Nolberto Albino "Ñol" Solano Todco (born 12 December 1974), commonly known as Nobby Solano, is a retired Peruvian professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the assistant manager of the Peru national football team, as well as the manager of the Peru Olympic football team. His talents in football range 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 played 95 times for the national team between 1994 and 2009. 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. Since 2015, Solano has been involved within the national team setup, where he is assistant manager to Ricardo Gareca, and is the manager of the Olympic football team. Early life Born in Callao, Peru, Solano was the youngest of seven. His father, Albino, was in the Peru Navy, whilst his mother was a housewife who raised him, his four brothers and two sisters. He began playing football at a very early age in the streets of Callao. 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 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. Club career Early career Solano signed his first professional contract with the Peruvian Primera División side Sporting