Robert Michael Rosario (born 4 March 1966) is an English
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
coach and former professional player.
As a player, he was a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
who notably played in the top flight of English football for
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
,
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
and
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, with appearances in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
for both the Sky Blues and The Reds. He also played for
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
and later finished his career in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
with
Greensboro Dynamo
North Carolina Fusion U-23, formerly known as Carolina Dynamo, is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
Th ...
,
Carolina Dynamo
North Carolina Fusion U-23, formerly known as Carolina Dynamo, is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
The ...
and
Charleston Battery
The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...
.
Playing career
Rosario started his career in non-league football, joining
Hillingdon Borough from
Harrow Borough in August 1983 at the age of 17. Five goals in nine Southern League starts alerted scouts and in December 1983, he joined Norwich City. He made 161 appearances in six seasons and scored just 29 goals.
Rosario signed for
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
for £600,000 by
Terry Butcher
Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. He works as an academy coach for Ipswich Town.
During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps ...
in April 1991 he was seen to be the successor to
Cyrille Regis
Cyrille Regis, MBE (9 February 1958 – 14 January 2018) was a professional footballer who played as a forward. His professional playing career spanned 19 years, where he made 614 league appearances and scored 158 league goals, most prolifical ...
.
It was in his second season after the arrival of a new manager,
Bobby Gould
Robert Hewitt Gould (born 12 June 1946) is an English former footballer and manager.
Early life
Gould was born in Wyken, Coventry, Warwickshire on 12 June 1946. He is the son of Henry Gould and Helen McKellar Gould (née Morton). He spent h ...
and a new striker,
Micky Quinn
Michael Quinn (born 2 May 1962) is an English former professional footballer and sports radio presenter for TalkSPORT.
As a player he was a centre forward from 1979 until 1996. He most notably played in the Premier League for Coventry City, a ...
, that Rosario began to feature more, providing many chances for Quinn who notched 17 goals in 26 games in the 1992–93 season. In March 1993, with City's financial situation worsening he was sold to
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
for £450,000. His last appearance for Forest came in April 1994, as injuries took hold, and although he was fully fit for the
1995–96 season, he was no longer part of Clark's plans at the
City Ground
The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445.
The stadium was a venue when E ...
and left at the end of the season, signalling the end of his playing career by the age of 30.
After his move to Forest he struggled to win a regular place and suffered a serious knee injury which eventually forced his retirement from the professional game in England.
In February 1997, he joined the Carolina Dynamos of the USA's Second Division, the A-League, for whom he made 29 appearances, scoring four goals. In April 1998, he joined another A League side, the Charleston Battery from South Carolina.
Coaching career
Rosario had a spell in charge of
Carolina Dynamo
North Carolina Fusion U-23, formerly known as Carolina Dynamo, is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
The ...
in 2001.
Personal life
Rosario resides in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, where he has coached at the North Meck Soccer club.
His son Gabriel, is a former
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
and
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
youth team goalkeeper.
References
External links
Link to article in Norwich sports paper re Rosario's career
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosario, Robert
1966 births
Living people
English footballers
Harrow Borough F.C. players
Norwich City F.C. players
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
Coventry City F.C. players
Nottingham Forest F.C. players
Charleston Battery players
North Carolina Fusion U23 players
England under-21 international footballers
English people of Italian descent
Association football forwards
Premier League players
Footballers from Greater London
English expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
English expatriate footballers