Sporting KC Peter Vermes is out - Page 2

**petegz28** · 03-31-2025, 08:27 AM

https://www.sportingkc.com/news/spor...r-peter-vermes

Monday, Mar 31, 2025, 09:15 AM

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Sporting Kansas City announced today that the club has mutually agreed to part ways with Manager Peter Vermes, ending his trophy-laden run as Major League Soccer’s longest-tenured head coach and one of the longest-serving managers in global soccer.

Kerry Zavagnin has been appointed as Sporting’s interim head coach, effective immediately.

“It would be hard to list all of the people I want to thank after 20 seasons in managerial positions at Sporting Kansas City,” Vermes said. “I am thankful to everyone, especially ownership for giving me the opportunity of being a steward of this club for the past two decades. I wish the club nothing but the best in the future.”

Vermes became Sporting’s technical director in November 2006 and assumed head coaching duties in 2009, building a winning culture and orchestrating one of the greatest turnarounds in MLS history. Sporting flourished into a perennial championship contender and a model MLS organization under Vermes’ visionary stewardship.

In addition to hoisting the 2013 MLS Cup and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles in 2012, 2015 and 2017, Vermes guided the club to 11 playoff appearances—including eight straight from 2011-2018—and four first-place finishes in the regular season. He remains the only person to win MLS Cup as a player and a coach with the same team, having led Kansas City to the 2000 title as a standout central defender, and his three Open Cup championships were the most among active MLS coaches entering 2025. He ranks third on the all-time MLS chart with 203 regular season wins and concludes his tenure as the longest-serving head coach in Kansas City professional sports history.

Vermes coached 609 matches for Sporting in all competitions, more than half of the games in the club’s 30-year existence and the most ever for a manager at one MLS club. His 511 regular season matches coached are third-most all-time and his 17-season run at the helm of Sporting was at least seven seasons longer than any other active MLS head coach.

Inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2013, Vermes was named the inaugural MLS Sporting Executive of the Year in early 2019 for his exemplary leadership, dedication and strategic vision in guiding Sporting to long-term success—including the development of the Sporting Kansas City Academy and Sporting KC II. Under his guidance, Sporting has experienced remarkable growth across its enterprise with the openings of world-class Children’s Mercy Park in 2011 and state-of-the-art Compass Minerals National Performance Center in 2018. Vermes’ achievements within the Kansas City soccer landscape—alongside a passionate fanbase, strong civic leadership and first-class facilities across the region—helped pave the way for a monumental development when Kansas City was selected as a host city for FIFA World Cup 2026.

Vermes’ historic run as Kansas City’s head coach began on Aug. 4, 2009, punctuating the start of a winning era as the club rebranded to Sporting KC and moved into Children’s Mercy Park ahead of the 2011 season. He guided Sporting to first-place finishes in the Eastern Conference in 2011 and 2012, including a club-record 63-point regular season in 2012. That same year, Sporting captured the U.S. Open Cup—the club’s first trophy since 2004—with a home victory over Seattle Sounders FC on penalty kicks.

Sporting reached greater heights in 2013, winning the club’s second MLS Cup with an iconic penalty shootout win over Real Salt Lake at Children’s Mercy Park. Vermes also coached the MLS All-Stars in the 2013 MLS All-Star Game at the same stadium, two weeks before his selection into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Vermes propelled Sporting to a club-record eight straight playoff appearances from 2011-2018 and won two more Open Cups during that time—a shootout victory at the Philadelphia Union in 2015 and a 2-1 home triumph over the New York Red Bulls in 2017. In 2020, Vermes was instrumental in helping MLS establish detailed return-to-play protocols during Covid and guided Sporting to the top of the Western Conference standings for the second time in three seasons. His four first-place conference finishes since 2011 are more than any other MLS manager. Sporting remained a force in the West in 2021, finishing within three points of first place and sealing a 10th playoff berth in 11 seasons.

Sporting overcame a slow start to the 2023 campaign by going 12-7-5 in the club’s last 24 regular season matches to reach the playoffs. After eliminating the San Jose Earthquakes in the Western Conference wild card round, Sporting became just the second No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in the MLS Cup Playoffs by sweeping archrival St. Louis City SC with an emphatic 4-1 road win in Game 1 and a euphoric 2-1 home victory in Game 2, sending Kansas City to the conference semifinals for the fourth time in six years.

The 2024 campaign saw Vermes lead his team to the U.S. Open Cup Final, where Sporting fell in extra time at LAFC to break the club’s run of four consecutive cup final victories.

A native of Delran Township, New Jersey, Vermes enjoyed an outstanding playing career from 1988-2002. He notably earned 67 caps for the United States Men’s National Team, representing his country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea and the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, while showcasing a unique aptitude to play in attack, midfield and defense. He was the first American player to compete in the top divisions of Hungary (1989) and the Netherlands (1990), then spent four seasons in Spain’s second division (1991-1995) before returning to the U.S. for Major League Soccer’s inaugural 1996 campaign.

