was a key contributor to Seattle’s historic Concacaf Champions Cup run, where he memorably deputized for most of the 3-0 title-clinching victory at Lumen Field over LIGA MX side Pumas UNAM after teammate João Paulo went down with a torn ACL.

“We had full confidence in him going into that game and full confidence that he was able to do his part for the team,” Roldan said. “And as I talk about experience, this is a player that now has 100 appearances for the club, at that early of an age. I don't think I had more than 10 at his age.

“That just makes him far more experienced than any 18 or 19-year-old that you'll see. Being in a final, now playing in a Club World Cup, he's ticking all the boxes at such an early age.”

Complete package

On game days, the double-pivot midfield of Vargas and Roldan is the engine that makes the Rave Green go.

When there’s a fire, it’s usually one of those two putting it out. Vargas’ gifts as a ball-progressor, connector and facilitator are also key to Seattle’s attack – he and Roldan have combined to contribute two goals and nine assists so far in 2025.

“I think we have a good partnership in the sense that we are always there for each other defensively, offensively, but we also give liberty to each other,” Roldan told MLSsoccer.com of his rising protégé. “He's able to bomb forward, he puts responsibility on me to slow down attacks, and then he finds his way back.

“Our games are very similar. We want to dribble out of pressure, we are pretty physical, we run quite a lot. Being able to cover so much ground allows us to help the team a whole lot more.”

Obed Vargas plays beyond years for Seattle Sounders

European ambitions

It’s led to the type of elite underlying numbers that will always catch the eyes of scouts in Europe.

While transfer buzz surrounding Vargas has steadily increased over the last year, Seattle’s 2025 Club World Cup venture offers the biggest platform yet to showcase his skills against top-tier competition. In addition to Sunday’s opener vs. Botafogo, the Rave Green will also take on Spanish powerhouse Atlético Madrid and UEFA Champions League-winners Paris Saint-Germain in Group B play.

“In terms of [transferring] Obed, we haven’t received any official offers yet,” Waibel said. “But too many teams know about him. One of the biggest debates I think a lot of teams are having is: Is he ready to come in and contribute to their team, and do they need him?

"Because the significance of the investment to bring a player like Obed in, you need to do it with the timing that he’s going to be able to be on the field, and I think that’s a big piece.”

Could a kid from Anchorage, Alaska one day man the midfield for a club of that stature, or even El Tri at the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

Should he maintain his current trajectory, anything seems possible.

“I don't think he has a ceiling,” Baker said. “I think his ceiling is European football, being one of the top guys in Europe. He's a great player, one of the hardest workers I know, and one of the most competitive people I know.

“So I think with those traits, there's really no ceiling for the talent he has.”

WATCH: Obed Vargas on Breakaway