KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Sporting Kansas City community is saying goodbye to manager Peter Vermes after his departure from the club was announced Monday morning.
Sporting Kansas City said the club and Vermes agreed to part ways after his 16-year tenure as head coach. He was the longest-tenured coach in Major League Soccer.
Vemes' most notable accomplishments were guiding the club to the 2013 MLS Cup and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles in 2012, 2015 and 2017.
The announcement of his departure comes after fans grew frustrated with the team's disappointing play in the past few years.
On Sunday, two Sporting KC fan organizations — the Kansas City Cauldron and South Stand Supporters Club — released a joint statement asking for Vermes' resignation.
"I honestly was shocked that it was such a quick response," said Kansas City Cauldron member Katelyn Kennedy. "I have a lot of respect for the owners and the leadership that made that choice to listen and to respond quickly."
The first president of the Kansas City Cauldron, Sam Pierron, said Vermes' departure doesn't erase his history with the club.
"He deserves to be remembered as a club legend; as a player, as an executive and as a coach, even if the end isn't what we all wanted," he said.
Diego Gutierrez's relationship with Vermes has evolved over the last 25 years. The two played together for the Kansas City Wizards but also competed against each other as players and in MLS managerial positions.
"He was a leader, he was a born leader," Gutierrez said of Vermes. "He was the kind of guy that every guy in the locker room listened to."
As a former MLS player and general manager, Gutierrez understands the league. He said fans are the ultimate clients.
"They have a right to their opinion, and they expect excellence," he said. "That's the bar we have set in this market."
Gutierrez said he spoke with Vermes Monday morning after the news broke.
"Peter is a very honest guy," he said. "He'd be the first one to tell you that things probably aren't clicking the way they should be."
In addition to being a former captain of the club, Gutierrez said he's a fan.
"From a fan perspective, you have to be grateful for everything that he's done," he said.
Vermes became the club's technical director in 2006. Three years later, he became the club's head coach.
“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.”
As head coach, Vermes saw the rebranding of Sporting KC in 2009 and its move in 2011 to the new, world-class Children's Mercy Park. The club credits Vermes with helping Kansas City become a host city for the FIFA World Cup 2026, according to a press release.
"Sporting flourished into a perennial championship contender and a model MLS organization under Vermes’ visionary stewardship," the Sporting KC press release said.
For fans like Kennedy, the team's recent performance has been difficult.
"Just the declining performance of the club [in] general has just become more and more evident, and so for us who show up all the time and see it, it's just painful," she said. "We are just hurting for the club and our city."
Kennedy joined the Kansas City Cauldron 10 years ago. She said she attends as many home games as she can.
"I don't know what the future will bring, so a little bit of me is apprehensive because [we] have let go of a coach who was very strong and was a very good thing for our club," Kennedy said.
Gutierrez said he's confident in Vermes' future.
"I expect to see him back very soon," he said. "I expect to see him with a different club; it'll be strange to see him with a different club."
Kerry Zavagnin will serve as Sporting KC's interim head coach, according to the club.
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KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.