Francesco Rocca

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Francesco Rocca
Francesco Rocca - AS Roma 1974-75.jpg
Rocca with Roma in 1974
Personal information
Date of birth (1954-08-02) 2 August 1954 (age 67)
Place of birth San Vito Romano, Italy
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Left-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1981 Roma 141 (0)
National team
1973 Italy U-21 1 (0)
1974–1976 Italy 18 (1)
Teams managed
1988 Italy Olympic
1995–1997 Italy U-18 (equivalent to current U-19 )
1996–1998 Italy U-17 (equivalent to current U-18 )
2000–2004 Italy U-20
2004–2006 Italy U-17
2006–2007 Italy U-18
2006–2008 Italy U-19
2008–2011 Italy U-20
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Francesco Rocca (Italian pronunciation: [franˈtʃesko ˈrɔkka]; born 2 August 1954)[1] is an Italian professional football coach and former player, who played as a defender. He spent his entire career with Italian club Roma, where he won the Coppa Italia twice. He was the coach of the Italy national under-20 football team from 2008 until 2011.[2] He also led the Italy Olympic side to a fourth-place ranking at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Club career[]

Born in the San Vito Romano village 40 km from Rome, Rocca played his club football exclusively for Roma from 1972 to 1981. Rocca played 163 games for Roma, including 141 games in Serie A[2] and 22 in the Coppa Italia cup – winning the later competition for two consecutive years between 1980 and 1981 – but did not score any goals for the club.

International career[]

Rocca played 18 games for the Italy national football team from 1974 to 1976, and scored a goal for Italy against the United States national soccer team.[3]

At the age of 26, a serious injury forced Rocca to retire.[2]

Managerial career[]

As a manager, Rocca took Italy to a fourth place at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[4] He also led the U-19 team which finished as the runner-up in the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. After the tournament he changed to being a coach of the U-20 team, and led his team to the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

He is one of eleven members of the Hall of Fame of A.S. Roma.[5]

Style of play[]

Rocca was nicknamed "Kawasaki" (after the Japanese brand of motor bikes) because of his pace, work-rate, energy, and durability in the left-back position; he was also an accurate crosser of the ball.[6][7][8]

Honours[]

Club[]

Roma

Individual[]

References[]

  1. ^ Italy Under 20 >> Francesco Rocca Archived 2018-06-30 at the Wayback Machine at Goal.com
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009 - Italy (ITA) at FIFA
  3. ^ Italy - International Matches 1970-1979 at RSSSF
  4. ^ Men's Olympic Football Tournament - Seoul 1988 at FIFA
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Hall of Fame" (in Italian). A.S. Roma. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  6. ^ The children of the Wolf, FIFA, March 19, 2008
  7. ^ "Biabiany come Bolt Nessuno è come lui" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  8. ^ Alberto Polverosi (31 December 2013). "GALLI "TUTTI SANNO SEGNARE MA PARARE SOTTO IL SETTE…"" (in Italian). www.cinquantamila.it. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
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