Vermes started 208 of 209 MLS appearances over seven seasons, recording 11 goals and 19 assists while reaching the playoffs every year. He joined Kansas City ahead of the club’s historic 2000 season, winning the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup double while earning MLS All-Star, Best XI and Defender of the Year accolades. He ended his playing career following the 2002 campaign, his third with Kansas City, and has been involved in a record 681 MLS matches as a player or head coach.

Like Vermes, Zavagnin has been inducted into the Sporting Legends hall of honor as one of the club’s most accomplished leaders. He made 291 appearances for Kansas City as a player from 2000-2008—earning MLS Best XI and All-Star nods in 2004—and has served as an assistant with the club since 2009. As a member of the club for 26 consecutive seasons, he holds the MLS record for most seasons with one club as a player or coach.

**petegz28** · 03-31-2025, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indian Chief

That's always been the case. Almost every kid plays soccer at some point. It's a low barrier to entry.

Yeah, gonna disagree there. That being said, more kids are playing soccer in the US now than at any other time.

BlackHelicopters · 03-31-2025, 11:12 AM

Never heard of him

burt · 03-31-2025, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indian Chief

That's always been the case. Almost every kid plays soccer at some point. It's a low barrier to entry.

The same could be said of Baseball. Only thing is, baseball's skill level is stagnant compared to the increase of soccer skills in the US.

T-post Tom · 03-31-2025, 11:17 AM

I hear Ted Lasso is available.

GloryDayz · 03-31-2025, 11:36 AM

I don't miss him in the least. About time. Now it's up to the players to show us if it was PV or them who are SKC's bigger problem.

**petegz28** · 03-31-2025, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

I don't miss him in the least. About time. Now it's up to the players to show us if it was PV or them who are SKC's bigger problem.

It's a bit of both. PV was a bit long in the tooth but they haven't done shit to add talent. They still are swapping Right Back between Shelton, who is an average Forward and Davis who is an average midfielder. They are playing Tommy completely out of position. Rosero is our best CB and that is just a sad commentary in and of itself.

As far as PV goes, this team continues to try and play it out of the back, taking 50 touches just to get to the midline, then when they get around the box they just dink around and no one ever really attacks.

I went tot he Minnesota game a few weeks ago and we dominated possession in the 1st half only to go down 3-Nil because of a few counter attacks. We lucked out and tied the game but it was painful to watch.

Deberg_1990 · 03-31-2025, 12:54 PM

I’m Waiting for |Zach| thoughts on these matters.

|Zach| · 03-31-2025, 01:34 PM

Bummer it had to happen like this but the right thing to do. Even with a rebuild the play was just too bad...I think the worst part is the team is not that bad the results were so much worse than the sum of their parts.

SKC were locked up in a system that was too rigid not letting their players play. PV's style was really good for taking ok players and elevating them while creating a team dynamic that worked but the level of player and the level of play is so much higher in today's league. I think he was bad dealing with really good players.

Our guys in this system need so much to happen to score it’s like building a plane in midair and if one of those small steps don’t happen it all falls apart where as opponents just use their instincts and play.

|Zach| · 03-31-2025, 01:38 PM

The good thing is this is coming at the right time. A lot of bad contracts are up at the end of 2025 and the end of this year signals the biggest spending portion of these upcoming windows I imagine we have a totally different back line.

In a different system\coach I think we have what needed up top to be a decent team Jake Davis is actually pretty good in the midfield this teams has to have a ball winning midfielder which we have not had since Espinoza was playing well. He got to move in that position for the first time this year the other night which should help the players around him.

I think the biggest benefit of a change of coach and style would be for Manu Garcia who is a very natural playmaker but has not been able to do the things he wants I also think this would be very big for Dejan Joveljic who is more likely to find the ball with the defense on their heels instead of our offense constantly being trapped in the umbrella of dispair.

**New World Order** · 03-31-2025, 01:51 PM

Vermeil was a good coach.

Upwards and onwards

|Zach| · 03-31-2025, 02:16 PM

Matt Doyle had a good write up here.

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/peter...as-city-legacy

Let me give you some data on Peter Vermes, the now-former manager of Sporting Kansas City:

One MLS Cup trophy (2013)
Three US Open Cup trophies (2012, 2015, 2017)
Four first-place finishes in the regular-season conference standings
Seven seasons at 1.5 ppg or higher (the club had three total before he took over)
5,718 days as manager of Sporting KC
6,722 days as technical director of Sporting KC
I think it’s fair to say that Vermes is more strongly associated with Sporting – more important to their history and their identity, and literally everything good that’s happened to them – than any other player/coach/executive is with any other club in MLS history. I’m not even sure there’s anyone else with an argument.

And so even though Sporting have gone winless in 13 games across all competitions since September 2024, and even though they have looked like the worst team in the league to start 2025, and even though it sure seems like they’re destined to miss the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the third time in four years despite adding two Designated Players this winter, it still comes as a shock that he was dismissed by KC ownership today, as first reported by Tom Bogert of GiveMeSport.

