Something You May Not Know about Peter Vermes

It's well known that Peter Vermes, manager and technical director of Sporting Kansas City in MLS, will be inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame Oct. 11.

Vermes was defender of the year in MLS for the then-Kansas City Wizards in 2000, the same year he and his teammates won MLS Cup.

Vermes made the transition from forward to defender during his career and broke new ground by playing for several European teams at a time -- 1989,

'90, 1991-95 -- when most American players were playing indoor soccer or in lower pro leagues at home.

That all ended in 1996 when MLS started.

Seven years before that, Vermes received a call from Coach John Kowalski to play in the first Futsal World Cup (then called the FIFA World Indoor championships) in Holland for the U.S. National Team.

The U.S. won a bronze medal and the game made an impression on Vermes, who was playing professionally in Hungary at the time.

"That was a great experience for me," said Vermes, who had the distinction of also playing outdoors for the U.S. at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. "You learn so much technically from the game. I think it's a great, great game."

So when Vermes's playing career ended, he helped found what is now United States Youth Futsal. He is still involved to an extent and has his Sporting Academy teams playing futsal every winter.

Vermes is also well acquainted with U.S. Futsal National Team Coach Keith Tozer, who recently agreed to serve as USYF's technical director (see story elsewhere in this newsletter).

The move is a benefit for Tozer, who will get to draw on USYF leagues for the national program, and for USYF, which will profit from his technical expertise and organizational ties.

"I think having been an indoor coach and a coach of the national team, he has the perspective from both and can be a big help in the development of the player," Vermes said. "First and foremost, the close connection Keith has with U.S. Soccer, it gives him a chance to touch all the players, and the pretty good ones can benefit from his expertise."

Vermes will be inducted into the Soccer Hall of Fame during a public ceremony at 2 p.m. Oct. 11 outside Sporting Park in Kansas City. Joe-Max Moore, a New England Revolution and U.S. National Team standout, also will be inducted.