Bill Nuttall

The United States Soccer Federation hired Bill Nuttall as general manager of its national teams and said it will move its headquarters to Chicago from Colorado Springs, Colo. Nuttall, 43, will be in charge of player personnel, scheduling and contract negotiations.

The United States Soccer Federation hired Bill Nuttall as general manager of its national teams and said it will move its headquarters to Chicago from Colorado Springs, Colo. Nuttall, 43, will be in charge of player personnel, scheduling and contract negotiations.

The World Cup is a showcase for talent, but also a marketplace. Bill Nuttall, general manager, said Friday that the U.S. Soccer Federation had received serious offers for four players. Nuttall would not name the players except to say they were under contract to the USSF and did not have professional contracts. He would not name the teams but said they were European. Nuttall said the transfer fees ranged from $500,000 to $1.1 million.

John Curry, a former Olympic and world champion whose artistry on ice revolutionized figure skating, died Friday of an AIDS-related illness in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. He was 44. Curry died of a heart attack brought on by his AIDS condition, agent Jean Diamond said. The English skater, who won the gold medal at the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, and the world championship title the same year, was found to be HIV positive in 1987.

It's difficult not to feel bad for Roy Wegerle, except that he's not the sort who would allow it. Wegerle, one of the U.S. soccer team's most experienced players, has been brought to his knees by the ligaments and cartilage in them. He had surgery on his right knee last Friday for the third time since January. Wegerle has not played for his club, Coventry City in the English Premier League, since being hurt in a game Jan. 8 and having surgery on his right knee 10 days later.

In considering who will play in the fledgling organization known as Major League Soccer, perhaps the simplest and quickest way of defining the situation is to answer the question with a question. Who won't play? For starters, we'll take a look at the World Cup roster of the U.S. national team and start crossing off players who have been under contract and might be returning to teams in Mexico and Europe.

After a summer of competition that one U.S. Soccer Federation official described as a "roller-coaster ride," the U.S. national team is on vacation, while coaches and staff determine which 20 players will be offered contracts. A roster announcement is expected soon. Veteran contracts expire on Oct. 31 and the federation must exercise its option to renew by Oct. 1; rookie contracts expire on Sept. 30, with the option to renew valid until Sept. 1.

Just as the pace of competition is increasing in preparation for next summer's World Cup, so too is the preparation of the nine venues. But the Rose Bowl, which will play host to eight matches, including the third-place game and the final, has not staged an international game since August of 1992. Other venues have prepared for next summer's World Cup by hosting any number of exhibition matches or tournaments. The venue staff for the Rose Bowl, however, will have to learn by observing.

The problems on the Russian national soccer team, which Coach Pavel Sadyrin called "normal," threaten to disrupt the team's World Cup preparations. Sadyrin dismissed the problems Saturday night in Seattle, where the United States tied a depleted Russian squad, 1-1. More than half of the national team refused to make the trip.

U.S. Coach Bora Milutinovic was beaming, as well he should. The ribbon had just been sliced at the door to the national soccer team's pristine 3,800-square-foot clubhouse. Behind it was the seven acres of green and manicured playing fields the national team has been using since January. Someone, clearly an optimist, had insisted on planting the identical strain of grass that will carpet the floor of the Rose Bowl for next summer's World Cup final.