Ricardo Rocha (Portuguese footballer)
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| Ricardo Rocha | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo Sérgio Rocha Azevedo | |
| Date of birth | 3 October 1978 | |
| Place of birth | Santo Tirso, Portugal | |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Standard Liége | |
| Number | 4 | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1998–1999 1999–2001 2002–2007 2007–2009 2009– |
Famalicão Sporting Braga Benfica Tottenham Standard Liége |
61 (4) 44 (2) 115 (3) 14 (0) 5 (0) |
| National team | ||
| 2002–2006 | Portugal | 6 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
- For other people of this name, see Ricardo Rocha (disambiguation).
Ricardo Sérgio Rocha Azevedo (born 3 October 1978 in Santo Tirso) is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays in Belgium with Standard Liège, mainly as a central defender.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
Having made a name for himself with perennial UEFA Cup qualification candidates Sporting Clube de Braga, and making his first division debuts during 1999-2000, Rocha moved to giants Sport Lisboa e Benfica in December 2001, along with teammate Tiago, and developed into a fierce stopper with good marking ability.
During his four 1/2 seasons with the Lisbon club, he made a total of 162 appearances and scored three goals, which included 33 matches in European competitions. In March 28, 2006, Rocha had a widely lauded performance in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg against FC Barcelona, marking Ronaldinho out of the game in a 0-0 home draw.[1]
On 17 January 2007, stories hit the Portuguese and English media confirming that a move to Tottenham Hotspur was a possibility. The following day, Portuguese newspapers reported that the move was imminent following a meeting in Lisbon between the Tottenham chairman, former Tottenham player and now agent Ronny Rosenthal and the Benfica president, with a price of €5million (£3.2m) plus two friendlies between the clubs, with Benfica receiving all profits from the gate receipts and television money, being arranged.
Rocha was signed by Tottenham for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £3.3 million on a three-and-half-year deal, on 23 January 2007.[2] He played his first game on the 27th, in the 3–1 win over Southend United in the FA cup's fourth round, in place of captain Ledley King who was out injured at the time. On 10 February he played his first league match for Tottenham, against Sheffield United.
Rocha made just five league appearances for Tottenham in 2007-08, and none in all competitions in the following season.[3] He was eventually released on 14 June 2009, after his contract expired.[4] On 31 August 2009 Standard Liège have signed the Portuguese central defender on a free transfer until June 2010.
[edit] International career
After making his full debut for Portugal in 2002 against Scotland, Rocha returned for two Euro 2008 qualifiers against Finland and Denmark, after a three-year absence, as he was not a regular starter at Benfica then.
[edit] Honours
- S.L. Benfica:
- Portuguese League: 2004–05
- Portuguese Cup: 2003–04
- Portuguese Supercup: 2004
[edit] References
- ^ Ronaldinho's shadow back again; UEFA.com, April 5, 2006
- ^ "Spurs snap up Portugal star Rocha". BBC Sport. 23 January 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/6291111.stm.
- ^ "Spurs defender wants to leave". Epping Forest Guardian. 14 May 2008. http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/search/display.var.2269845.0.spurs_defender_wants_to_leave.php.
- ^ "Rocha exists Spurs". Sky Sports. 2009-06-01. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11675_5358521,00.html. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
[edit] External links
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