Sporting Kansas City announced today title changes for two members of the club’s technical staff: Manager and Sporting Director Peter Vermes and Technical Director/Vice President of Player Personnel Brian Bliss.
As Manager and Sporting Director, Vermes will continue his oversight of all soccer operations at Sporting, including day-to-day coaching, roster management, scouting and the development of the Swope Park Rangers and the Sporting KC Academy. He has served as Sporting’s manager since 2009 and was the club’s technical director from 2006-2018.
Vermes has won four major championships with Sporting, including the 2013 MLS Cup and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles in 2012, 2015 and 2017. Under his guidance, Sporting has made a club-record eight straight playoff appearances and finished atop the conference regular season standings on three occasions.
Entering his 11th season at the helm, Vermes is the longest tenured manager in Major League Soccer and ranks fifth in MLS history with 133 regular-season coaching wins. Last month he was named the inaugural MLS Sporting Executive of the Year, earning the award for his exemplary leadership, dedication and strategic vision in guiding Sporting KC to success.
Bliss becomes Technical Director/Vice President of Player Personnel after serving as the club’s Director of Player Personnel since January 2016. He will continue to oversee Sporting’s player personnel matters while managing the salary cap, negotiating contracts, holding a scouting role and assisting in player development across Sporting’s professional pathway.
Bliss ended his MLS playing career in 1998 with the Kansas City Wizards and was as an assistant coach for the team from 2000-2006. He held Technical Director roles at Columbus Crew SC (2008-2013) and the Chicago Fire (2013-2015) before joining Vermes’ staff three years ago. He has also served as an assistant coach for the United States Under-20 Men’s National Team since 2012.
Sporting will kick off their 2019 season on Thursday, hosting Mexican club Deportivo Toluca FC in the first leg of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Round of 16. Kickoff at Children’s Mercy Park is slated for 7 p.m. CT. The match will stream live in English on the Yahoo Sports app and YahooSports.com, while a Spanish telecast will air live on Univision Deportes Network.
Tickets for Thursday’s contest are included in Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Member packages and may be purchased online at SeatGeek.com.
