Ricardo Rocha

Rocha was born in Recife. During his career he represented Manchete Futebol Clube do Recife (then known as Associação Atlética Santo Amaro), Santa Cruz Futebol Clube, Guarani Futebol Clube, Sporting Clube de Portugal (having a brief spell with the Primeira Liga giants), São Paulo FC, Real Madrid – where he helped to the 1993 conquest of the Copa del Rey – Santos FC, CR Vasco da Gama, Olaria Atlético Clube, Fluminense FC, Newell's Old Boys and Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, retiring at nearly 37. Rocha was coach of Santa Cruz in 2001 and 2007, without, however, the same success as a player.

Rocha played 38 matches with the Brazil national team in eight years, his debut coming on 19 May 1987 in an exhibition game with England (1–1). He went on to take part in two FIFA World Cups: 1990 and 1994. In the latter edition Rocha was the starting center back. However, he could only appear 69 minutes for the eventual champions, a 2–0 group stage win against Russia, remaining injured for the remainder of the tournament. His last international match was also a friendly, a 5–0 win over Slovakia on 22 February 1995.

Portugal

Rocha was born in Santo Tirso, Porto District, and he started playing football as a goalkeeper. Having made a name for himself at perennial UEFA Cup qualification candidates Braga and making his Primeira Liga debut during the 1999–2000 season, he joined Benfica in January 2002 alongside teammates Armando Sá 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, 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 quarter-finals first leg against eventual champions Barcelona, marking Ronaldinho 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 Tottenham Hotspur, 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 in the fourth round of the FA Cup, in place of captain Ledley King who was injured at the time; He made his first Premier League appearance on 10 February, featuring the full 90 minutes of the 2–1 away loss against Sheffield United. Rocha took part in just five matches in 2007–08, and none whatsoever in all competitions in the…

After making his debut for Portugal on 20 November 2002 against Scotland, Rocha returned for a friendly with Denmark and a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Finland after a three-year absence, as he was not a regular starter at Benfica then; he won the third of his six caps in the former match, a 4–2 loss in Copenhagen.

Club

International

Santa Cruz

Campeonato Pernambucano: 1983 São Paulo

Campeonato Paulista: 1989, 1991 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1991 Vasco

Campeonato Carioca: 1994 Real Madrid

Copa del Rey: 1992–93 Brazil

FIFA World Cup: 1994 Pan American Games: 1987 Pre-Olympic Tournament: 1987 Rous Cup: 1987 Individual

Bola de Ouro: 1989 Bola de Prata: 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993 La Liga Team of The Year: 1992

Benfica

Primeira Liga: 2004–05 Taça de Portugal: 2003–04 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2005 Portsmouth

FA Cup runner-up: 2009–10 Individual

Portsmouth Player of The Season: 2011–12