Ever since I first became aware of Josh Atencio, I’ve been intrigued by his potential. From his earliest days playing up with Tacoma Defiance from the Academy, you could see his blend of size and skill. He was a smooth-passing, confident-dribbling and aggressive tackling midfielder. On top of that, he had a frame that suggested he could grow into a truly dominant physical force.
Over the last six seasons, he’s often shown glimpses of realizing that potential. He opened the 2021 season as a starter and was putting up solid numbers before injuries got in the way. The following season was a bit of a setback, but then he came roaring back in 2023. By the end of that year, he was an established starter and even earned his first senior United States national team start. When he showed up to preseason in 2024, he was given the No. 8 shirt which reflected the reality that he was now expected to be a starter.
Atencio did open the season as a starter, but a red card in his third game seemed to cause the coaches to lose some confidence in him. Although he retained his starting spot, he was often pulled later in games as the Sounders struggled to get results. At the same time, Obed Vargas was firmly establishing himself as the Sounders’ preferred 8, either playing alongside João Paulo or Cristian Roldan.
There had long been a hope that Atencio and Vargas could potentially form a Homegrown partnership in midfield, but it was starting to become clear that we’d never get to see that. By the second half of the season – ironically after returning from playing with the United States at the Olympics – Atencio was reduced to almost exclusively coming off the bench despite his numbers suggesting that he was still a borderline elite defensive midfielder.
When Sounders GM Craig Waibel announced that the team was going to try to move Atencio from midfield to centerback, it seemed to be tacitly acknowledging uncertainly around his future. As much as the move made some sense – Atencio is built more like a centerback but can pass and move like a midfielder – it wasn’t going to be an easy transition.
Throughout preseason, Atencio showed both his potential and areas for improvement. One minute he’d be pinging a perfect 60-yard pass, the next he’d be struggling to hold an offside line. The fact that he was going to open the season as the fifth or sixth option at centerback spoke to the Sounders’ impressive depth but also the reality of the long road ahead. At 23 years old and with his experience, it felt like a significant step back to potentially need to get minutes with Tacoma Defiance.
From the best I could tell, the Sounders were genuine in their willingness to be patient with Atencio’s development. I heard from enough people to believe that they really did see elite potential in him at centerback if everyone was patient and willing to live with the ups and down of the process. That approach also had risks, of course. If Atencio wasn’t starter-ready by next year, he’d have effectively lost a prime playing year and his trade value would be greatly diminished as well.
