Nolberto Solano

A month later he scored what he later described as "the best goal of [his] career" with a solo Effort against 1860 München.

On 22 December, he scored the last-minute winner in a 4–3 comeback win at Leeds United, putting Newcastle in first place at the hosts' expense.

Nolberto Albino Solano Todco (born 12 December 1974), nicknamed Ñol in Peru and Nobby in England, is a retired Peruvian professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

His talents in football ranged from accurate crosses to accomplished dead-ball skills and he traditionally played either on the right side of midfield, or as a right back during his career.

Solano spent much of his career in the Premier League, where he is generally associated with Newcastle United.

He became the first Peruvian to play in the Premier League, and appear in the FA Cup final.

He is considered a cult hero at the Tyneside club, and was also noted for his trumpet playing and formed his own salsa band named The Geordie Latinos.

He has described himself as an "adopted Geordie."

Solano is a popular figure in his native Peru, where he is seen as one of the most famous Peruvians, appearing on telephone cards and having his wedding televised live.

He was part of the Sporting Cristal squad of the 1990s during which the club won the Peru Primera División Championships (1994, 1995 and 1996) and reached the finals of the 1997 Copa Libertadores.

Along with Roberto Palacios, Flavio Maestri, Julinho and Jorge Soto, he was one of Sporting Cristal's most recognized players of the era.

Solano signed his first professional contract with the Peruvian Primera División side Sporting Cristal in 1992 at the age of 17.

He made his league debut on 13 April 1992 in his team's 2–0 win against San Agustín.

Towards the end of his first season at Sporting Cristal, he signed a one-year contract with Deportivo Municipal, before returning to Cristal at the end of 1993.

He played 95 times for the national team between 1994 and 2009, including at the Copa América of 1995, 1999 and 2004 and the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Towards the end of his career, he went into coaching, and was first team coach at non-league side Newcastle Benfield, while contracted to Hartlepool United.

He had short spells at Universitario and José Gálvez, and was manager of Internacional de Toronto for a few matches, before the club had its licensing agreement terminated.

In 1997 aged 22 he signed for Argentinian side Boca Juniors where he became a teammate of Diego Maradona, who nicknamed Solano the 'Maestrito'.

In June 1998, Solano was close to a £3.75 million transfer to Arsenal with a £16,000 weekly wage.

In August, he signed for Newcastle United for £2.5 million, as one of Kenny Dalglish's final signings for the club.

Solano's first team debut for Newcastle came in a Premier League match against Chelsea on 22 August 1998, when he came on after 67 minutes as a substitute for goalscorer Andreas Andersson in a 1–1 away draw.

His first of six goals that season equalised in a 3–1 home win over Wimbledon on 28 November, and the last one was the decider in a 4–3 victory at Derby County on 3 April 1999.

On 22 May, he started in the 1999 FA Cup final, which his team lost 2–0 to Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.

On 2 January 2001, Solano scored the first goal of a 4–2 loss at Tottenham Hotspur, but was sent off nine minutes later for handling the ball on the goal line; Darren Anderton missed the resulting penalty.

He was given a red card again on 14 April in a loss at Ipswich Town for the same offence, conceding a penalty from which Marcus Stewart scored the only goal.

In June 2001, he signed a new five-year contract with the club.

On 26 April 2003, Solano's penalty was the only goal of the Tyne–Wear derby away to Sunderland.

He took the spot kick due to Alan Shearer's injury earlier in the game.

Six months later in another local derby away to Middlesbrough, he was not named in the starting line-up or on the substitutes' bench, prompting him to drive home.

Solano said in 2004 that he would like to play for Boca Juniors again, but admitted he was perhaps too old for the ambition to be realized.

Solano joined Aston Villa in January 2004 for a fee of £1.5 million and signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the club.

He attributed his leaving Newcastle to a "strained relationship" with manager Bobby Robson.

He made his debut in a 5–0 win over Leicester City on 31 January, and was sent off on 24 April in a 2–1 win at Middlesbrough for slapping George Boateng.

On 22 September 2004, Solano scored his first goal for Villa from a free kick in a 3–1 home win over Queens Park Rangers in the second round of the Football League Cup, having earlier assisted a goal by Juan Pablo Ángel.

A first league goal followed a month later in a 2–0 win against Fulham, also by a free kick at Villa Park.

He ended the 2004–05 season as top scorer, and was elected the club's Player of the Year by the supporters, his teammates, and the local press.

In what was Solano's last appearance for Villa, on 23 August 2005, he was sent off for striking Portsmouth's Richard Hughes in the face in a 1–1 draw at Fratton Park.

On transfer deadline day, Solano rejected a late offer to join Liverpool and agreed to return to Newcastle.

From 2015 to 2022, Solano was involved within the national team setup, as assistant manager to Ricardo Gareca and manager of the Olympic football team.

In 2023, he briefly led AFC Eskilstuna in the Swedish Superettan.