Nolberto Solano

Nolberto Albino Solano Todco (born 12 December 1974) is a Peruvian football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Pakistan national team.

Solano spent much of his career in the Premier League, primarily with Newcastle United, and also with Aston Villa and West Ham 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 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. 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, before another brief term as manager of Blyth Spartans in 2024.

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 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.

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

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.