Bill Nuttall on saving Pelé’s penalty and building a US team from scratch

Former goalkeeper and US Soccer general manager is hosting the Spain team at his training camp in Chattanooga

At the foot of Signal Mountain on a bend in the Tennessee river, over the little level crossing like a postcard of America, past the sheriff at the gate and through an avenue of pines, the perfect pitch awaits Lamine Yamal, Rodri and the rest. So does a man. He’s 6ft 3in, 78 years old, his name is Bill Nuttall, and he’s here every day.

“I’ve got nothing else to do,” he says, laughing. He’s done it all: he cleaned out Pelé and got cleaned out by Gordon Banks, coached Gerd Müller and built a US national team from scratch, the hosts making history in 1994. He also brought Spain here, an even better host now than he was back then.

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