Benny Feilhaber played for seven professional teams during his decorated senior career, but only one of those is truly his home.
And he's officially coming back home.
Sporting Kansas City announced Tuesday that Feilhaber has joined Peter Vermes' technical staff at the club, effective immediately.
“This was a goal of mine since I retired," Feilhaber told media on a virtual press conference. "It was not a difficult choice to take this job once it was offered to me. ... It was a very easy decision to come on board at this organization which I’ve always said is my second home, but it’s becoming my first home at this point.”
Feilhaber retired after the 2019 season, in which he returned to Sporting to finish his 15-year career. That put a bow on 262 MLS appearances, plus time at Hamburger SV in Germany, Derby County in England, AGF in Denmark and three other MLS clubs. He also made 44 appearances with the U.S. Men's National Team.
“I doubt many ex-players say this, but I feel like the 15-year career I had prepared me for this. ... It’s almost as if this is more what I’m built to do than actually play myself,” Feilhaber said.
Feilhaber revealed that he and Vermes discussed a potential opportunity for more than a year, dating back to his playing days. He's always wanted to get into coaching, but the global pandemic made things difficult in 2020. He ended up becoming an assistant coach at UCLA this past year.
Under Vermes, Feilhaber hopes to learn all facets of the club and fill various duties with the technical staff.
“The job itself is evolving," Feilhaber said. "I’ll be part of the coaching staff every day at training, helping plan the sessions every week and plan for the team we’re playing against. I’ll be very active with the first team. In terms of scouting, the entire coaching staff takes part. I’ll definitely have to learn that aspect.”
Feilhaber is excited to learn even more from Vermes, who he called one of the two coaches that greatly impacted his career. The other is Bob Bradley, who he played for with both the United States and LAFC.
“The two coaches who had the biggest impact on my career are Peter and Bob," Feilhaber said. "Those are two guys (who are) held in very high esteem in US soccer. I’ve taken most of the things I’ve learned from them that I’ll try to utilize in my coaching career. They’ve gotten the best out of me, taught me things on and off the field."
