National-team coaches are not often as blunt as Javier “El Vasco” Aguirre was about Obed Vargas in February, during a sitdown interview with Mexican television personality Jorge ‘Burro’ Van Rankin.
“I was sure he wouldn't go [to the World Cup],” admitted Mexico’s manager in Spanish. “He was born in Alaska, played so many matches and seasons for Seattle; he was so young. I didn't think [about him].”
Speaking about Vargas and his fellow El Tri central midfielder Álvaro Fidalgo, who moved from Club América to Real Betis around the same time Vargas completed his fateful transfer to Atletico Madrid, El Vasco went on to make the sort of statement most longtime MLS watchers will be all too familiar with.
It’s one likely to trigger massive eye rolls among Sounders supporters in particular, especially as the veteran coach briefly stumbled over his pronunciation of the very city where Vargas made his name.
“Automatically – automatically – going from being at America, at home, and in Seattle, or however you say it, to being in the Spanish league,” he said, “I automatically have to turn the spotlight on these guys. I have to do it, I have to bring them in to take a look at them.”
In any case, as has so often happened with Vargas in his rapid rise from Alaskan obscurity to the soccer world’s biggest stages, the coach’s estimation rose markedly as he spent some time with him.
“So, well, I did bring Obed in a couple of times; he’s got guts, he’s a solid guy,” said Aguirre, though here we must note the Spanish idiom he used, which is vastly superior to what we have in English: “tiene pantalones,” which translates literally as "he has pants" but signifies a mature, reliable type.
Even back in midwinter, Aguirre maintained that he already had nine of his 11 starters for Mexico’s World Cup opener set in his mind, with emerging success stories like Vargas giving him cause to keep the final two spots unresolved.
“There are also good things that suddenly happen between now and the end,” he noted, “like when some dude comes along and just keeps playing well, playing well.”
If El Vasco’s attitude raises your hackles, be aware that this puts you in line with Alexi Lalas, who called Aguirre’s comments “irritating” in a subsequent edition of his podcast.
“It’s just kind of dumb,” declared the US men’s national team icon turned hot-takes purveyor. “What you’re really saying, by virtue of touching down on the tarmac over in Europe, all of a sudden this player is now worthy of playing for the Mexican national team.
“You failed in your ability to assess the player. Let's be honest. Nothing has changed. Obed Vargas is the exact same player.”
Sure enough, both Vargas and Fidalgo made the World Cup roster in the end. The Sounders Academy product apparently faces a steep climb to earn regular minutes in this summer’s tournament; he logged only 16 minutes total across El Tri’s two warm-up friendlies, with Fidalgo, Luis Chávez, Erik Lira and Roberto "Piojo" Alvarado preferred in the center of the park.
Yet the aforementioned backstory is vital context for understanding just how much the 20-year-old has achieved to even reach this point.
“I would say no, I don’t expect him to start, I don’t expect him to play a big role,” USA Today’s Jon Arnold, a veteran of both the Mexico and Concacaf beats, told Sounder At Heart in a conversation about Vargas this week. “But the fact that he’s on this roster means that he’s clearly in the picture going forward.”
Notably, Mexico’s brain trust have adopted a rather unusual hybrid approach to leadership at this World Cup. This is the third stint in charge of the program for the grizzled, charismatic Aguirre; at age 67, he’s the "firefighter," a steady pair of hands who calmed turbulent waters when he took the job after a poor showing at the 2024 Copa América.
His was a package deal, though. To assuage concerns about living in the past, former El Tri and FC Barcelona star Rafa Marquez accompanied him as an assistant, and is slated to take the reins after this World Cup and oversee a generational shift both on the pitch and in the technical area.
Vargas is seen as central to that plan, one of several precocious talents rising through the ranks. That trend is headlined by his friend and former youth national team roommate Gilberto Mora, the Club Tijuana wunderkind who at 17 is the youngest player in this tournament, and one of the most closely watched by top European clubs.
Marquez is said to have extensively scouted the young El Tri side that advanced out of a group of death and eventually reached the quarterfinals at last year’s U-20 World Cup, with Mora and Vargas featuring prominently. If Aguirre had any lingering doubts about “El Pingüino” (‘The Penguin’), as the kid from Alaska has been dubbed, Marquez might well have advocated on his behalf – and a serious knee injury to Toluca standout Marcel Ruiz this spring opened the door that much further.
“His [World Cup] inclusion, some people are seeing as almost like one that Rafa pushed for, which makes a lot of sense,” Arnold said. “Because in theory I think he’s a building block of the Mexico of the future, partly because of his age and partly because I just think Rafa [values youth], having been in the Barcelona system.
“Look, Aguirre is old school. He’s a good manager, but he’s old school – he’s really old school – and Rafa is not going to be that.”
ESPN's Cesar Hernandez offered further insight in an appearance on the Nos Audietis podcast this week, suggesting that Obed could prove a decent option for salting away victories as a second-half substitute.
“Right now I think he’s a rotational option,” Hernandez said. “Is he going to be a starter at the World Cup? Is he going to be a key player at the World Cup? I’m not entirely sure about that. But I do think that if Mexico are up 1–0, it’s the 70th minute, they need to close out the game, they need kind of a subtle presence in the midfield, not some sort of attacking threat, then that's where I think that Obed will be a key figure.”
El Tri’s group-stage results on home soil will inevitably impact Vargas’ prospects. A confident win over South Africa in Thursday’s tournament curtain-raiser and three points against South Korea on June 18 may open up space for Aguirre to rotate in their Group A finale vs. Czechia on June 24.
“There’s some speculation,” said Arnold, “that if Mexico's already qualified after the first two games, do they play a totally alternate lineup against Czechia? But at the same time, you kind of need to win the group, so we’ll see.”
