Sporting KC Part Ways with Interim Coach Kerry Zavagnin

It’s the end of an era.

On Tuesday, Sporting Kansas City announced the club has “mutually agreed to part ways” with Kerry Zavagnin.

“Kerry is a Sporting Legend and his impact on this club is permanent,” Co-Principal Owner Michael Illig said. “For 26 seasons, he gave everything he had to Sporting both as a player and as a coach. His name hangs on the walls of our stadium because the standard he set is woven into the identity of this club. Through a difficult season and a major transition, he carried himself with the same steady presence that made him a Sporting Legend in the first place. Kerry has a real desire to stay on the field and continue coaching and we respect him immensely for that. He leaves with our full support and with genuine appreciation for everything he has meant to Sporting Kansas City.”

26 years! First as a player, then as a coach, Zavagnin has been a staple of the Kansas City Wizards and Sporting KC for more than a quarter of a century. He arrived as the 30th draft pick in the 2000 SuperDraft, after spending a season out of MLS in the A-League. He would never leave. Until today.

As a member of the Wizards, he earned Defensive Player of the Year for KC in 2001 and an MLS Best XI spot in 2004. Over his playing career, he also picked up 21 caps with the United States National Team. After the 2008 season he retired and immediately joined the Kansas City coaching staff. He would remain as an assistant coach up until this season, when he was named interim head coach when Sporting KC fired Peter Vermes.

In his career he lifted a ton of trophies. First as a player winning the 2000 Supporters’ Shield, 2000 MLS Cup and 2004 US Open Cup. Then as a coach he lifted four more, including the 2013 MLS Cup and three US Open Cups (2012, 2015 and 2017).

His time with the team is legendary. From his playing career where he was the all-time leader in games played (291) and minutes (25,278) across all competitions when he retired. To his coaching career which extended his longevity to be involved in 951 of the club’s 1,127 matches all-time. In 2016 he was honored when he was put on the wall as a Sporting Legend.

What’s Next?

As co-principal owner Cliff Illig said, “Kerry has a real desire to stay on the field and continue coaching.” He made that clear after the season when he said that he wanted the full-time head coaching job of Sporting KC. SKC’s new President of Soccer Operations and General Manager, David Lee, said he’d go through the process. Today’s announcement, though described as mutual, clearly means the team is heading in another direction.

“I would like to thank Kerry for his enormous contributions to Sporting Kansas City across more than two decades,” said David Lee. “He has been a valuable asset since I joined the club, sharing his wisdom, experience and perspective which has helped me immensely. I am incredibly grateful for how he has approached the transition. On behalf of all of us at Sporting KC, we wish him the best of luck in the next chapter of his career, and we look forward to welcoming him back to Sporting games in the future.”

With Zavagnin officially departing, a coaching hire for Sporting KC could be imminent. The team has just over five weeks until they report for preseason on January 10th.

As for where Kerry will end up, that is up in the air. He coached the vast majority of his career under the guidance of Peter Vermes, who is still searching for a job. Atlanta United reportedly interviewed Vermes before landing on the re-hiring of Tata Martino. Maybe where PV lands, Zavagnin will follow.

Wherever Zavagnin ends up, we at the KC Soccer Journal wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors. Unless of course he’s coaching a team against SKC, of course.