Coaches breakdown: Club legends square off at Sporting Park

It's a common theme in Major League Soccer that when a club is looking for a head coach, they look internally to people who have represented the team on the pitch. Six current MLS coaches - Pablo Mastroeni, Oscar Pareja, Ben Olsen, Jay Heaps, Mike Petke and Peter Vermes - featured for their club as a player. Three of those coaches - Mastroeni (Colorado), Olsen (D.C.) and Vermes (Kansas City) - won an MLS Cup as a player with their respective teams.

So it's no surprise that the same line of thinking applies to the international stage. Thursday's Champions League showdown at Sporting Park is the perfect example as it will feature two coaches who each achieved "Legend" status while playing for their respective clubs.

Taking things a step further, Sporting KC's Peter Vermes and Deportivo Saprissa's Ronald Gonzalez each represented their countries on the international stage, with standout performances in major international tournaments. Both featured at the 1990 FIFA World Cup as well as the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Coincidentally, both were managed by Serbian football coach Bora Milutinović - Gonzalez at the 1990 World Cup and Vermes at the 1991 Gold Cup.

Vermes, a 2013 National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, and Gonzalez squared off once on the international stage in a major competition, with Vermes scoring the opening goal in a 3-2 win over Gonzalez' Costa Rica squad in the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage. Gonzalez returned the favor in 2005 when his Saprissa side knocked out Kansas City in the 2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup quarterfinals. Gonzalez started the 0-0 draw at Arrowhead Stadium, but did not feature in the 2-1 Saprissa victory in San Jose.

Here is a breakdown of Vermes and Gonzalez during their playing and managerial career with their respective clubs.