Ricardo Sérgio Rocha Azevedo (born 3 October 1978) is a Portuguese 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

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He signed for Benfica in 2002 after starting out at

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

, going on to appear in 163 competitive matches with the former club and win three major titles, including the

2004–05 Primeira Liga The 2004–05 Primeira Liga was the 71st edition of top flight of Portuguese football. It started on 28 August 2004 with a match between Belenenses and Marítimo, and ended on 22 May 2005. Benfica won their 31st league title, with 65 points, ...

. He spent the vast majority of his remaining career in England with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, for a total of three

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 ...

seasons.

Club career

Portugal

Rocha was born in

Santo Tirso Santo Tirso () is a city and municipality located in the north of Porto Metropolitan Area, 25 km from central Porto, Portugal. In the region, the Ave Valley, there is a large center of textile industry. The population in 2021 was 67,709, in ...

Porto District The Districts of Portugal, District of Porto ( ) is located on the north-west coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Porto, the second largest city in the country. It is bordered by the Aveiro (district), Aveiro and Viseu (distric ...

, and he started playing football as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. Having made a name for himself at perennial

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 ...

qualification candidates

S.C. Braga Sporting Clube de Braga (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. Best known for the men's professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese foo ...

and making his

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

debut during the 1999–2000 season, he joined

S.L. Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...

in January 2002 along with teammates

Armando Sá Armando Miguel Correia de Sá (born 16 September 1975) is a Mozambican football manager and former player who serves as assistant coach of Canadian club Pacific FC. As a player, he played mainly as a right back. He also held a Portuguese passpo ...

and Tiago (in Rocha's case the move was made official in June of the following year). In his four and a half seasons 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 ...

, Rocha totalled 163 appearances and scored three goals. This included 33 games in European competitions, and he added 25 in the 2004–05 campaign to win the national championship and help put an end to an 11-year drought for the club. On 28 March 2006, Rocha had a widely lauded performance in the

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 ...

quarter-finals first leg against eventual champions

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 ...

, marking

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

out of the game in a 0–0 home draw and 2–0 aggregate loss.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 23 January 2007, Rocha signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with

, for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £3.3 million. He played his first game four days later in the 3–1 win over

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

in the

fourth round Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

of the

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 ...

, in place of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Ledley King Ledley Brenton King (born 12 October 1980) is an English former professional footballer. A one-club man, he spent his entire career with Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and played 323 competitive matches for them from 1999 to 2012. He is ...

who was injured at the time; He made his first

appearance on 10 February, featuring the full 90 minutes of the 2–1 away loss against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. Rocha took part in just five matches in 2007–08, and none whatsoever in all competitions in the following season. He was released on 14 June 2009, after his contract expired.

Portsmouth

On 31 August 2009, Rocha moved to Belgium with

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

on a one-year deal. However, his contract was terminated on 30 January 2010 and he returned to England immediately after, signing for two years with

. He made his debut in a 5–0 defeat away to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

on 6 February. Rocha was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in his next two games, against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

on 9 February and against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. Things improved for the defender when he put in a

Player of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

performance in his team's FA Cup semi-final victory over his former side Tottenham. In summer 2010, Portsmouth offered Rocha an extension, and on 4 September he re-signed with the club, with the two-year deal being officially confirmed six days later. He was sent off in two consecutive fixtures, against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

(2–0 loss) and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

(3–0 defeat), finishing the season with 29 league appearances as his team ranked 16th. In 2011–12, both Rocha and

Dave Kitson David Barry Kitson (born 21 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He made 420 appearances in the Premier League and Football League, including 145 for Reading. Kitson began his career with non-le ...

fell out of favor with

Steve Cotterill Stephen John Cotterill (born 20 July 1964) is an English coach and former player who is currently the manager of National League side Forest Green Rovers. Cotterill, a striker, had a nine-year career as a footballer playing for Burton Albio ...

, but the manager left for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

in mid-October 2011. He was awarded the team's Player of the Season award, but they were relegated to

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

; at the end of the campaign, and upon the expiry of his contract, he was released. In September 2012, Rocha went on trial at

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

, but nothing came of it. On 6 October,

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

announced that the 34-year-old had been trialling with them for ten days. On 19 November, however, he returned to Portsmouth on an initial one-month contract, extending his link for another one month in January. Rocha's future with Pompey appeared to be in doubt, after he claimed that he had received no offers for a new deal. Additionally, head coach

Guy Whittingham Guy Whittingham (born 10 November 1964) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a striker from 1988 until 2005, notably in the Premier League for Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday. Having started ...

stated that he refused to rule out retaining the player. Rocha left

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a association football, football ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and is the home of Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth Football Club. Fratton Park's location on Portsea Island is unique in English professional football, as it ...

in July 2013 after both parties were unable to reach an agreement. Chairman Iain McInnes explained his return had scuppered, due to wanting a role for ''"off-the-field role on top of a playing deal by becoming the club's director of football."''

Post-retirement

Rocha returned to Benfica in summer 2024, being appointed assistant manager in Roger Schmidt's staff. The German was dismissed shortly after, but Rocha kept his role under new coach Bruno Lage.

International career

After making his debut for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

on 20 November 2002 against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, Rocha returned for a friendly with

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and a

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

qualifier against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

after a three-year absence, as he was not a regular starter at Benfica then; he won the third of his six

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 ...

in the former match, a 4–2 loss in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Benfica *

: 2004–05 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

: 2003–04 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Portsmouth *

runner-up: 2009–10 Individual *Portsmouth Player of The Season: 2011–12

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rocha, Ricardo 1978 births Living people 20th-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Santo Tirso Men's association football central defenders Primeira Liga players Segunda Divisão players F.C. Famalicão players S.C. Braga B players S.C. Braga players S.L. Benfica footballers Premier League players English Football League players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Belgian Pro League players Standard Liège players Portugal men's B international footballers Portugal men's international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Belgium S.L. Benfica non-playing staff