Sporting KC icon

It seemed like Vermes, who was under contract through 2028, would be with this team forever. He’d taken over in the front office when they were still the Wizards and built a near-dynasty throughout his first couple of years in charge.

The most famous win was the 2013 blood-and-guts MLS Cup triumph over Real Salt Lake in the freezing cold, but the most important might’ve been a summer 2010 friendly vs. Manchester United. 52,424 fans – a record attendance for soccer in Kansas City at the time, and most of them were wearing red – came out to Arrowhead Stadium that day expecting to see the local side marched out as sacrificial

.

Instead, Kei Kamara and Davy Arnaud (two guys who would have a key role in launching Sporting into their decade of excellence) got on the board in a 2-1 win.

Here’s how Sporting KC’s website described it a decade later:

What truly set the game apart, however, was the noise and passion generated by fans. Though many came to the stadium donning United red, all supporters were pulling for an upset in the latter stages. …

To this day, the Manchester United friendly is seen as an instrumental juncture in team history, proving that Kansas City had a tremendous appetite for soccer and that the sport was here to stay.

I am generally dismissive of the efficacy of mid-season friendlies against preseason Euro teams. But there is zero doubt this win in front of that crowd more or less put Sporting on the map locally. To his eternal credit, Vermes then took that core and built it into a team that would compete at or near the top of the conference for the next decade.

In the process, they opened a gorgeous new stadium, set a league record for consecutive wins to start a season (seven, in 2012) and became the first truly modern, high-pressing team in MLS. Sporting games looked and felt different because of that press – Vermes might be the single most important tactician in league history, the one who most comprehensively changed the MLS meta – and they won on their terms, year after year after year.

They also won during an era in which the dominant teams were the LA Galaxy of Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Robbie Keane, or the Seattle Sounders of Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins. Big, big names.

Roster hits & misses

Sporting KC’s best players? SuperDraft picks Matt Besler, Graham Zusi and Roger Espinoza. They found other guys like Chance Myers and Dom Dwyer via the SuperDraft as well, or picked up players like Kamara, Benny Feilhaber, Seth Sinovic and Tim Melia off the scrap heap. A few years later, near the tail end of the almost-dynasty, they’d do it again with Ike Opara.

That talent identification and development was, more than anything else, what made Sporting into what could be argued as the model club of the 2010s. They got results on a budget, year after year after year after year. And they kept getting results because Vermes was so good at finding and developing talent where others failed to look.

Let me give you some other data on Vermes:

With Besler in the lineup (from 2009-20): 438 points in 276 games, 1.58 ppg
Without Besler during those years: 120 points in 93 games, 1.29 ppg
Since Besler left: 174 points in 142 games, 1.2 2ppg
With or without you (WOWY) numbers are always a little wonky in our sport, and there’s some missing context here – Besler’s 12 seasons lined up almost exactly with Zusi’s and Espinoza’s, and he was lucky enough to have Aurélien Collin or Opara alongside him for most of those appearances, with Ilie Sánchez or Uri Rosell in front of him. It’s never just one guy in our sport.

But center back is the crucial spot in the modern game, and is exponentially more crucial for a team that wants to both press and possess. You have to play a high line, and you have to be organized, and when you win the ball you have to have the ability to instantly move the game into good spots. Besler did all of that at an elite level for both club and country (there’s a reason he started over Tim Ream – another excellent, left-footed passer of the ball – for years, folks), and over the past five years there has been no replacing him.

Sporting’s press failed as the backline failed, and their ability to control games failed as the press failed. The tactical advantage that Vermes had built and implemented in the 2010s fell apart by the early 2020s.

Here’s one more set of data:

2007 SuperDraft: Michael Harrington (mostly forgotten now, but he’d play 162 games across all comps for Sporting over six seasons)
2008 SuperDraft: Myers and Espinoza
2009 SuperDraft: Besler and Zusi
2010 SuperDraft: Teal Bunbury
2011 SuperDraft: C.J. Sapong
2012 SuperDraft: Dom Dwyer

All-Stars, Best XIs, Rookies of the Year, World Cup starters, national teamers. Vermes’ first six years in charge were maybe the greatest six-year SuperDraft run in MLS history. Since then, just as Sporting were hitting the peak of their near-dynasty, they haven’t added a single starter via the SuperDraft, and only two semi-regulars (Saad Abdul-Salaam in 2015 and Stephen Afrifa in 2023).

So like that, the player acquisition tool Vermes had put to best use in building the near-dynasty dried up. Suddenly, there was no steady influx of young talent to develop and insert into the XI, or at least into the gameday roster. And because of that, there was more and more pressure to get the imports right.

They mostly haven’t been. Joaquín Fernández, brought in last summer, has not fixed the defense, and Manu García, brought in this winter, has not fixed the midfield. Before them, it was Dany Rosero, Nemanja Radoja, and Rémi Walter. Before them, it was Robert Voloder and José Mauri. Before them, it was Nicolas Isimat-Mirin and Yohan Croizet.

