Obed Vargas — The Prodigy Taking American Soccer by Storm
In any youth system, there’s generally less than a handful of players whose talent is easily seen — such was the case for both Christian Pulisic and Giovanni Reyna, who many knew would be the cream of the crop of the American developmental system.
For the Seattle Sounders, a team widely considered to be one of the best in Major League Soccer, their best talent is 16 — year — old midfielder Reed Baker Whiting. With an incredibly high soccer IQ and a first touch as soft as a feather, Baker Whiting is probably one of the biggest prospects in American soccer right now, and has already garnered interest from European clubs like Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, and Manchester City.
And despite his young age, he’s going to have a pretty big role with the Sounders this year, as exemplified by the fact that during the last U — 20 USMNT camp near the end of January, Baker Whiting wasn’t released by his club to join; who the Sounders released instead was fellow 16 — year — old midfielder Obed Vargas.
In a camp which had big names like Caden Clark and Brenden Aaronson’s younger brother, Paxten Aaronson, no one was expecting much from Vargas. He simply wasn’t considered a top tier talent.
But every now and then, you get someone like Brenden Aaronson who doesn’t show up at all at the youth levels but is nonetheless talented enough to make it to a professional level. Most of these kids become mediocre, if not decent players — but some, as was the case with Aaronson, get things clicking and skyrocket in development.
It just happens to be that a similar scenario seems to have happened with Vargas, albeit at a much younger age. After the end of the January/February U — 20 USMNT camp, there were rumors circulating about how Vargas had been one of the best performers. Although I have no footage to back this up, the fact that he’s started 4 of the last 5 matches for the Sounders I think says it all.
Shrewd in defensive positioning and not afraid to play on the half turn, Vargas has been one of the better performers thus far for the Sounders who, with two straight losses thus far in the MLS season, haven’t been playing the best. The fact that he’s not only playing against grown men but playing well just speaks as to how good this kid will be in the future.
From a USMNT standpoint, Vargas fits the bill perfectly — he can play both at the “8” and “6” position, with the latter being in high demand due to a lack of depth. The question, however, is if he’ll actually end up playing for the USMNT.
He’s a Mexican — American dual national, and apparently, he’s already been contacted by the Mexican federation. All I can say is, we cannot afford to lose a player of Vargas’s potential to another country, let alone to our biggest rival. Despite all of the advancements in the American developmental system, young, technical players are still rare, and we need as many youth prospects as we can get to transition to the senior national team.
Part of that transition process will include doing well at this summer’s edition of the U — 20 CONCACAF Championship — the finalists of this tournament will qualify for both the U — 20 World Cup in 2023 and the soccer tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris —there’s a great video talking about the importance of this tournament in greater depth that I’ll link here.
But until that tournament comes, I’ll try my best to watch every match that Vargas plays. As someone who is also a teenager, there’s something gratifying about watching a would — be high school junior balling out against guys who started playing before he was even born. The best part though? Vargas won’t be the last one. Thanks for reading.
