Obed Gomez Vargas (born August 5, 2005) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

. Born in the United States, he represents the Mexico national team.

Club career

Born in

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, Vargas began his career with Cook Inlet Soccer Club before moving to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and joining the youth academy for

club

. He played in the academy for two seasons before signing a professional contract with Sounders FC reserve side

Tacoma Defiance The Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, are an American professional soccer team based in the Puget Sound region in Tukwila, Washington, United States. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, a league in the third tier of the United Sta ...

on May 7, 2021. A couple days later, on May 9, Vargas made his senior debut for Tacoma Defiance in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

against

LA Galaxy II Ventura County FC is an American professional soccer team based in the Greater Los Angeles area town of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, California, United States that plays in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United States soccer league sy ...

. He started and played 66 minutes as the match ended in a 1–1 draw. He made his MLS debut for Seattle on July 22, 2021, as one of several Tacoma Defiance players called up to the Sounders for a match against

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q ...

to replace injured players. At 15 years and 351 days old, Vargas was the third-youngest player in MLS history. He signed a formal Homegrown Player contract with the Sounders in December and became a starter for the team in the first matches of the 2022 season, playing in two

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

fixtures. Head coach

Brian Schmetzer Brian Thomas Schmetzer (born August 18, 1962) is an American soccer coach and former professional player. He is the head coach of Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS), having been assistant coach for the team until Sigi Schmid's depa ...

described Vargas' play style as similar to that of

Cristian Roldan Cristian Roldan (born June 3, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC. Roldan was the 2013 Gatorade National Player of the Year while playing for El Rancho Hig ...

's rookie season, adding he was "going to be a tremendous player for our club". He was an early substitute in the second leg of the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League final, which the Sounders won 3–0. Vargas made 13 appearances through late June, when a stress facture in his back prevented him from continuing with the team. He was also unable to join the under-20 national team in the

CONCACAF U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Under-20 Championship is the second longest running international association football event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, CONCACAF, and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Th ...

. Vargas returned for the 2023 season but played in few matches. He scored his first career MLS goal on April 30, 2024, against the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

, in a match that was originally started a month earlier but postponed due to heavy rain.

International career

Vargas was eligible to represent both Mexico and the United States at the international level.

United States U-15

In March 2020, Vargas was selected to participate in the United States national under-15 team camp.

United States U-20

He was called up by the United States national under-20 team in January 2022.

United States U-23

On October 8, 2023, Vargas was called up to the United States national under-23 team ahead of friendlies against Mexico national under-23 and Japan national under-23 teams.

Change of Allegiance

On May 21, 2024, Vargas completed a one-time switch from the United States to Mexico.

Mexico U-20

On June 20, 2024, Vargas was called up to the Mexico national under-20 team ahead of friendlies against the

Liga TDP Liga TDP is a professional association football league in Mexico and the fourth level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Tercera División de México (1967–2017). It has 223 participating clubs, divided into 17 regional gro ...

, Cruz Azul under-23 and

Atlético Morelia Club Atlético Morelia is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Morelia, Michoacán de Ocampo, Michoacán, that competes in Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football. The club plays their ...

teams in preparation for the

2024 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2024 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was the 8th edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship (29th edition if all eras included), the men's under-20 international association football, football tournament organized by CONCACAF. It was held in ...

Mexico U-23

On August 29, 2024, Vargas was called up to the Mexico national under-23 team ahead of two friendlies against the Panama national under-23 team scheduled for September 6, 2024 and September 10, 2024.

Mexico senior

Upon completing his FIFA one-time switch, in early October 2024, Vargas receives his first call-up to the

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

national team for the coming October 11 and 15 friendly matches against Spanish club

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

respectively. Vargas is the first

n to ever play for a national team. On October 15, 2024, Vargas makes his senior Mexico debut entering in the 83rd minute for Jesús Angulo in a friendly match against the

, which Mexico won 2–0.

Personal life

Vargas is of

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

descent and holds dual American and Mexican citizenship. His father played for the youth academy of Monarcas Morelia; his younger brother and two sisters also play soccer.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Seattle Sounders FC *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

References

External links

*
Profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vargas, Obed 2005 births Living people Soccer players from Anchorage, Alaska American sportspeople of Mexican descent American men's soccer players Mexican men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Tacoma Defiance players USL Championship players Seattle Sounders FC players Major League Soccer players Homegrown Players (MLS) United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players Mexico men's international footballers CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Mexican sportsmen