There were some hits in there as well, of course – Johnny Russell is a Sporting KC legend, as is Ilie – but those came fewer and further between as the years went along. And with the losses piling up, and the pipeline of young talent mostly barren (though there is starting to be some hope with the academy), it’s been hard to see a clear path forward. I think, mostly, there isn’t one.

Moving on

And so ownership made the call. Vermes, of course, was gracious.

“It would be hard to list all of the people I want to thank after 20 seasons in managerial positions at Sporting Kansas City,” Vermes said in a press release issued by the team. “I am thankful to everyone, especially ownership, for giving me the opportunity of being a steward of this club for the past two decades. I wish the club nothing but the best in the future.”

Vermes built it and left it in much better shape than when he found it. He’s carved his name into the record books in so many ways that it’s almost impossible to do it justice in one column. How do you adequately fete a guy who not only saved a club but modernized the tactical approach of an entire league?

I don’t quite have the words, so I guess that’s where we’ll leave it. Sporting fans, this weekend, understandably called for Vermes’ ouster. It’s a results-based business, and the results weren’t coming (they hadn’t for a while). I don’t blame them for wanting a new era to arrive ASAP.

But take a minute to appreciate the old one. Vermes put together something incredibly special in KC, and the entire league’s better off because of it.

Straight, No Chaser · 03-31-2025, 03:56 PM

Damn, this can't be because the Cauldron folks wrote that college essay over the weekend demanding his head? That was pathetic.

|Zach| · 03-31-2025, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Straight, No Chaser

Damn, this can't be because the Cauldron folks wrote that college essay over the weekend demanding his head? That was pathetic.

Nah it was already in motion but I am sure it did not help.

TLO · 03-31-2025, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Zach|

Matt Doyle had a good write up here.

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/peter...as-city-legacy

Let me give you some data on Peter Vermes, the now-former manager of Sporting Kansas City:

One MLS Cup trophy (2013)
Three US Open Cup trophies (2012, 2015, 2017)
Four first-place finishes in the regular-season conference standings
Seven seasons at 1.5 ppg or higher (the club had three total before he took over)
5,718 days as manager of Sporting KC
6,722 days as technical director of Sporting KC
I think it’s fair to say that Vermes is more strongly associated with Sporting – more important to their history and their identity, and literally everything good that’s happened to them – than any other player/coach/executive is with any other club in MLS history. I’m not even sure there’s anyone else with an argument.

And so even though Sporting have gone winless in 13 games across all competitions since September 2024, and even though they have looked like the worst team in the league to start 2025, and even though it sure seems like they’re destined to miss the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the third time in four years despite adding two Designated Players this winter, it still comes as a shock that he was dismissed by KC ownership today, as first reported by Tom Bogert of GiveMeSport.

Sporting KC icon

It seemed like Vermes, who was under contract through 2028, would be with this team forever. He’d taken over in the front office when they were still the Wizards and built a near-dynasty throughout his first couple of years in charge.

The most famous win was the 2013 blood-and-guts MLS Cup triumph over Real Salt Lake in the freezing cold, but the most important might’ve been a summer 2010 friendly vs. Manchester United. 52,424 fans – a record attendance for soccer in Kansas City at the time, and most of them were wearing red – came out to Arrowhead Stadium that day expecting to see the local side marched out as sacrificial

.

Instead, Kei Kamara and Davy Arnaud (two guys who would have a key role in launching Sporting into their decade of excellence) got on the board in a 2-1 win.

Here’s how Sporting KC’s website described it a decade later:

What truly set the game apart, however, was the noise and passion generated by fans. Though many came to the stadium donning United red, all supporters were pulling for an upset in the latter stages. …

To this day, the Manchester United friendly is seen as an instrumental juncture in team history, proving that Kansas City had a tremendous appetite for soccer and that the sport was here to stay.

I am generally dismissive of the efficacy of mid-season friendlies against preseason Euro teams. But there is zero doubt this win in front of that crowd more or less put Sporting on the map locally. To his eternal credit, Vermes then took that core and built it into a team that would compete at or near the top of the conference for the next decade.

In the process, they opened a gorgeous new stadium, set a league record for consecutive wins to start a season (seven, in 2012) and became the first truly modern, high-pressing team in MLS. Sporting games looked and felt different because of that press – Vermes might be the single most important tactician in league history, the one who most comprehensively changed the MLS meta – and they won on their terms, year after year after year.

They also won during an era in which the dominant teams were the LA Galaxy of Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Robbie Keane, or the Seattle Sounders of Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins. Big, big names.

Roster hits & misses

Sporting KC’s best players? SuperDraft picks Matt Besler, Graham Zusi and Roger Espinoza. They found other guys like Chance Myers and Dom Dwyer via the SuperDraft as well, or picked up players like Kamara, Benny Feilhaber, Seth Sinovic and Tim Melia off the scrap heap. A few years later, near the tail end of the almost-dynasty, they’d do it again with Ike Opara.

That talent identification and development was, more than anything else, what made Sporting into what could be argued as the model club of the 2010s. They got results on a budget, year after year after year after year. And they kept getting results because Vermes was so good at finding and developing talent where others failed to look.

