Francesco Rocca

Francesco Rocca
Personal information
Date of birth (1954-08-02) August 2, 1954
Place of birth San Vito Romano, Italy
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 12 in)
Playing position Full-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 (born August 2, 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 A.S. Roma from 1972 to 1981. He was nicknamed "Kawasaki" (after the Japanese brand of motor bikes) because of his work rate and durability in the full-back position.[3] Rocca played 163 games for Roma, including 141 games in Serie A[2] and 22 in the Coppa Italia cup, 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.[4]

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.[5] 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.

Honours

Club

Roma

Individual

References

  1. Italy Under 20 >> Francesco Rocca at Goal.com
  2. 1 2 3 FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009 - Italy (ITA) at FIFA
  3. The children of the Wolf, FIFA, March 19, 2008
  4. Italy - International Matches 1970-1979 at RSSSF
  5. Men's Olympic Football Tournament - Seoul 1988 at FIFA
  6. "Hall of Fame" (in Italian). A.S. Roma. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
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