When Kansas City decided to replace Curt Onalfo as head coach last
year they didn’t have to look too far for a perfect
replacement.
Peter Vermes moved from his technical director role into the
head coaching role, and although the team failed to make the
playoffs, the former U.S. international is determined to turn the
Wizards into MLS contenders again.
I got the chance to catch up with Peter and get his thoughts
on the technical director role, his relationship with Curt Onalfo,
and why he turned down a role with the L.A. Galaxy.
Keith Costigan: Did you know you always wanted to
remain in the game when your playing career was over or was
coaching just something that you fell into?
Peter Vermes: I played up until 2002 but I had
already got my A license back in 1995. I had always thought that I
wanted to become a coach and when I finished playing, I thought I
was heading in the direction of becoming a coach.
I then started to work with the youth clubs in Kansas City
and at the same time worked with the U-20s under Sigi Schmid, which
was a particularly enjoyable experience. I had known Sigi for a
long time and working with him made me feel like coaching was
definitely what I wanted to do.
I then got offered the chance to go to Houston with Dominic
Kinnear when they first moved there but unfortunately we
couldn’t work out all the details with Doug Hamilton-who was
working with them at the time, so the move never materialized.
By this stage I was also intrigued by the business aspect of
the game so when I took on the technical director role I decided
that it was a direction I was very happy to follow. I really
didn’t expect to find myself in the position I am in now.
K.C.: The technical director role is one that has
caused a lot of debate in the football world with some suggesting
that the position undermines the head coach. Can you define what
your duties were as a technical director of K.C.?
P.V.: I think that every club would define the
role of technical director differently. My role as technical
director at the Wizards had me doing a lot of different things,
from overseeing the ground staff to handling some of the business
stuff for the team as well. I always felt that my role was to
assist the head coach in any way possible and make his job that bit
easier. If our coach was interested in a player then it was my job
to go out and do everything I could to get him to our club.
The one thing that made my job different was I needed to look
at the bigger picture rather than just the now. I will say that if
I saw a player that I felt was a good prospect I would not just
sign him and tell the coaching staff to work with him. I felt it
was my job to always let the coaching staff come to me and tell me
if they really wanted the player and then we could move on from
there.
My job was not to come up with a practice plan or a starting
eleven, as that is the role of the coach and not something that I
ever felt was part of my role at the club.
K.C.: What was your relationship with Curt Onalfo
and what was your reaction to his sacking last season?
P.V.: I don’t want to get too deep into that
but I do want to say that I have a lot of respect for Curt and I
felt we had a good working relationship when he was here. It is not
an easy situation when somebody is relieved of his duties but it
was a decision made by the organization. They then asked me to step
in and take control until the end of the season so they
didn’t have to rush around trying to find somebody and have
the team not knowing what was going to happen.
K.C.: Soon after taking over you criticized the
fitness levels of the team. From the outside looking in, it seemed
like you were questioning how well the team was prepared before you
took over. Were you questioning the direction of the team under
Onalfo or was it more of an attack on the player’s work rate
in practice?
P.V.: When I was technical director of the club we
had four practice sessions a week and I would try be there to watch
at least three of them. At the time I felt by being at the
practices and the games I was connected to the team and knew what
was going on. The biggest thing I have learned in my two months in
charge of the team is that I was not as connected to the team as I
thought I was. It was an unbelievable learning experience for me to
feel like I was close enough to the team to know what was going on
when in actual fact I wasn’t.
K.C.: I know you have been working very hard in
the offseason to make sure your team competes for a playoff spot
next year, but what areas do you feel like you need to add to most
from the squad you inherited?
P.V.: When you look at any team that has fallen
short of their goals you have to analyze both the playing and
coaching staff. I think that we need to improve in both areas. The
culture within the group needs to be different and I feel we began
to make inroads into changing that over the final two months of the
season.
I feel like we do have to improve the team and right up the
spine would be a good start. I also think the mentality of the team
needs to be better for us to be successful. There was an
interesting stat last year that when we went a goal down we never
came back in the game and I relate that to the mentality of the
players. Over the last few months we started to get better with
this, but it is still an area that we need to continually improve.
K.C.: Josh Wolff is a tremendous talent but has
had some injury issues throughout his career. How important is he
to your team and how important is it for you to make sure that your
squad has adequate cover in case he does go down with an injury?
P.V.: Goals do have to come from several different
sources and it is important we don’t rely on just one player
to find the net for us. I feel that Josh really stepped up to the
challenge when I took over and he was a model professional day in
and day out. He worked hard in practice and his attitude really
impressed me. I also think he is a lot more durable than people
give him credit for but it is vital that we are not just relying on
Josh for goals.
K.C.: Cities like New York, Seattle and Los
Angeles are obviously the big markets in MLS so how difficult is it
to attract big name players - particularly foreign- to Kansas City?
P.V.: We are very aware of the fact that the David
Beckham’s of this world are always going to want to go to the
big cities like Los Angeles. We have to make up for that by making
sure we have our identity on the field by being as disciplined and
hard working as we can. When we are looking for a higher profile
player it is important that he is not just a marketable face but
also a very good player that adds to our team.
I am not sure if we will look down the Designated Player road
right now but as we break ground on our new stadium, I believe it
is something we will look in to. The one thing that gets overlooked
about our organization is that we have five owners who are fully
committed to soccer, this league and this team. They also live and
work here in Kansas City so they are very much in tune and in touch
with the team. I feel like that is an exciting thing and something
that people seem top forget about when they talk about Kansas City.
K.C.: What are your immediate goals for this
Kansas City team?
P.V.: I think everybody’s goal to start a
season is to make the playoffs and we are no different. The reality
is that you cannot expect to make the postseason without consistent
play throughout the year. We have to get better in many areas and
that will be a process for us. I don’t think that I am some
miracle worker that will just turn everything around but I will
make sure that we try and develop something that helps us become a
more consistent team over time. It is important that we create our
own identity early and that will give us the best opportunity to be
successful over time.
K.C.: If you are successful in Kansas City it will
make you a very marketable coach in U.S. soccer. What are your
long-term goals as a coach?
P.V.: I am looking at this job as a major
challenge in my career. I am sure you know that I had the
opportunity to go to the Galaxy as their general manager and one of
the main reasons I turned down that opportunity is because I really
believe in our ownership group here in K.C. I knew when I came in
as a technical director that being successful here would be a
challenge because we really don’t have some of the advantages
that other teams have. An example of that is if you are coach at
D.C., you can drive within a 45-mile radius and see some of the
best Division One college soccer teams. That helps when you are
trying to build a squad but that is not a luxury that we are
afforded.
It is not an excuse in any way but there are obstacles here
that we have to overcome and it is my job to make sure we do. I
want to build a structure that means everything is in place and we
don’t have to keep changing and rebuilding year after year.
This will help us build our own identity and that will give us the
best chance of being successful.
I am excited about this challenge. I can’t really
answer the question of my coaching career down the road because I
am facing a big challenge here and it is one I am excited about
taking it on. My goal is to be successful and build a team that is
successful for many years to come.