Let me give you some other data on Vermes:

With Besler in the lineup (from 2009-20): 438 points in 276 games, 1.58 ppg
Without Besler during those years: 120 points in 93 games, 1.29 ppg
Since Besler left: 174 points in 142 games, 1.2 2ppg
With or without you (WOWY) numbers are always a little wonky in our sport, and there’s some missing context here – Besler’s 12 seasons lined up almost exactly with Zusi’s and Espinoza’s, and he was lucky enough to have Aurélien Collin or Opara alongside him for most of those appearances, with Ilie Sánchez or Uri Rosell in front of him. It’s never just one guy in our sport.

But center back is the crucial spot in the modern game, and is exponentially more crucial for a team that wants to both press and possess. You have to play a high line, and you have to be organized, and when you win the ball you have to have the ability to instantly move the game into good spots. Besler did all of that at an elite level for both club and country (there’s a reason he started over Tim Ream – another excellent, left-footed passer of the ball – for years, folks), and over the past five years there has been no replacing him.

Sporting’s press failed as the backline failed, and their ability to control games failed as the press failed. The tactical advantage that Vermes had built and implemented in the 2010s fell apart by the early 2020s.

Here’s one more set of data:

2007 SuperDraft: Michael Harrington (mostly forgotten now, but he’d play 162 games across all comps for Sporting over six seasons)
2008 SuperDraft: Myers and Espinoza
2009 SuperDraft: Besler and Zusi
2010 SuperDraft: Teal Bunbury
2011 SuperDraft: C.J. Sapong
2012 SuperDraft: Dom Dwyer

All-Stars, Best XIs, Rookies of the Year, World Cup starters, national teamers. Vermes’ first six years in charge were maybe the greatest six-year SuperDraft run in MLS history. Since then, just as Sporting were hitting the peak of their near-dynasty, they haven’t added a single starter via the SuperDraft, and only two semi-regulars (Saad Abdul-Salaam in 2015 and Stephen Afrifa in 2023).

So like that, the player acquisition tool Vermes had put to best use in building the near-dynasty dried up. Suddenly, there was no steady influx of young talent to develop and insert into the XI, or at least into the gameday roster. And because of that, there was more and more pressure to get the imports right.

They mostly haven’t been. Joaquín Fernández, brought in last summer, has not fixed the defense, and Manu García, brought in this winter, has not fixed the midfield. Before them, it was Dany Rosero, Nemanja Radoja, and Rémi Walter. Before them, it was Robert Voloder and José Mauri. Before them, it was Nicolas Isimat-Mirin and Yohan Croizet.

There were some hits in there as well, of course – Johnny Russell is a Sporting KC legend, as is Ilie – but those came fewer and further between as the years went along. And with the losses piling up, and the pipeline of young talent mostly barren (though there is starting to be some hope with the academy), it’s been hard to see a clear path forward. I think, mostly, there isn’t one.

Moving on

And so ownership made the call. Vermes, of course, was gracious.

“It would be hard to list all of the people I want to thank after 20 seasons in managerial positions at Sporting Kansas City,” Vermes said in a press release issued by the team. “I am thankful to everyone, especially ownership, for giving me the opportunity of being a steward of this club for the past two decades. I wish the club nothing but the best in the future.”

Vermes built it and left it in much better shape than when he found it. He’s carved his name into the record books in so many ways that it’s almost impossible to do it justice in one column. How do you adequately fete a guy who not only saved a club but modernized the tactical approach of an entire league?

I don’t quite have the words, so I guess that’s where we’ll leave it. Sporting fans, this weekend, understandably called for Vermes’ ouster. It’s a results-based business, and the results weren’t coming (they hadn’t for a while). I don’t blame them for wanting a new era to arrive ASAP.

But take a minute to appreciate the old one. Vermes put together something incredibly special in KC, and the entire league’s better off because of it.

Nobody is reading that shit

|Zach| · 03-31-2025, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TLO

Nobody is reading that shit

Nobody made you come in to the thread.

