Peter Joseph Vermes was born November 21st, 1966 in Willingboro Township, New Jersey, of Hungarian decent. He played High School soccer at Delran High School, New Jersey. He graduated in 1983, having scored 109 goals. In 1999, he was named by The Star-Ledger as one of the top ten New Jersey high school soccer players of the 1980s.Peter played his first year in college at Loyola College in Maryland under head coach Bill Sento. He then transferred and played three years of college soccer at Rutgers University, from 1985 to 1987, where he elevated the status of the program to that of a national power. In his final season, he scored 21 goals and 10 assists for the team, finishing a first team All-American, as well as runner-up for the National Player of the Year Award. During that season, Peter led Rutgers to their first victory in the NCAA Tournament in 26 years, scoring the winning goal in a contest against Seton Hall University.
After graduating, he would go to Europe, where he played with Rába ETO FC of Hungary in 1989, FC Volendam of the Dutch Eredivisie in 1990.
In May 1991, Peter returned to the United States and played in three games, scoring a single goal with the Rowdies. He then moved to Spain where he played for Spanish Second Division club Figueres from 1991-1995.
Like many of the best American players, Peter returned to the United States to join the recently founded MLS. In January 1995, he signed with the new league which would not begin league play until 1996. Therefore, MLS loaned him to the New York Fever of the USISL where he played 25 games, scoring 16 goals in the 1995 season. In 1996, he was drafted by the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in the third round of the MLS Inaugural Draft (29th overall) and captained the team in its first season. Although he played the most minutes of any MetroStar that year, the MetroStars traded Peter on February 3rd, 1997 to the Colorado Rapids for Kerry Zavagnin. Peter would play three years for the Rapids before being traded again, this time to the Kansas City Wizards with Matt McKeon for Scott Vermillion and a player allocation.
Peter was never a star for the US national team, but he was a significant contributor for an extended period of time. He received his first cap May 14th, 1988 against Colombia, and would in all receive 67 caps for the team, playing in the 1988 Olympics, the 1990 World Cup and the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup. In the 1990 World Cup, he nearly bagged a goal against Italy with a scorching shot which Italian goalkeeper Walter Zenga barely stopped. A forward early in his career, his excellent performance in defense in MLS lead to his comeback to the National team in that position after years of absence. He was the last player cut from the U.S. roster before the 1998 World Cup.
He was named the 1988 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year and U.S. Olympic Player of the Year.
In 1989, he scored six goals for the U.S. Futsal team, which took third place, at the FIFA Futsal World Championship in Rotterdam, Holland. He ended his futsal career with 11 caps and 7 goals.
With the Wizards, Peter had his best year in MLS in 2000, anchoring what may have been the best defense in MLS history. That Wizards team finished the season first in the league with a 16-7-9 record, having allowed only 29 goals in 32 games, and continued its defensive dominance in the playoffs, eventually winning the MLS Cup. He was recognized as the MLS Defender of the Year, while his teammate Tony Meola won both the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and MLS MVP awards. Peter played two more seasons with the Wizards, struggling with injuries but playing every game he was healthy for, before announcing his retirement at the end of the 2002 season.
After retiring, Peter worked as a broadcaster for the San Jose Earthquakes. He currently serves as the technical Director of Coaching for the Blue Valley Soccer Club, located in Overland Park, Kansas and as an assistant coach for the US Under-20 national team. On November 15th, 2006, Peter Vermes was named as the technical Director for the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer.
He is married and has two children. He also has a soccer park in New Jersey named after him.
Peter was never a star for the US national team, but he was a significant contributor for an extended period of time. He received his first cap May 14th, 1988 against Colombia, and would in all receive 67 caps for the team, playing in the 1988 Olympics, the 1990 World Cup and the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup. In the 1990 World Cup, he nearly bagged a goal against Italy with a scorching shot which Italian goalkeeper Walter Zenga barely stopped. A forward early in his career, his excellent performance in defense in MLS lead to his comeback to the National team in that position after years of absence. He was the last player cut from the U.S. roster before the 1998 World Cup.He was named the 1988 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year and U.S. Olympic Player of the Year.
In 1989, he scored six goals for the U.S. Futsal team, which took third place, at the FIFA Futsal World Championship in Rotterdam, Holland. He ended his futsal career with 11 caps and 7 goals.
With the Wizards, Peter had his best year in MLS in 2000, anchoring what may have been the best defense in MLS history. That Wizards team finished the season first in the league with a 16-7-9 record, having allowed only 29 goals in 32 games, and continued its defensive dominance in the playoffs, eventually winning the MLS Cup. He was recognized as the MLS Defender of the Year, while his teammate Tony Meola won both the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and MLS MVP awards. Peter played two more seasons with the Wizards, struggling with injuries but playing every game he was healthy for, before announcing his retirement at the end of the 2002 season.
After retiring, Peter worked as a broadcaster for the San Jose Earthquakes. He currently serves as the technical Director of Coaching for the Blue Valley Soccer Club, located in Overland Park, Kansas and as an assistant coach for the US Under-20 national team. On November 15th, 2006, Peter Vermes was named as the technical Director for the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer.He is married and has two children. He also has a soccer park in New Jersey named after him.
Many thanks to Peter for the Wizards photo.
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