Sporting Kansas City fires longtime coach and South Jersey native Peter Vermes
Vermes, who was born in Willingboro and raised in Delran, ranks third all-time in MLS wins with 203.
A South Jersey native’s reign as the longest-tenured manager in Major League Soccer history came to an end on Monday.
Sporting Kansas City fired Peter Vermes, who had been in charge of the club since 2009, with the team holding MLS’s worst record (0-5-1) through six games.
Born in Willingboro and raised in Delran, Vermes played collegiately at Rutgers, and then for various clubs in Europe before MLS launched in 1996. The 58-year-old’s last stop was with the then-Kansas City Wizards, which rebranded to the current name in 2010.
Before being Sporting’s manager, Vermes became the team’s technical director in late 2006. SKC won the 2013 MLS Cup and three U.S. Open Cups in his tenure — including the 2015 final over the Union at Subaru Park — and finished atop the Western Conference four times.
He compiled a record of 251-140-217 on the bench for SKC, with 45 of those losses since the start of 2022. Vermes’ 203 regular-season wins are the third-most in MLS history. Sporting made a surprising run to last year’s Open Cup final, but missed the playoffs last year and in 2022.
”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 statement. “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.”