03-31-2025, 08:27 AM
petegz28 Supporter Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Olathe, Ks Casino cash: $-835873	Peter Vermes is out https://www.sportingkc.com/news/spor...r-peter-vermes Monday, Mar 31, 2025, 09:15 AM share Sporting Kansas City announced today that the club has mutually agreed to part ways with Manager Peter Vermes, ending his trophy-laden run as Major League Soccer’s longest-tenured head coach and one of the longest-serving managers in global soccer. Kerry Zavagnin has been appointed as Sporting’s interim head coach, effective immediately. “It would be hard to list all of the people I want to thank after 20 seasons in managerial positions at Sporting Kansas City,” Vermes said. “I am thankful to everyone, especially ownership for giving me the opportunity of being a steward of this club for the past two decades. I wish the club nothing but the best in the future.” Vermes became Sporting’s technical director in November 2006 and assumed head coaching duties in 2009, building a winning culture and orchestrating one of the greatest turnarounds in MLS history. Sporting flourished into a perennial championship contender and a model MLS organization under Vermes’ visionary stewardship. In addition to hoisting the 2013 MLS Cup and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles in 2012, 2015 and 2017, Vermes guided the club to 11 playoff appearances—including eight straight from 2011-2018—and four first-place finishes in the regular season. He remains the only person to win MLS Cup as a player and a coach with the same team, having led Kansas City to the 2000 title as a standout central defender, and his three Open Cup championships were the most among active MLS coaches entering 2025. He ranks third on the all-time MLS chart with 203 regular season wins and concludes his tenure as the longest-serving head coach in Kansas City professional sports history. Vermes coached 609 matches for Sporting in all competitions, more than half of the games in the club’s 30-year existence and the most ever for a manager at one MLS club. His 511 regular season matches coached are third-most all-time and his 17-season run at the helm of Sporting was at least seven seasons longer than any other active MLS head coach. Inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2013, Vermes was named the inaugural MLS Sporting Executive of the Year in early 2019 for his exemplary leadership, dedication and strategic vision in guiding Sporting to long-term success—including the development of the Sporting Kansas City Academy and Sporting KC II. Under his guidance, Sporting has experienced remarkable growth across its enterprise with the openings of world-class Children’s Mercy Park in 2011 and state-of-the-art Compass Minerals National Performance Center in 2018. Vermes’ achievements within the Kansas City soccer landscape—alongside a passionate fanbase, strong civic leadership and first-class facilities across the region—helped pave the way for a monumental development when Kansas City was selected as a host city for FIFA World Cup 2026. Vermes’ historic run as Kansas City’s head coach began on Aug. 4, 2009, punctuating the start of a winning era as the club rebranded to Sporting KC and moved into Children’s Mercy Park ahead of the 2011 season. He guided Sporting to first-place finishes in the Eastern Conference in 2011 and 2012, including a club-record 63-point regular season in 2012. That same year, Sporting captured the U.S. Open Cup—the club’s first trophy since 2004—with a home victory over Seattle Sounders FC on penalty kicks. Sporting reached greater heights in 2013, winning the club’s second MLS Cup with an iconic penalty shootout win over Real Salt Lake at Children’s Mercy Park. Vermes also coached the MLS All-Stars in the 2013 MLS All-Star Game at the same stadium, two weeks before his selection into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Vermes propelled Sporting to a club-record eight straight playoff appearances from 2011-2018 and won two more Open Cups during that time—a shootout victory at the Philadelphia Union in 2015 and a 2-1 home triumph over the New York Red Bulls in 2017. In 2020, Vermes was instrumental in helping MLS establish detailed return-to-play protocols during Covid and guided Sporting to the top of the Western Conference standings for the second time in three seasons. His four first-place conference finishes since 2011 are more than any other MLS manager. Sporting remained a force in the West in 2021, finishing within three points of first place and sealing a 10th playoff berth in 11 seasons. Sporting overcame a slow start to the 2023 campaign by going 12-7-5 in the club’s last 24 regular season matches to reach the playoffs. After eliminating the San Jose Earthquakes in the Western Conference wild card round, Sporting became just the second No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in the MLS Cup Playoffs by sweeping archrival St. Louis City SC with an emphatic 4-1 road win in Game 1 and a euphoric 2-1 home victory in Game 2, sending Kansas City to the conference semifinals for the fourth time in six years. The 2024 campaign saw Vermes lead his team to the U.S. Open Cup Final, where Sporting fell in extra time at LAFC to break the club’s run of four consecutive cup final victories. A native of Delran Township, New Jersey, Vermes enjoyed an outstanding playing career from 1988-2002. He notably earned 67 caps for the United States Men’s National Team, representing his country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea and the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, while showcasing a unique aptitude to play in attack, midfield and defense. He was the first American player to compete in the top divisions of Hungary (1989) and the Netherlands (1990), then spent four seasons in Spain’s second division (1991-1995) before returning to the U.S. for Major League Soccer’s inaugural 1996 campaign. Vermes started 208 of 209 MLS appearances over seven seasons, recording 11 goals and 19 assists while reaching the playoffs every year. He joined Kansas City ahead of the club’s historic 2000 season, winning the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup double while earning MLS All-Star, Best XI and Defender of the Year accolades. He ended his playing career following the 2002 campaign, his third with Kansas City, and has been involved in a record 681 MLS matches as a player or head coach. Like Vermes, Zavagnin has been inducted into the Sporting Legends hall of honor as one of the club’s most accomplished leaders. He made 291 appearances for Kansas City as a player from 2000-2008—earning MLS Best XI and All-Star nods in 2004—and has served as an assistant with the club since 2009. As a member of the club for 26 consecutive seasons, he holds the MLS record for most seasons with one club as a player or coach.
