Nolberto Solano

Nolberto "Nobby" Albino Solano Todco (born December 12, 1974, Callao, Peru) is a Peru football (soccer) player who currently plays for England club West Ham United F.C.. He is a popular figure in his native Peru, where he is seen as one of the most famous Peruvians. He even has a postage stamp in his name and figure.

His talents in football range from accurate crosses to accomplished dead-ball skills and he has traditionally played either on the right wing, or as a right back during his career. Solano is the first Peruvian to play in the Premier League. He is also an accomplished trumpet player and has set up his own Salsa music band, The Geordie Latinos. He has described himself as an 'adopted Geordie'.

Biography

Early life

Nolberto Solano was born in Callao, the youngest of his family. His father Albino was in the Navy of Peru, whilst his mother was a housewife who raised Nolberto, his four brothers and two sisters. He began playing football at a very early age in the streets of Callao. Before his father retired, he became a taxi driver.

Solano witnessed the Peru national football team qualify for the 1978 FIFA World Cup at the age of three and again qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup at the age of seven. The second FIFA World Cup he witnessed had the biggest effect on him. At that time he played a lot of football and his national team inspired him.

At the age of eleven, his father took him to a football try-out for the Alianza Lima youth squads. He trained with them for months, and his first game was against Sporting Cristal. He played center back and made a good impression on the coaches. Solano continued to play for Alianza until 1992. In those years, he was made captain at the age of 12 and selected to play for the national youth squad at 14.

Club career

Solano signed his first professional contract in with the Peruvian first division side Sporting Cristal in 1992 at the age of 17. Towards the end of his first season at Sporting Cristal he signed a one year contract with Municipal before returning at the end of 1993. During his second spell at Sporting Cristal the club won the Peruvian Championship in 1994, 1995 and 1996, and reached the finals of the 1997's Copa Libertadores with Solano a regular fixture in the defence. In 1997 at the age of 22 he signed for Argentinian side Boca Juniors. Here he became a teammate of the highly respected footballer Diego Maradona, who nicknamed Solano the 'Little Maestro'. Nevertheless he was sold in the January transfer window of 2004 to Aston Villa F.C.. He had been an extremely popular member of Newcastle's squad and many fans voiced their anger over his sale.

Solano made his debut for Aston Villa F.C. in a 5-0 win over Leicester City F.C., and during the course of his time there he became a valuable asset, becoming their top scorer for the 2004-05 season, and was elected the club's Player of the Year by the supporters, the local press and his teammates.

Solano was re-signed by Newcastle United F.C. on August 31, 2005 from Aston Villa, just moments before the closure of the summer transfer window by Graeme Souness. The deal cost Newcastle £1.5 million with midfielder James Milner (footballer) going the other way on loan to Aston Villa until the end of the season. Solano signed a 2 year contract, with the option to extend an additional year. His re-signing was met with delight by Newcastle fans, who had chanted "Nobby's" name during the unveiling of record signing Michael Owen earlier on that deadline day.

In the 2006-07 season, injuries to right-back Stephen Carr and others caused the Newcastle United F.C. manager Glenn Roeder to play Solano at right-back instead of his usual right-wing position. However it was not an unfamiliar playing position to Solano, as he started his football career in defence and had featured at right-back for his country. He impressed in this position and his instrumental form kept former first choice right-back Stephen Carr out of the team. With his contract due to expire at the end of the season, Glenn Roeder revealed he was in talks to extend Solano's contract to the end of next season. Towards the end of the FA Premier League 2006-07, Solano signed a new one-year contract at Newcastle United. However, a few months later he stated his desire to move to London in order to be closer to his family, who had relocated. As a result, on 31 August 2007, Solano signed for West Ham United F.C..

International career

Solano made his full international debut for Peru national football team at the age of 18, since then he has been capped 77 times, scoring 20 goals. He has been a key member of the squad since the mid-1990s but, in June 2005, Solano decided to quit the Peruvian national football team due to disagreements with the coach, Freddy Ternero. In 2006, he returned to the national team setup under new coach Franco Navarro. Despite his return to the national team, Solano was not selected for Peru's Copa America 2007 squad.

Honours

- Peruvian First Division: 1994, 1995, 1996
- Copa Libertadores Runner-up: 1997

Notes and references