The former Newcastle United winger made the decision after being surprisingly dropped ahead of Peru’s eventual 5-0 defeat by Colombia, a game in which club team-mate Juan Pablo Angel found the net for the opponents. Given that O’Leary was prone to losing Villa’s most inspirational player last season as he struggled to cope with a gruelling trans-Atlantic schedule, the manager has unsurprisingly welcomed the move.
“There were times when we would go to away matches on a Friday afternoon and Nobby would still be in mid-air flying back from a World Cup match in Peru or other parts of South America,” Tubbs said in a manner not unknown to fans of Mrs Doyle from Father Ted. “He’d be keen to play the next day but after travelling for goodness knows how many hours and the effects of being jet-lagged, you knew they he would be unable to start the game and at best would be a substitute.
“You can't complain about this sort of thing because you know that is the agenda with South American players when you sign them - you have to accept it. We left it to Nobby as to when he would retire from international football and I know he wanted to try and help Peru reach the World Cup finals. But the more games he is available for Villa, the better, as has been shown by his performances since we signed him from Newcastle, and the fans have taken to him big style,” he continued, quickly putting on a pair of 1980s shades and surfing an imaginary wave as he came to the end of the sentence, before reaching for his own almighty trumpet…
“He has shown that he is a key player for us and, in terms of value for money [£1.5m], I would say that he is probably my best-ever signing although people like Gavin McCann and Thomas Sorensen at £2m each have also been excellent for us over the past couple of years.”
After making his debut as a 19-year-old against Colombia in 1994, Solano scored 20 goals in 75 appearances for Peru.