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03-31-2025, 11:12 AM	#17
BlackHelicopters Spiraling down the Drain Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Dante's Ninth Circle Casino cash: $-639412	Never heard of him __________________ "We're both part of the same hypocrisy, Senator, but never think it applies to my family." "Fredo. You are my brother, and I love you. But never take sides against the Family again. Ever." 2019 Adopt a Chief - Travis Kelce #87
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03-31-2025, 11:17 AM	#19
T-post Tom Busy in a Kohl's restroom Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Milk/Honey/Gazland Casino cash: $1957293	I hear Ted Lasso is available. __________________ You seem nice!
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03-31-2025, 11:36 AM	#20
GloryDayz (Sir/Yes Sir/Aye Aye Sir) Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Diving Casino cash: $905380	I don't miss him in the least. About time. Now it's up to the players to show us if it was PV or them who are SKC's bigger problem. __________________ . #Like 45, 47 Is Going To Be AWESOME! #I still don't have COVID #I'mImmuneToVirtueSignaling
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03-31-2025, 12:54 PM	#22
Deberg_1990 In Search of a Life Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: San Antonio Tx. Casino cash: $374454	I’m Waiting for \|Zach\| thoughts on these matters. __________________ Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning: Matt once made a very nice play in Seattle where he spun away from a pass rusher and hit Bowe off his back foot for a first down. One of the best plays Matt has ever made.
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03-31-2025, 01:34 PM	#23
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $3216768	Bummer it had to happen like this but the right thing to do. Even with a rebuild the play was just too bad...I think the worst part is the team is not that bad the results were so much worse than the sum of their parts. SKC were locked up in a system that was too rigid not letting their players play. PV's style was really good for taking ok players and elevating them while creating a team dynamic that worked but the level of player and the level of play is so much higher in today's league. I think he was bad dealing with really good players. Our guys in this system need so much to happen to score it’s like building a plane in midair and if one of those small steps don’t happen it all falls apart where as opponents just use their instincts and play.
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03-31-2025, 01:38 PM	#24
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $3216768	The good thing is this is coming at the right time. A lot of bad contracts are up at the end of 2025 and the end of this year signals the biggest spending portion of these upcoming windows I imagine we have a totally different back line. In a different system\coach I think we have what needed up top to be a decent team Jake Davis is actually pretty good in the midfield this teams has to have a ball winning midfielder which we have not had since Espinoza was playing well. He got to move in that position for the first time this year the other night which should help the players around him. I think the biggest benefit of a change of coach and style would be for Manu Garcia who is a very natural playmaker but has not been able to do the things he wants I also think this would be very big for Dejan Joveljic who is more likely to find the ball with the defense on their heels instead of our offense constantly being trapped in the umbrella of dispair.
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03-31-2025, 01:51 PM	#25
New World Order Choco Favre Join Date: Jul 2012 Casino cash: $-965235	Vermeil was a good coach. Upwards and onwards
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03-31-2025, 02:16 PM	#26
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $3216768	Matt Doyle had a good write up here. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/peter...as-city-legacy Let me give you some data on Peter Vermes, the now-former manager of Sporting Kansas City: One MLS Cup trophy (2013) Three US Open Cup trophies (2012, 2015, 2017) Four first-place finishes in the regular-season conference standings Seven seasons at 1.5 ppg or higher (the club had three total before he took over) 5,718 days as manager of Sporting KC 6,722 days as technical director of Sporting KC I think it’s fair to say that Vermes is more strongly associated with Sporting – more important to their history and their identity, and literally everything good that’s happened to them – than any other player/coach/executive is with any other club in MLS history. I’m not even sure there’s anyone else with an argument. And so even though Sporting have gone winless in 13 games across all competitions since September 2024, and even though they have looked like the worst team in the league to start 2025, and even though it sure seems like they’re destined to miss the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the third time in four years despite adding two Designated Players this winter, it still comes as a shock that he was dismissed by KC ownership today, as first reported by Tom Bogert of GiveMeSport. Sporting KC icon It seemed like Vermes, who was under contract through 2028, would be with this team forever. He’d taken over in the front office when they were still the Wizards and built a near-dynasty throughout his first couple of years in charge. The most famous win was the 2013 blood-and-guts MLS Cup triumph over Real Salt Lake in the freezing cold, but the most important might’ve been a summer 2010 friendly vs. Manchester United. 