Peter Joseph Vermes (; born November 21, 1966) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

coach and former player. He is currently the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

. As of 2022, Vermes is currently the longest-tenured head coach in MLS and has won four major trophies as a manager, the second most of all active coaches in MLS. As a player, Vermes spent several seasons playing in Hungary, the Netherlands, before establishing himself as a defender in

, playing for MetroStars,

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

and the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse a ...

. Vermes was also a regular member of the United States national team throughout the 1990s, and represented his country at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...

and the

1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the first edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and the eleventh overall CONCACAF tournament. The last time the CONCACAF Championship was he ...

. On April 4, 2013, Vermes was elected to the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame.

Youth and college

Vermes was born in Willingboro, New Jersey. He grew up in

Delran Township, New Jersey Delran Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 16,896, reflecting an increase of 1,360 (+8.8%) from the 15,536 counted in the 2000 Census, which ...

and played high school soccer at

Delran High School Delran High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Delran Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Delran Tow ...

. He graduated in 1984, having scored 109 goals. In 1999, he was named by ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...

'' as one of the top ten New Jersey high school soccer players of the 1980s. Vermes played his first year in college on the men's soccer team at

Loyola College in Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in the U ...

under head coach Bill Sento. Vermes then transferred and played three years of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Ki ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, from 1985 to 1987. In his final season, Vermes scored 21 goals and 10 assists for the team, finishing a first-team All-American, as well as runner-up for the National Player of the Year Award. During that season, Vermes led Rutgers to their first victory in the NCAA Tournament in 26 years, scoring the winning goal in a contest against

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

Playing career

Professional

After graduating, Vermes went to Europe, where he played with Rába ETO FC of Hungary in 1989 and

Volendam Volendam () is a fishing town in the municipality of Edam-Volendam, province of North Holland, Netherlands. As of 1 January 2021, it has a population of 22,715. It is twinned with Coventry, England. History Originally, Volendam was the location o ...

of the Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

in 1990. In May 1991, Vermes returned to the United States and played three games, scoring a single goal against the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

of the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

. He then moved to Spain where he played for

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

Figueres Figueres (, ; , es, Figueras, ) is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large mus ...

from 1991 to 1995. Like many American players, Vermes returned to the United States to join the recently founded domestic league

. In January 1995, he signed with the new league that would not begin league play until 1996. Therefore, MLS loaned Vermes to the New York Fever of the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

where he played 25 games, scoring 16 goals in the 1995 season. In 1996, Vermes was drafted by the

New York/New Jersey MetroStars New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in the third round of the

MLS Inaugural Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United State ...

(29th overall) and captained the team in its first season. Although he played the most minutes of any MetroStar that year, the MetroStars traded Vermes on February 3, 1997, to the

for

Kerry Zavagnin Kerry Zavagnin (; born July 2, 1974 in Plymouth, Michigan) is an American former soccer midfielder, who last played defensive midfielder for the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer, and sparingly for the US national team. Kerry Zavaginin al ...

. Vermes would play three years for the Rapids before being traded again, this time to the

with

Matt McKeon Matthew (Matt) John McKeon (born September 24, 1974) is an American retired soccer midfielder who played seven seasons in Major League Soccer. He earned two caps with the United States men's national soccer team and was a member of the 1996 U.S. ...

for Scott Vermillion and a player allocation. With the Wizards, Vermes helped the Wizards finish the season first in the league with a 16–7–9 record, having allowed only 29 goals in 32 games, and eventually winning the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

. Vermes was recognized as the MLS Defender of the Year, while his teammate

Tony Meola Antonio Michael "Tony" Meola (; ; born February 21, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the United States national team at the 1990, 1994, and 2002 World Cups. From 1996 to 2006, he ...

won both the

MLS Goalkeeper of the Year MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award, known as the Allstate MLS Goalkepeer of the Year Award for sponsorship purposes, is an annual Major League Soccer award established in 1996. It is voted on by media, MLS players and club management based on regular ...

and MLS MVP awards. Vermes played two more seasons with the Wizards, struggling with injuries but playing every game he was healthy for, before announcing his retirement at the end of the 2002 season.

International

Vermes received his first cap May 14, 1988, against

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

, and would in all receive 66 caps for the team, playing in the 1988 Olympics, the

1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...

and the

. In the 1990 World Cup, he nearly bagged a goal against Italy with a shot against Italian goalkeeper

Walter Zenga Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian football manager and former player who last managed Serie A club Cagliari. He was a long-time goalkeeper for Inter Milan and the Italian national team. During his playing career, Zenga was pa ...

. After seeing his playing time wane with the team in late 1993 and early 1994, Vermes was one of the final cuts from the 1994 U.S. World Cup team. He later said he thought that his outspoken comments had doomed him politically. A forward early in his career, his performance in defense in MLS led to his comeback to the National team in that position after years of absence, but he was cut again from the U.S. roster in January 1998. Vermes was named the 1988

U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year The U.S. Soccer Player of the Year is given by the United States Soccer Federation to the American soccer players judged best in the calendar year. It is considered the highest accolade for American soccer players. The U.S. Soccer Male Player o ...

and U.S. Olympic Player of the Year. In 1989, he scored six goals for the U.S.

Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

team, which took third place, at the

FIFA Futsal World Championship The FIFA Futsal World Cup is an international futsal competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. Since the first edition that took place in 1989 in the Netherland ...

in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He ended his futsal career with 11 caps and 7 goals.

International goals

Coaching career

Kansas City

Vermes was appointed as the technical Director for the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer in November 2006. He was named interim coach of the Wizards on August 4, 2009, one day after predecessor

Curt Onalfo Curt Onalfo (born November 19, 1969) is an American former soccer player and coach who currently serves as technical director of Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. As a player, he played two seasons in France, two in the USISL, on ...

was fired by the team. The team was in sixth place in the MLS Eastern Conference with a 5–6–7 record. Vermes would lead to the Wizards to a 3–7–2 record down the stretch. Following the season, the Wizards removed the interim tag from his title. As of 2020, Vermes is currently the longest-tenured manager/head coach in the MLS. In 2012, Vermes won his first piece of silverware as a head coach, leading the renamed

(changed from the Kansas City Wizards in 2010) to a penalty shootout win over three-time defending champions

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

to win the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The following year, Vermes led the club to the

, where they beat

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

, also in a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. This makes him the only person to ever win the

as both a player and a coach with the same team. Vermes won his third trophy as Sporting KC coach when his side won the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup by defeating the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 ...

on penalties at

Talen Energy Stadium Subaru Park (formerly known as PPL Park and Talen Energy Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania, located next to the Commodore Barry Bridge on the waterfront along the Delaware River. The venue is home to the Phila ...

. Two years later, Vermes added the

2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 104th edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. FC Dallas entered the competition as the defending champions, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Sporting Kansas City. First ...

to his trophy haul when Sporting KC beat the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

2–1 at

Children's Mercy Park Children's Mercy Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, and is the home of Sporting Kansas City. The stadium is located near Kansas Speedway, on the far west side of Wyandotte County, Kansas. It opened during th ...

. On August 4, 2018, Vermes coached his 302nd regular-season match – a 1–0 victory over the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establish ...

– becoming the all-time leader in games coached with one club in MLS history. On October 3, 2020, Vermes won his 150th regular-season match, with a 2–1 victory over the Houston Dynamo, becoming only the 5th coach in MLS history to do so.

Other coaching and activities

Vermes worked as a broadcaster for the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

. Vermes serves as the technical Director of Coaching for the Blue Valley Soccer Club in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As ...

, and was an assistant coach for the U.S. Under-20 National Team.

Personal life

Vermes's parents immigrated to the United States from

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

as refugees during the

1956 revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

. His father, Michael, was a professional footballer for Budapest Honvéd FC and operated an

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor s ...

training center in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

after immigrating. Peter has two brothers and one sister. Peter married his wife Susan, who he met in high school, in 1990. The couple have two children. Vermes was arrested for a suspected

DUI Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

on August 24, 2010, by police in Gardner, Kansas. He accepted one year of probation and the charge was dropped. The incident was mocked by

supporters during a match in September 2010, with the Sons of Ben singing the entire folk song "

99 Bottles of Beer "99 Bottles of Beer" or "100 Bottles of Pop on the Wall" is a song dating to the mid-20th century. It is a traditional reverse counting song in both the United States and Canada. It is popular to sing on road trips, as it has a very repetitive ...

" during the team's match against Kansas City.

Coaching statistics

Honors

Player

;Sporting Kansas City *

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since ...

Coach

;Sporting Kansas City *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

* U.S. Open Cup:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Individual

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors Association football, soccer ...

Inductee: 2013 *

: 1988 *

MLS Defender of the Year Award Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the ...

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a traditional all-star ...

*MLS Sporting Executive of the Year: 2019

References

External links

Profile
at US Soccer Players * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vermes, Peter 1966 births Living people All-American men's college soccer players American expatriate soccer players American Professional Soccer League players Colorado Rapids players Győri ETO FC players FC Volendam players Eredivisie players Expatriate footballers in Hungary Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Spain Segunda División players Sporting Kansas City coaches Sporting Kansas City players Loyola Greyhounds men's soccer players Major League Soccer coaches Major League Soccer players New York Red Bulls players UE Figueres footballers New York Fever players Olympic soccer players of the United States Parade High School All-Americans (boys' soccer) Delran High School alumni People from Delran Township, New Jersey People from Willingboro Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from Burlington County, New Jersey Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's soccer players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1992 King Fahd Cup players 1993 Copa América players 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Association football forwards Association football defenders American people of Hungarian descent American soccer players Soccer players from New Jersey United States men's international soccer players American men's futsal players Major League Soccer All-Stars National Soccer Hall of Fame members Nemzeti Bajnokság I players American expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands American expatriate sportspeople in Hungary American expatriate sportspeople in Spain American soccer coaches

Youth and college

Playing career

Professional

International

International goals

Coaching career

Kansas City

Other coaching and activities

Personal life

Coaching statistics

Honors

Player

Coach

Individual

See also

References

External links