Fábio Rochemback (born 10 December 1981) is a Brazilian former professional

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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. At different ends of his career, he represented both '' Grenal'' rivals of his home state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

: Internacional and Grêmio. He signed for

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

at 19 for €15 million but struggled, while he reached the 2005 UEFA Cup Final on loan to

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

. He also spent three years at

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

of the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, and played in the

2006 UEFA Cup Final The 2006 UEFA Cup Final was a association football, football match that took place at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, Netherlands on 10 May 2006 as the culmination of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. The match was contested by Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrou ...

for them. Rochemback played seven games for

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, at the

2001 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organized by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia national football team, Saudi Arabia, did not participate (they were the ...

and 2001 Copa América.

Club career

Barcelona

Born in Soledade,

, Rochemback began his career with nearby

Sport Club Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional, Inter de Porto Alegre, a cidade do Grêmio or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional Association football, football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Campeonato Bras ...

before transferring to

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

in July 2001 at the age of 19. The transfer fee was 2.43 billion pesetas in three instalments (€15 million). Expected to be a replacement for the departure of long-serving captain

Pep Guardiola Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (; born 18 January 1971) is a Catalans, Catalan professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player from Spain who has been the manager of club Manchester City F.C., Ma ...

, Rochemback played a more physical game than the latter, with a strong shot. He has been named as one of the worst players in the club's history, having played at one of their worst periods. In two full seasons at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

he made 68 total appearances and scored four goals, most memorably a long-distance strike as a substitute in a 3–1

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

win away to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on 20 November 2001.

Loan to Sporting CP

In July 2003, Rochemback was loaned to Portugal's

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

for a year, as part of the deal that saw Ricardo Quaresma move in the other direction for €10 million. In his second season in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, he helped the club to the final of the

2004–05 UEFA Cup The 2004–05 UEFA Cup was the 34th edition of the UEFA Cup. The format of the competition had changed from previous seasons, replacing that from the previous one after the abolition of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999; an extra qualifying round was ...

, scoring a 30-metre free kick in a 2–1 win at

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

in the second leg of the last 16, and wrapped up a 4–1 win over

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

(4–2 aggregate) in the second part of the quarter-finals. In the final at the club's own

Estádio José Alvalade The Estádio José Alvalade (; ') is a Football (soccer), football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was built adjacent to the site of the Estádio José Alvalade (1956), older stadium. The stadium is named afte ...

he played the full 90 minutes of a 3–1 loss to

PFC CSKA Moscow Professional Football Club CSKA (, derived from the historical name 'Центральный спортивный клуб армии', English language, English: ''Central Sports Club of the Army''), commonly referred to as CSKA Moscow or ''CSK ...

Middlesbrough

Having caught the eye of

manager

Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English football coach and former player who is currently the manager of the Jamaica national team. McClaren began his coaching career with Oxford United, before joining Derby County in 1995. In 1999 ...

during a UEFA Cup game for Sporting earlier in the year, Rochemback signed a five-year deal with the

Teesside Teesside () is an urban area around the River Tees in North East England. Straddling the border between County Durham and North Yorkshire, it spans the boroughs of Borough of Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, Stockton ...

club on transfer deadline day of 31 August 2005. The late deal had been jeopardised by financial complications: Sporting were subject to a €1 million payment to Barcelona if Rochemback did not spend three years on loan at the club, so Middlesbrough agreed to pay this fee as well. This transfer is one of those about which the Stevens inquiry report in June 2007 expressed concerns because of the lack of co-operation from agents Pini Zahavi and Barry Silkman. Rochemback made his league debut in a 2–1 home win over

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

on 10 September, and scored his first goal on 11 February 2006 in a 3–0 victory against leaders and reigning champions Chelsea also at the

Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since its opening in 1995. It has an all-seated capacity of 34,742, although provisional planning permission is in place to expan ...

. His first

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

goal for Middlesbrough came direct from a free kick, in a 4–2 victory over Charlton Athletic in a quarter–final replay on 11 April. He also played an important role in Middlesbrough's run to the

in a 4–1 victory (4–3 on aggregate) against

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

in the quarter–final second leg on 6 April, which he was named man of the match. Rochemback scored a stunning free kick in Middlesbrough's last match of the

2007–08 Premier League The 2007–08 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) season was the 16th since its establishment. The first matches of the season were played on 11 August 2007, and the season ended on 11 May 2008. Manchest ...

an 8–1 win over

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

on 11 May 2008. During his time on Teesside he earned the nickname "Knock'em-back" due to his regular visits to The Keys pub / nightclub in Yarm on weekends.

Return to Sporting CP

On 13 May 2008, Rochemback was released from Middlesbrough, after they rejected the chance to take up a two-year option on his contract. He signed a three-year deal to return to Sporting on the same day.

Grêmio

In August 2009, Rochemback signed a two–year contract with Grêmio and acquired 30% economic rights for €928,000. Sporting retained 40% economic rights. (However Sporting later announced it sold 90% rights) In January 2011 he extended his contract to 31 December 2012.

Dalian

In January 2012, Grêmio directors confirmed the transfer of Rochemback to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

club

Dalian Aerbin Dalian Professional Football Club (), known as Dalian Pro, was a Chinese professional Association football, football club based in Dalian, Liaoning, which mostly competed in the Chinese Super League. Dalian Pro played its home matches at various ...

. He left the club in the end of 2013.

Return to Brazil

Before manager Renato Gaúcho signed with Fluminense for the 2014 season, he recommended the signing of Rochemback, who he coached while at Grêmio. In January 2014, Rochemback was close to sign with

Sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

in a two-year deal. The club ended the negotiations due to a change in the financial agreement after a first offer was previously agreed. In June, he joined

Passo Fundo Passo Fundo is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the north of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is named after its river. It's the tenth largest city in the state with an estimated population of 204,722 inhabitants ...

amateur club Ipiranga and won the amateur tournament held by the city in 2014.

International career

Rochemback earned seven

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for

, all in competitions in 2001. He made his debut on 31 May in the team's

opener against

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, replacing Vágner at half time in a 2–0 win; he played all five games as the team came fourth. Weeks later, he went to the 2001 Copa América in Colombia.

Personal life

In 2011, police found birds used for

cockfighting Cockfighting is a blood sport involving domesticated roosters as the combatants. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term ...

at a building owned by Rochemback in Soledade. In October 2017, he was arrested on further charges of involvement in the blood sport when evidence was found in

Palmeira das Missões Palmeira das Missões is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. As of 2020, the estimated population was 33,131. See also *List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Rio ...

Honours

Sporting CP *

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

Runner-up: 2004–05 Middlesbrough *

Runner-up: 2005–06

References

External links

* * *
CBF
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rochemback, Fabio 1981 births Living people Footballers from Rio Grande do Sul Men's association football midfielders Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazil men's international footballers 2001 Copa América players 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players Sporting CP footballers SC Internacional players Grêmio FBPA players FC Barcelona players Middlesbrough F.C. players Dalian Professional F.C. players Chinese Super League players La Liga players Premier League players Primeira Liga players Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in China Brazilian people of German descent Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in China Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players People from Soledade 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal