CLUB vs COUNTRY: Nobby Chooses Country!

By Matthew Jones
August 18 2003

Nobby Solano will be playing in one friendly match for Peru on Wednesday night, and two World Cup Qualifiers early next month. He now faces being sold by Sir Bobby Robson, following a long club vs country row between the Magpies' boss and the winger.

Newcastle winger Nobby Solano has flown off on international duty with Peru - even though he knows the risk of being sold by Sir Bobby as a result.

Solano is already accepting the fact that Lee Bowyer will replace him in the long-term, and knows that he will miss plently of Newcastle matches because of World Cup Qualifiers.

Celtic and Valencia are queued up to talk to Solano, who plays for his country against Mexico in New Jersey on Wednesday in a friendly ahead of two World Cup qualifiers early next month.

"My country is most important to me now," Solano said. "Bobby Robson is annoyed that I'm going to play for Peru, but in the end he just has to accept it.

"I'll miss a lot of matches for Newcastle by playing in our World Cup qualifiers. I knew I would be left out against Leeds and even against Manchester United next week.

"But I've told him [Robson] I will be travelling, and that's it."

Solano added: "Newcastle have a good player [Bowyer] in my position now anyway.

"And if the manager decides to sell me, then I'll have to go. That's football. This sort of thing happens all the time."

Following a meeting with Solano last Friday, Robson said: "He started telling me about the Peru coach," said Robson. "I said: 'Don't tell me about the coach. It's not about him - it's about you.'

"I told him: 'I understood that when you signed your new contract here you would pack in going to Peru on a Wednesday, coming back on a Friday and expecting to play on the Saturday. You can't do it.'

"We have agreed to differ because we can't stop him, can we? He intends to go."

---