Cristian Roldan rediscovers home in Sounders' central midfield, takes Obed Vargas under his wing

Time, as is so often in life, is a flat circle. Cristian Roldan entered Major League Soccer a decade ago as a holding central midfielder, operating in the middle with and being groomed by MLS legend Osvaldo Alonso. Roldan, the energetic and eager rookie in a more box-to-box role partnered with a wily, grizzled veteran in Alonso at the No. 6.

Now entering his 11th professional season, and having played just about everywhere on the pitch, Roldan is settling back into life in the middle, this time with the tables turned as he mentors teenage phenom Obed Vargas.

“It was full circle being able to play alongside Ozzie and now kind of mentor Obed,” said Roldan. “Obed has a lot of similar traits as I do, especially when I was at his age. His ability to arrive in the box and dribble out of pressure is so good. Being able to help him in any way possible just like Ozzie did [for me] is really a special moment for me.”

Roldan had spent the greater part of the last few seasons operating on the right side of midfield in an inverted winger role, one in which he found great success. But the emergence of Paul Rothrock and Georgi Minoungou as well as a healthy Pedro de la Vega meant Roldan could comfortably return to the double pivot. Over the last half of 2024, Roldan played at an MLS Best XI level running the show in the Sounders’ engine room.

“It means a lot to me to consistently play one position,” said Roldan. “I have been moving around my entire career. It’s nice to focus on what that position brings. Being able to form a partnership with Obed has been crucial and has helped the team be a little more organized on offense and on defense.”

Roldan has been a Swiss Army Knife for Head Coach Brian Schmetzer, filling in holes and plugging up gaps in every lineup and formation imaginable. While not exactly preferable, it is a testament to just how talented Roldan is and how much faith his manager and teammates have in him to get the job done.

“Cristian is every coach’s dream,” said Schmetzer. “He does everything. He does all the little details, all the dirty work. He can play multiple positions, his flexibility. But probably the biggest trait that he has is he either loves to win or hates to lose because the guy is super competitive. I keep going back to his growing up with his two brothers and playing in the backyard and competing against his older and younger brother. That environment growing up gives him that competitive edge.”

The Sounders are hoping that a full season of Roldan and Vargas manning the middle will translate into a productive year, one following a campaign that saw Seattle come up just short of advancing to MLS Cup. And like Alonso did a decade before, it’s Roldan’s chance to sit a little deeper and let his younger counterpart Vargas take over more of the box-to-box responsibilities.

“From a personal perspective, this is probably the most defensive role that I’ve had in my career,” said Roldan. “Defensively, it’s really important to be organized, but offensively we need to score a lot of goals and that starts with me being able to play forward, provide assists from a deeper position and arrive in the box when Obed is covering for me. Not from an individual standpoint, but from a team standpoint, can I start attacks? That’s my goal this year.”