52,424 fans – a record attendance for soccer in Kansas City at the time, and most of them were wearing red – came out to Arrowhead Stadium that day expecting to see the local side marched out as sacrificial . Instead, Kei Kamara and Davy Arnaud (two guys who would have a key role in launching Sporting into their decade of excellence) got on the board in a 2-1 win. Here’s how Sporting KC’s website described it a decade later: What truly set the game apart, however, was the noise and passion generated by fans. Though many came to the stadium donning United red, all supporters were pulling for an upset in the latter stages. … To this day, the Manchester United friendly is seen as an instrumental juncture in team history, proving that Kansas City had a tremendous appetite for soccer and that the sport was here to stay. I am generally dismissive of the efficacy of mid-season friendlies against preseason Euro teams. But there is zero doubt this win in front of that crowd more or less put Sporting on the map locally. To his eternal credit, Vermes then took that core and built it into a team that would compete at or near the top of the conference for the next decade. In the process, they opened a gorgeous new stadium, set a league record for consecutive wins to start a season (seven, in 2012) and became the first truly modern, high-pressing team in MLS. Sporting games looked and felt different because of that press – Vermes might be the single most important tactician in league history, the one who most comprehensively changed the MLS meta – and they won on their terms, year after year after year. They also won during an era in which the dominant teams were the LA Galaxy of Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Robbie Keane, or the Seattle Sounders of Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins. Big, big names. Roster hits & misses Sporting KC’s best players? SuperDraft picks Matt Besler, Graham Zusi and Roger Espinoza. They found other guys like Chance Myers and Dom Dwyer via the SuperDraft as well, or picked up players like Kamara, Benny Feilhaber, Seth Sinovic and Tim Melia off the scrap heap. A few years later, near the tail end of the almost-dynasty, they’d do it again with Ike Opara. That talent identification and development was, more than anything else, what made Sporting into what could be argued as the model club of the 2010s. They got results on a budget, year after year after year after year. And they kept getting results because Vermes was so good at finding and developing talent where others failed to look. Let me give you some other data on Vermes: With Besler in the lineup (from 2009-20): 438 points in 276 games, 1.58 ppg Without Besler during those years: 120 points in 93 games, 1.29 ppg Since Besler left: 174 points in 142 games, 1.2 2ppg With or without you (WOWY) numbers are always a little wonky in our sport, and there’s some missing context here – Besler’s 12 seasons lined up almost exactly with Zusi’s and Espinoza’s, and he was lucky enough to have Aurélien Collin or Opara alongside him for most of those appearances, with Ilie Sánchez or Uri Rosell in front of him. It’s never just one guy in our sport. But center back is the crucial spot in the modern game, and is exponentially more crucial for a team that wants to both press and possess. You have to play a high line, and you have to be organized, and when you win the ball you have to have the ability to instantly move the game into good spots. Besler did all of that at an elite level for both club and country (there’s a reason he started over Tim Ream – another excellent, left-footed passer of the ball – for years, folks), and over the past five years there has been no replacing him. Sporting’s press failed as the backline failed, and their ability to control games failed as the press failed. The tactical advantage that Vermes had built and implemented in the 2010s fell apart by the early 2020s. Here’s one more set of data: 2007 SuperDraft: Michael Harrington (mostly forgotten now, but he’d play 162 games across all comps for Sporting over six seasons) 2008 SuperDraft: Myers and Espinoza 2009 SuperDraft: Besler and Zusi 2010 SuperDraft: Teal Bunbury 2011 SuperDraft: C.J. Sapong 2012 SuperDraft: Dom Dwyer All-Stars, Best XIs, Rookies of the Year, World Cup starters, national teamers. Vermes’ first six years in charge were maybe the greatest six-year SuperDraft run in MLS history. Since then, just as Sporting were hitting the peak of their near-dynasty, they haven’t added a single starter via the SuperDraft, and only two semi-regulars (Saad Abdul-Salaam in 2015 and Stephen Afrifa in 2023). So like that, the player acquisition tool Vermes had put to best use in building the near-dynasty dried up. Suddenly, there was no steady influx of young talent to develop and insert into the XI, or at least into the gameday roster. And because of that, there was more and more pressure to get the imports right. They mostly haven’t been. Joaquín Fernández, brought in last summer, has not fixed the defense, and Manu García, brought in this winter, has not fixed the midfield. Before them, it was Dany Rosero, Nemanja Radoja, and Rémi Walter. Before them, it was Robert Voloder and José Mauri. Before them, it was Nicolas Isimat-Mirin and Yohan Croizet. There were some hits in there as well, of course – Johnny Russell is a Sporting KC legend, as is Ilie – but those came fewer and further between as the years went along. And with the losses piling up, and the pipeline of young talent mostly barren (though there is starting to be some hope with the academy), it’s been hard to see a clear path forward. I think, mostly, there isn’t one. Moving on And so ownership made the call. Vermes, of course, was gracious. “It would be hard to list all of the people I want to thank after 20 seasons in managerial positions at Sporting Kansas City,” Vermes said in a press release issued by the team. “I am thankful to everyone, especially ownership, for giving me the opportunity of being a steward of this club for the past two decades. I wish the club nothing but the best in the future.” Vermes built it and left it in much better shape than when he found it. He’s carved his name into the record books in so many ways that it’s almost impossible to do it justice in one column. How do you adequately fete a guy who not only saved a club but modernized the tactical approach of an entire league? I don’t quite have the words, so I guess that’s where we’ll leave it. Sporting fans, this weekend, understandably called for Vermes’ ouster. It’s a results-based business, and the results weren’t coming (they hadn’t for a while). I don’t blame them for wanting a new era to arrive ASAP. But take a minute to appreciate the old one. Vermes put together something incredibly special in KC, and the entire league’s better off because of it.
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03-31-2025, 03:56 PM	#27
Straight, No Chaser Veteran Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Tempe, Arizona Casino cash: $1449209	Damn, this can't be because the Cauldron folks wrote that college essay over the weekend demanding his head? That was pathetic.
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