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Francesco Rocca (; born 2 August 1954) is an Italian professional football coach and former player, who played as a defender. He spent his entire career with Italian club
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
, where he won the
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
twice. He was the coach of the
Italy national under-20 football team Italy national under-20 football team is the national under-20 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation. The team competes for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. History The Under-20 team ...
from 2008 until 2011. He also led the Italy Olympic side to a fourth-place ranking at the
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
.


Club career

Born in the
San Vito Romano San Vito Romano (Sanvitese Romanesco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about east of Rome. San Vito Romano borders the following municipalities: Bellegra, Capranica Prenestin ...
village 40 km from
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, Rocca played his club football exclusively for
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
from 1972 to 1981. Rocca played 163 games for Roma, including 141 games in
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
and 22 in the
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
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 The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...
from 1974 to 1976, and scored a goal for Italy against the United States national soccer team. At the age of 26, a serious injury forced Rocca to retire.FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009 - Italy (ITA)
at FIFA


Managerial career

As a manager, Rocca took Italy to a fourth place at the
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
. He also led the U-19 team which finished as the runner-up in the
2008 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship The final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 24th UEFA European Under-19 Championship, UEFA's premier competition for players under the age of 19. The tournament was held in the Czech Republic with matches played fro ...
. 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 ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...
.


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 In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
position; he was also an accurate crosser of the ball.


Honours


Club

;Roma *
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 1979–80, 1980–81


Individual

*
A.S. Roma Hall of Fame This is a list of List of A.S. Roma players, A.S. Roma players who have been inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. A.S. Roma's Hall of Fame has been launched in 2012 as part of the initiatives for the club's 85th anniversary. Exceptionally for t ...
: 2012


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocca, Francesco 1954 births Living people Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital Italian footballers Italian football managers A.S. Roma players Serie A players Italy international footballers Italy under-21 international footballers Association football defenders A.S. Roma non-playing staff Association football scouts Footballers from Lazio