Sporting KC, Vermes part ways after slow start
Published
The Peter Vermes era in Kansas City is over.
Sporting announced Monday that the team and their long-tenured manager have agreed to part ways after a slow start to the 2025 campaign.
Assistant Kerry Zavagnin has been appointed interim head coach.
Through six matches, SKC sits at the bottom of the Western Conference on one point from a draw and five losses. The team has now lost 12 of its last 13 matches going back into last season. The team lost 2-1 to FC Dallas on the weekend.
“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.”
A native of Willingboro, NJ, Vermes first joined SKC in 2006 as technical director before becoming manager in 2009. During his time at the club, Sporting has won three US Open Cups and the 2013 MLS Cup.
Vermes finishes his Sporting tenure with 203 MLS wins, putting him third all-time behind Bruce Arena (262) and Sigi Schmid (240).
A defender in his playing days, Vermes was capped 66 times by the United States from 1988 to 1997, appearing at the 1990 World Cup and winning the 1991 Gold Cup.
He finished his career with two seasons at the Kansas City Wizards, the team that would become SKC, and won the MLS Cup in 2000.