Michele Rocca (born 6 February 1996) is an Italian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a midfielder for club

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

Club career

Born in Milan, Lombardy, Rocca is a youth product of

F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

. He was a member of their under-16 side playing in the Allievi B league. Rocca was signed by Serie B club Novara on a temporary deal on 22 August 2012. He represented their under-17 team in the Allievi Nazionali (Serie A and Serie B) league. The loan was renewed on 9 August 2013. Rocca returned to play for Inter's Primavera side in the 2014–15

Campionato Nazionale Primavera The Campionato Nazionale Primavera – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti, was an Italian football youth competition. It is organised by the Lega Serie A and the participating teams that take part in Serie A and Serie B: the first edition was held in th ...

season.

Sampdoria

On 31 August 2015, he was signed by fellow Serie A club

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

for a €400,000 fee. Rocca was afforded the number 92 shirt by Sampdoria. On 28 September 2015, he made his Serie A debut in a 2–1 away defeat to Atalanta at

Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, known for sponsorship reasons as the Gewiss Stadium since July 2019 and as Stadio di Bergamo in UEFA competitions, is a stadium in Bergamo, Italy. It is the home of club Atalanta and has a capacity of 21,000 seat ...

. Rocca was one of twelve players included on the bench for Sampdoria when they faced Milan in the Round of 16 of the Coppa Italia on 17 December 2015.

Virtus Lanciano (loan)

On 1 February 2016, Sampdoria announced that Rocca had signed a short-term loan with Serie B outfit

Virtus Lanciano S.S. Virtus Lanciano 1924 is an Italian association football club, based in Lanciano, Abruzzo. It last played in Serie B in 2015–16 as Virtus Lanciano. Virtus Lanciano now competes in youth football only. History The club was founded in ...

. His first start for ''I Frentani'' came five days later in a 0−2 away victory at Vicenza in the league; of which he played 62 minutes before being replaced by midfielder

Manuel Giandonato Manuel Giandonato (born 10 October 1991) is an Italian footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Fermana. Club career Juventus Giandonato began his youth career with Juventus in 2004, and was promoted to the ''Primavera'' (Under 20) squ ...

. Rocca received the first yellow card of his senior club career in a 2–0 away league loss to Spezia on 20 February 2016. His 18th appearance for the club came in their 1−4 home defeat by Salernitana in the 2015–16 Serie B Relegation Play-out first-leg. Rocca was included in the starting lineup for the return leg on 8 June at

Stadio Arechi The Arechi Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Salerno, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of U.S. Salernitana 1919. The stadium holds 37,800. The stadium was built to replace the Donato Vestuti ...

in which Salernitana won by a single goal scored by striker Massimo Coda (with the game finishing 5–1 on aggregate to the home side) thus relegating Virtus Lanciano to Lega Pro.

Latina (loan)

In July 2016, Serie B side Latina announced that they had signed both Rocca and

Gabriele Rolando Gabriele Rolando (born 2 April 1995) is an Italian professional footballer. He primarily plays as a right-winger, but can also be deployed as a right-back. Club career Sampdoria Born in Genoa, Liguria, Rolando joined hometown club Sampdoria in ...

from Sampdoria on loan, with an option to purchase the pair on permanent deals at the end of the season. He was assigned the number 29 shirt, the reverse to his squad number 92 at Sampdoria. Latina then gave him the number 8 jersey to wear for the rest of the 2016–17 season (after Luigi Scaglia left the club).

Pro Vercelli (loan)

On 31 August 2017, Rocca joined Serie B side

Pro Vercelli Football Club Pro Vercelli 1892, commonly referred to as Pro Vercelli, is an Italian football club based in Vercelli, Piedmont. The club is mostly renowned as one of the most successful teams in the early football era of Italy, with seven natio ...

on a year-long loan. On 16 September, he made his debut for Pro Vercelli as a substitute, replacing

Umberto Germano Umberto Germano (born 22 April 1992) is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender for club Triestina. Club career Early career Born in Cigliano, Piedmont, Germano was signed by Canavese from BarcanovaSalus in 2007. On 31 July 2008 he was ...

in the 71st minute of a 0–0 away draw with Brescia. After managing just three appearances, his loan was cancelled and the player returned to his parent club.

FeralpiSalò (loan)

On 19 January 2018, Rocca was signed by Serie C side FeralpiSalò on a six-month loan deal. On 20 January, he made his Serie C debut for FeralpiSalò in a 1–0 home win over Sambenedettese, he was replaced by

Luca Parodi Luca Parodi (born 6 April 1995) is an Italian football player. He plays for club Virtus Entella. Club career He first was loaned by Torino to Ancona in the summer of 2014, his loan was renewed on 30 July 2015. He made his Serie C debut for A ...

in the 56th minute. On 25 March, he scored his first professional goal, as a substitute, in the 31st minute of a 1–1 away draw with Fermana. On 29 April, he scored his second goal, again as a substitute, in the 90th minute of a 4–1 home win over

Triestina Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to as Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Originally founded in 1918, the club has been re-established several times in its history. As of the ...

. Rocca ended his loan spell at FeralpiSalò with 13 appearances and 2 goals.

Livorno (loan)

On 13 July 2018, Rocca joined newly-promoted

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

on a two-season loan. He was handed his debut for Livorno on 5 August 2018, in the second round of the Coppa Italia, against Casertana. The match ended as a 1–1 draw and would eventually be decided on penalties after it remained one apiece following extra time. Livorno would go on to claim a 7–6 victory in the shoot-out to send them through to the next round. On 2 September, Rocca made his league debut for Livorno in Gameweek 2 of the Serie B season, as a starter, in an away visit to Pescara. Livorno would go on to lose the match 1–2.

Serie C

On 16 October 2020, he joined Serie C club

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

. On 18 July 2022, Rocca returned to Novara, signing a two-year contract. On 21 July 2023, he signed for

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

. On 30 January 2024, Rocca moved to

References

External links

Profile at Sampdoria
*
Lega Serie A Profile

Lega Serie B Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocca, Michele 1996 births Living people Footballers from Milan Italian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Inter Milan players UC Sampdoria players SS Virtus Lanciano 1924 players Latina Calcio 1932 players FC Pro Vercelli 1892 players Feralpisalò players US Livorno 1915 players Calcio Foggia 1920 players Novara FC players Catania FC players US Avellino 1912 players Italy men's youth international footballers