Vahe Gregorian: Sporting KC's 2023 season on the brink (and stunning recovery) affirms Peter Vermes

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Amid Sporting KC’s wretched start last season, going winless in its first 10 matches while scoring a measly three goals, some vocal fans took to booing the team off the field and chanting “Vermes out” in reference to longtime manager Peter Vermes.

They weren’t alone in their frustration and doubt. Principal owner Mike Illig told The Kansas City Star’s Sam McDowell the situation was “embarrassing,” and the club contemplated a dramatic change

If Vermes was flinching inside, though, it wasn’t apparent. In fact, the fallout only seemed to fuel his resolve and conviction.

And not just in the sense that he has what he called a “vengeful” side as Sporting began to hoist itself out of the abyss into a stunning late-season run that proved to be the actual signature of the season. That defiant part of him flashed after Sporting on May 13 beat Minnesota 3-0 for its second straight win, compelling him, he said Tuesday, to have “my say” before fans in the Budweiser Brew House of Children’s Mercy Park.

“It’s who I am,” Vermes said. “I can’t play the two-faced game.”

But who he is is far more multifaceted and deep than that.

Something he demonstrated anew last season with an uncanny combination of steadfastness and adaptability that affirmed his resume — including one MLS Cup and three U.S Open Cups (and 11 postseason berths in the last 13 seasons) — and underscores why he’s now in charge for a 16th straight season.

Given that the substance and duration of his ongoing term perhaps is underappreciated, consider this:

In Sporting’s season opener at Houston last weekend, Vermes became the first MLS coach to reach the 500-match plateau with one club. He’s the longest-tenured coach with one club in MLS history.

For that matter, he’s the fifth-longest currently tenured coach with one franchise in any of the five major American men’s sports leagues — behind only Gregg Popovich of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs (since 1996), Mike Tomlin of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers (2006), John Harbaugh of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens (2008) and Erik Spoelstra of the NBA’s Miami Heat (2008).

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