Long ago, Vinicius “Vini” Oliveira had a dream, one of those fuzzy ones that he could barely remember. He could recall one thing though; in the dream, he had become a professional soccer player.
Sunday night in Tukwila, dream became reality as Oliveira was crowned the winner of the Seattle Sounders SuperSearch, earning a spot on the Sounders FC Major League Soccer team.
Oliveira, a 20-year-old Sammamish High School grad and Bellevue Community College standout, beat out nine other finalists, including fellow Totems alum Oliver Wellman, to earn a roster spot with the new Seattle franchise that will begin regular season play in April.
“I didn’t sleep at all last night, I was just thinking about this so much,” Oliveira said Monday morning from the Sea-Tac Airport, where he was about to board a flight to Southern California, to join the Sounders as they continue to hold training camp at Oxnard College in Oxnard, Calif. “I feel like my life is starting now.”
Oliveira, a 6-foot, 168-pound forward, earned a spot in the 10-man finals, broadcasted live Sunday night from the StarFire Complex in Tukwila, after emerging as one of four finalists selected through an open tryout in Yakima in November. The native Brazilian, who moved to Bellevue in his freshman year, impressed the judges in an un-televised 11-on-11 game Saturday afternoon and was selected as one of the two final candidates near the conclusion of the televised event.
The other finalist was Sunnyside native Junior Garcia, and the two participated in a five-minute one-on-one match before the final selection was made.
“Before they made the pick, I told Junior ‘man, this is it. We got here for a reason,'” Oliveira said. “No matter who they picked, I was really proud of getting there.”
The panel of judges, which included Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer, coach Sigi Schmid and technical director Chris Henderson, liked what they saw out of the Bellevue standout, who scored 25 goals in an MVP season for BCC this year. Kevin Calabro, voice of the Sounders, announced the pick, and Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller helped Oliveira slip on the team’s green jersey right before he was pounced on by his family.
“I couldn’t stop saying ‘thank you, thank you’,” Oliveira said. “This is the big opportunity of my lifetime.”
The 20-year-old becomes the 31st player on the Sounders roster that includes Keller, a decorated World Cup veteran, Swedish standout Freddie Ljungberg, and the Sounders first-ever draft pick, Steve Zakuani, a 20-year-old forward who led the nation in goals and points at the University of Akron.
“I’m going to learn a lot from them, they all have a lot of experience,” Oliveira said. “I’m ready to take it all in and learn as much as I can.”
Oliveira said he is ready to make a name for himself and make what was once a dream, his life.
“Right after they announced my name, my mom just told me ‘Remember that dream? Now you are living it,'” he said. “I’m ready to step on the field and show them what I’ve got.”
