KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Peter Vermes looked like he’d rather run 10 miles on a sprained ankle than talk about the subject at hand: his coaching success.
In his seventh season with Sporting Kansas City, Vermes is about to claim the top spot in two more categories of the club record book.
“I didn't even know this was happening,” said Vermes, ahead of last weekend's 1-1 home draw against Houston. “Is this number of wins or something? In league, or what?”
Yes, and yes. With Sporting's next victory, Vermes will tie Bob Gansler for the most victories (108) across all competitions in club history. If that win comes Saturday at Toronto FC, Vermes will match Gansler's record 86 victories in MLS regular-season play.
Before agreeing to addressing the records, Vermes had to be assured that he didn’t have to talk about himself if he didn’t want to, that he could use the time to pay tribute to Gansler, who led the then-Wizards – with Vermes in central defense – to both the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup titles in 2000.
Vermes, the only man in league history to win MLS Cup as a player and manager with the same club – and, like Gansler, a member of the US Soccer Hall of Fame – is far happier to do that.
“Obviously, we are connected in a lot of different ways, and I have the utmost respect for him and probably have even more appreciation as I've become a coach, for all that he has done and what he had to do in the areas that he kind of broke open for coaches in this country,” said Vermes, a member of Gansler's landmark 1990 US men’s national team.
“Until [Gansler] came along, [for] 40 years prior to that, nobody qualified for the World Cup in this country. And since then, we've qualified every time.”
Ties between the two coaches run deep: Both are of Hungarian descent, although Gansler was born in a German settlement in Hungary and Vermes in New Jersey. Both are prone to tangents when answering reporters' questions – although Vermes can also be terse when things haven't gone well. Both, especially Gansler, are fond of punctuating their remarks with “Right?” when making a point.
And if one notices similarities in their coaching syles, it’s because Gansler helped Vermes to develop his own philosophies around three key qualities: humility, resolve and curiosity.
Vermes learned to “keep the highs low and the lows high” as a way to avoid getting caught up in the emotion around results and remain focused on his goals. Maintaining a big-picture view can help eliminate outside influences on decisions, holding firm to formed beliefs about player evaluation and styles of play. And he learned about making a commitment to lifelong learning about the game, tracking developing trends and strategies to ensure an evolution in kind.
Though they sometimes clashed as player and coach, Vermes shows a clear personal regard for Gansler, a special guest for Vermes’ 2013 Hall of Fame induction.
“We've been through the wars together,” Vermes said. “Not just the battles, but the wars. I think there's a level of respect there because of that. We've lost together, but more importantly, we've won together. You forge a very strong relationship.”
As Vermes transitioned from player to coach, he began to understand more of Gansler’s perspective and decisions, placing a high value on his relationship with someone who shares not only stories about playing and coaching, but doing so for the same organization.
Vermes takes pride in his managerial accomplishments, a list that includes leading Sporting to the US Open Cup title in 2012 and their second MLS Cup in 2013. But they are in the past, and he prefers to leave them there – so firmly that he doesn't like to watch replays of his club's Cup triumphs.
“I'm just not that person,” Vermes said. “I don't want to come off corny, you know? I don't. The next important challenge is ahead. And so that's what my focus tends to always be.”
With the league growing to 20 teams, with more on the way, and quality talent continuing to sign, Vermes is excited about the future. Feeling fortunate and privileged to play his part, Vermes echoes his former coach, who couldn't recall his victory total with the Wizards – a coaching stint that lasted from 1999 to 2006 – during a phone conversation.
None of this surprises Sporting assistant Kerry Zavagnin, who played on both of Gansler's Cup-winning teams with the Wizards before retiring in 2008 and joining Kansas City's technical staff a year later under Vermes.
“If I were going to offer a criticism to both of them, I would say they're incredibly poor self-promoters,” Zavagnin said. “They don't put themselves out there and look to get the credit for all the hard work that's been done. But at the end of the day, they are both very committed to the game. They love the game. They're both fantastic coaches.
“It's no surprise that both Bob and Peter have had a tremendous amount of success. They have an incredible work ethic. They're no-nonsense guys, and I think that kind of mentality gets passed down to players.”
Gansler first spotted those qualities in Vermes as a player, targeting him for an acquisition after taking over the Wizards in 1999. The defender, then in his second season with the Colorado Rapids after making his league debut for the New York/New Jersey Metrostars as an MLS original, had yet to find extended league success.
“I knew Peter was hungry,” Gansler said. “There's nothing better than a talented player who is hungry. You don't just win on talent. You win on intangibles, the psychological end of things: the intelligence, how dedicated you are, all of that. We had that 2000 team, there were a lot of folks that had been in the league for a while but said, 'Yeah, but what have we done?' Together, we did something.”
Even before joining the team, Vermes was glad to see Gansler coaching in the league – believing it long overdue – and made sure to tell him when Colorado played the Wizards. Gansler admitted he was sore no job offer materialized when the league launched, but used that as motivation.
“I couldn't then, still can't now, figure out why I did not get a chance to be one of those first 10,” he said. “But that's the disappointment part that you need to learn from. I could have felt sorry for myself, and I could have thrown in the towel, but I said, 'OK, there are obviously some folks here who don't think that I'm up to this task. So I went to the A-League, and spent three years there, and the second year there we won the A-League. So maybe it was by accident that the second year in Kansas City, we won MLS. But maybe not.”
They won together, and Gansler observed Vermes’ continued growth with an expectant eye, prepared to witness the future success of someone so broadly talented, motivated and intelligent. Given Vermes’ background, experience and managerial achievements in MLS, Gansler believes the national team could be a long-term possibility.
“Peter would be as prepared as anybody,” Gansler said. “I still think that the domestic solution is always a good one.”
Wherever Vermes coaches, Gansler expects him to rack up plenty more victories, terming the younger coach a “maximizer” for his ability to take advantage of all resources.
“He just squeezes everything out of himself,” Gansler said. “There are a lot of people with talent, but Peter doesn't waste talent. He doesn't waste his own, and he doesn't waste the talent on his team.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
